Gout: working out your trigger foods?

[RichFN2]

Evening all

Last weekend i suffered a suspected gout attack in my big toe and R/H side of my jaw a few days before. The pain was horrific so i suspected a broken toe from football however the X ray showed this was not the case and the doctor took a guess at gout. As a 'fairly healthy' 33 year old this came as a complete shock however after doing some research this week and learning about purines my high protein diet looks to have a part to play. I was consuming around 4kg of chicken and turkey a week for the gym(weight training etc) having always been told lean poultry meat was fine and to only have red meat in moderation

Going forward the plan is to cut my meat consumption in half with possible meat free days and drink around 4 litres of water a day(never drank much water at the weekends). The previous weekend was an extremely heavy one with a group of mates and i suspect this had a part to play. I will admit to liking a beer at the weekend and although i rarely go out on a big night up town we have a very good real ale pub nearby which a few of us go to every Saturday and sometimes Friday aswell.

My question is to those living with gout who quickly do you learn that you have eaten/drank something that will trigger an attack? since reducing my meat intake and drinking more water thankfully all my symptoms have now gone but going forward it would be handy to know, obviously beer will have to be cut down as it is the worse form of alcohol for gout but i must admit i would be gutted if it was something i could never drink

[Big Al.]

Try this list I posted some 10 years ago on a thread.

Big Al. said:

I compiled this from info I've picked up.

High Levels of PurinesBest To Avoid 150–1,000mg/100g	Moderate Levels of Purines Eat Occasionally 50–150mg/100g	Low Levels of Purines No Restriction 0–50mg/100g
MEAT	MEAT	Eggs
Liver	Beef	Cheese
Kidney	Bouillon, Meat soups	Breads
Veal	Chicken	Cereals
Venison	Duck	Butter
Turkey	Ham	Margarine
Goose	Pork	Pasta
Meat Extract Oxo, Marmite.	Lamb	Noodles
FISH	Game	Macaroni
Anchovies	FISH	Nuts
Worchester Sauce	Lobster	Cakes
Sardines	Prawns	Biscuits
Herrings	Shrimp	Chocolate
Mussels	Crab	Grains
Cockles	Eel	VEGETABLES, SALADS
Scallops	Oysters	Potatoes
Cod	Herring	Green vegetables
Haddock	Whitebait	Red Cabbage
Trout	VEGETABLES	All Salads
Fish Roe	Peas	Tomatoes & Tom. Soup
Mackerel	Lentils	FRUIT
Sprats	Beans	All Fruits
Caviar	Legumes	Berries (high in Antioxidants)
ALCOHOL	Cauliflower	BEVERAGES
Beer	Mushrooms	Coffee
Spirits	Asparagus	Milk
-	Spinach	Carbonated drinks
-	Kidney beans	Fruit Juice
-	Lentils	Ice Cream
-	Lima beans	-
-	Soya	-

HTH.

[rucky544]

I was in a similar situation, had the first couple of attacks in my early 30s when I was training hard in the gym and eating a lot of protein. I changed my diet back then but have since slipped back into not worrying about it so much.
The thing I have kept up is, loads of water and 2 vitamin C tablets a day. I have not had any problems since.

[RichFN2]

Thanks Big Al i have a similar list i keep at work and home, although the only things i was eating daily on the list was chicken and turkey(but alot of it), red meat etc was more of a treat and then the few weekend beers

Rucky thanks for your input sounds like you were in a very similar situation to me, have been reading about how too much protein can put pressure on the kidneys which wont help as the kidneys are also trying to deal with the uric acid! good to hear after some tweaks you have kept it at bay which is what i am hoping for. Vitamin C and plenty of water is now a daily routine

[sgtBerbatov]

I know from my case is that if I eat chips fried in beef dripping I'll get gout. It's easy enough to avoid that when you're in the West Midlands and everyone here using vegetable oil! But, from what I've been told, gout is just an easy name for reactionary arthritis. It doesn't have to be linked to foods, if you've been ill it can have an effect too. So a month or two ago I had the flu in a bad way, a week later I had gout.

