4 ms·
Dispelling bullshit time. Gout isn't caused by what you eat, it's an underlying problem with your kidneys/liver/body and an inability to extract uric acid. It
by LeCow 6y ago
Dispelling bullshit time.
Gout isn't caused by what you eat, it's an underlying problem with your kidneys/liver/body and an inability to extract uric acid. It can be exasterbated by drinking beer, dehydration, red meat etc.
Saying it's caused by what you eat is a bit like saying peanuts cause peanut allergies, or eating gluten causes coeliacs. You already have the condition, the things you eat makes it worse.
I've been suffering with it since I've been a teenager.
- foobar1962 6y agoDo you suffer gout? I do, and what I eat very much matters.
- LeCow 6y agoYou already have gout, what you eat makes it worse. And yes I have it extremely badly, I'm on high dose allopurinol. I explained all of this in my original post.
- kuschku 6y agoDiabetes can also cause damage to the kidneys in turn causing the inability to extract uric acid, and nowadays this is the leading cause, not a genetic issue anymore. That might not apply to you personally, but to most people it does.
- t-0 6y agoThis is not entirely true. Gout is caused by excessive levels of uric acid, which is an end-product of purine metabolism. You can get uric acid via two pathophysiologic mechanisms: under-excretion of uric acid, or over-production. Under-excretion is by far and away the most common cause of gout (think ~90% of cases). Causes for this include things like chronic kidney disease or an inborne/hereditary problem (like you mentioned), but can also be caused by extrinsic factors such as some medications (common ones include cyclosporine, most diuretics, a few of the TB drugs) as well as more general problems (alcohol decreases UA excretion by itself, dehydration can contribute) Over-production is a whole other kettle of fish. This is most commonly secondary to some problem of increased cell turnover (think leukaemia, lymphoma, haemolytic anaemia etc.), Again alcohol and obesity can contribute. You'll note alcohol was in both groups. Alcohol excess (especailly beer) can lead to gout without any other contributing factor. Excess alcohol + excess red meat is an especially bad combo which can lead to gout without any other contributing health issues. So, gout can certainly be caused by what you eat. It's not the ONLY cause of gout, though.
- HighlandSpring 6y agoWait a minute, how did red meat make its way into this post?
- ciceryadam 6y agoRed meats (beef, venison, bison) in general are higher in purines than white meats and should be eaten only occasionally. https://www.arthritis.org/health-wellness/healthy-living/nutrition/healthy-eating/gout-diet-dos-and-donts https://www.arthritis.org/health-wellness/healthy-living/nut...
- C19is20 6y agoRed meat (especially rare-medium) for me is a no. I can feel the low-level gouty effects for days after in my left foot, and I have to back off the beer to compensate.
- Tuna-Fish 6y agoRed meats contain a lot of purines, which often metabolize into uric acid. They are on the list of products whose consumption gout sufferers should minimize.
- wil421 6y agoFrom the Mayo Clinic: >Purines are also found in certain foods, such as steak, organ meats and seafood. Other foods also promote higher levels of uric acid, such as alcoholic beverages, especially beer, and drinks sweetened with fruit sugar (fructose).
- ben_w 6y ago> most diuretics Does that include caffeine and phenylalanine?
- bmcahren 6y agoPhenylketonurics - this comment contains phenylalanine
- 6y ago
- easytiger 6y agoApparently only something like < 15% of gout cases are diet related. Certainly can imagine other cases can be aggravated by diet choices.
- darkerside 6y agoHow is something diet aggravated but not diet related? Seems like all these people who claim there's no _meaningful_ correlation here are just setting goalposts in a way where they don't feel compelled to change their diets.
- npsimons 6y ago> Seems like all these people who claim there's no _meaningful_ correlation here are just setting goalposts in a way where they don't feel compelled to change their diets. Bingo. People would rather find anything to blame but themselves. Change is also hard. People can change; most wont. You see it far too often in "fat acceptance" and "healthy at every size" communities.
- easytiger 6y agoIt's not caused by diet in 85% of cases. It can be aggravated by diet if you have it. You can't seriously tell me you don't see the difference?
- darkerside 6y agoEasy, tiger. So you meant to say 15% of cases were primarily caused by diet? That's a much more sensible statement.
- easytiger 6y agoMy original statement was in a comment thread that had already asserted that, I was adding a statistic and both comments are still correct.
- milesward 6y agoWhile true, I can't edit my kidneys/liver/body yet, so for now I need to edit diet. My experience: Keto eliminated my gout flareups (eliminating fructose/beer, but gorging on beef), and Vegan has done the same (eliminate meat, add back in some fruits, still not much beer). The standard American diet is a pox...