One tip I found to at least help the pain is once you realise an attack is about to start, you should start taking NSAID's like Ibruprofen. I've done this, and it turns an incredibly painful thing in to something far more manageable. It hurts a little, but it's like you've bruised your toe a bit. So that's one thing I can highly recommend!

[RVVUNM]

I have suffered on and off for the last ten years and know how painful it can be. About five years ago I started to get more attacks so took on the quest of finding out what triggers it for me. Unfortunately Red Wine was top of the list and I love red wine. Once I stopped drinking RW the attacks reduced but about a year ago back it came. Believe it or not I have now worked out that Mushrooms trigger it and I love mushrooms too. luckily for me my Doctor suffers Gout and recommended I take steroids when it hits badly and believe me they work.

[fatboy b]

I got it last year. I cut out alcohol totally for a month and then got a blood test done. My UA was 430 on a scale where above 400 is danger and the ‘should be’ level below 300. I’d rather eat the things I enjoy, so I’m on 200mg of Alopurinol a day now and under control.

By all means cut out high purinol stuff, yet make sure you get a blood test too to see where you are.

Edited by fatboy b on Friday 22 March 16:43

[majordad]

I’m 64 and have had random attacks , maybe 5, in the past 6 years. Haven’t worked out a trigger but hitting my foot of something is unpleasant ( football in your case) , and stress. I stress when I’m traveling.

[fatboy b]

anonymous said:

[redacted]

‘Cos everyone is different.

[Teddy Lop]

Mines totally random, had it before going low carb (so even worse for the supposed trigger foods) and if anything its diminished, although maybe going 18>13 stone helped, but looking my consumption leading up to the last few attacks its all solidly stuff I eat all the time.

They know very little and there's a lot of outdated and wholly unproven tales regarding trigger foods that are treated as gospel even by the doctors.

[anonymous-user]

Gout is a historical reaction, although there may be triggers ( good luck with finding them ( as it will drive you crazy )) it's what has been put through your system for years, the only way is to reduce your uric acid by meds along with increasing pure water consumption and adjusting future intake of high purines for the next 10 years ( maybe not 10 depending on your kidney/liver function but will take a long time) sorry to be the postman with news you may not want to hear; good luck and wish you all the very best

[wildoliver]

I've found the opposite tbh.

I found energy drinks (to excess) and especially cherry flavoured ones were a sure fire trigger for it. Having cut those out (still have the odd energy drinks but sugar free and occasional), I have thankfully been clear for about 2 years, before it was a 9 month to a year max between attacks and was getting more frequent and longer lasting.

I was told that excessive water consumption with the aim of flushing your system can actually make the attack worse as it flushes the crystals deeper in to joints. There's a lot of rubbish talked about gout though. Try to find a trigger and hopefully you minimise it too. But that diet doesn't sound too healthy!

[Don1]

Strangely enough, for me the instant trigger are sweets like love hearts or those hard fizzy lollies. Can't figure out the active ingredient that causes it - some of the ingredients are supposed to help gout!

[Shearwater52]

There is a time frame in the accumulation of acid and 'the trigger' isn't a trigger itself, it's the last part of the jigsaw. Keep everything in moderation in relation to your previous healthy/unhealthy lifestyle and you should be able to enjoy everything without reaching the point where your body has to dump the UA in the joints in order to protect your major organs.

[Don1]

Not strictly true - I can get it out of nowhere whilst being good - but it always hits me where I have broken bones/joints before.

[ShampooEfficient]

I went to the doctor, told him I had a pain in my foot.

He said "gout".

I said "I've only just come in..."

[DSLiverpool]

I used to call it KFC ankle but it was never really bad until I had a full on attack of the big toe and wrist.
Nowadays it’s very rare but if I get a twinge of anything I take indomethacin and it subdues it.

It’s not often as my last prescription was 2 years ago!