3 ms·

While it seems there might be an association, blaming fructose for gout seems just to be a scapegoat for a crappy diet that replaces processed meats with loads

While it seems there might be an association, blaming fructose for gout seems just to be a scapegoat for a crappy diet that replaces processed meats with loads of HFCS overall

moltar 3y ago
I have my own anecdotal evidence to support my own case. My diet is very clean. But at one point I lived in a country with an abundance of fruit and after about 2 years of indulgence I got a toe pain. Didn’t think much of it. Thought I just hit it. But then it lasted almost for a year. That’s when I got worried, did a bunch of reading. Fructose connection was a very clear one, where the traditional connection was actually not supported by evidence at all. I reduced fruit intake significantly, and literally within days the pain went away. And any time I eat lots of fruit a few days in a row the pain will slowly creep back in.
- simmerup 3y ago
  That's interesting to hear. How much fruit were you eating?
  - moltar 3y ago
    At this point I believe it’s not only about the total intake per day, but also the frequency. I can eat a lot in one day and get nothing. But if I indulge a few days in a row a trickle of pain will remind me that I need to ease up. I think it just takes time. Perhaps liver clears out the purine and/or uric acid. From all the stuff I read before about fructose, even unrelated to gout, I think this mostly happens during the periods of fasting. So most likely at night and during deliberate fasts. But to answer your question. I was eating about half a watermelon a day, plus some other smaller fruit. Then when I moved countries again, to yet another fruit abundant one, but with less watermelon access, I was eating 4-6 peaches per day.
    - simmerup 3y ago
      Thank you. That’s less than I thought would be a problem
DoreenMichele 3y ago
A quick search suggests fructose increases uric acid. Uric acid is what people with gout are supposed to avoid.
- raverbashing 3y ago
  > Uric acid is a normal body waste product. It forms when chemicals called purines break down. Purines are a natural substance found in the body. They are also found in many foods, such as liver, shellfish, and alcohol. They can also be formed in the body when DNA is broken down. https://www.urmc.rochester.edu/encyclopedia/content.aspx?contenttypeid=167&contentid=uric_acid_blood https://www.urmc.rochester.edu/encyclopedia/content.aspx?con... "A quick search" determines that the main source of uric acid are dietary sources and that there are factors that might make its clearance slower. Fructose, if it's a significant factor, is down there in the list of things that should be checked
  - DoreenMichele 3y ago
    Eh, daddy had gout. I have some other acid-related condition and stopped drinking orange juice for a time because it was making my big toe hurt. I'm not that invested in the topic, but I still think leaping to the conclusion that fructose suggests another commenter just has a crappy diet is borderline "personal attack" and also simply unfounded. But, you know, whatevs.
Broken_Hippo 3y ago
You can eat a lot of fish and fruit and those things can contribute to gout. Fructose simply isn't the only thing that contributes: Being male, eating some meat, fish, and seafood, being overweight, and so on can contribute. It isn't really processed meats that do it, but certain types of meat. Gout used to be a disease of the rich - who were the folks that were likely to eat the foods that lead to it (and have an amount of other contributors). My brother got gout in high school: He wasn't eating too badly, was a healthy weight, but probably had a "rich" diet and was male. Edited to add link: https://www.cdc.gov/arthritis/basics/gout.html#causes https://www.cdc.gov/arthritis/basics/gout.html#causes
simmerup 3y ago
If you're interested in this Jason Fungs books go into his theory on why fructose is bad for us. His theory is based on the idea that fructose is much like alcohol in our bodies inability to process it properly

While it seems there might be an association, blaming fructose for gout seems just to be a scapegoat for a crappy diet that replaces processed meats with loads of HFCS overall

moltar 3y ago

I have my own anecdotal evidence to support my own case. My diet is very clean. But at one point I lived in a country with an abundance of fruit and after about 2 years of indulgence I got a toe pain. Didn’t think much of it. Thought I just hit it. But then it lasted almost for a year. That’s when I got worried, did a bunch of reading. Fructose connection was a very clear one, where the traditional connection was actually not supported by evidence at all. I reduced fruit intake significantly, and literally within days the pain went away. And any time I eat lots of fruit a few days in a row the pain will slowly creep back in.

simmerup 3y ago
That's interesting to hear. How much fruit were you eating?
- moltar 3y ago
  At this point I believe it’s not only about the total intake per day, but also the frequency. I can eat a lot in one day and get nothing. But if I indulge a few days in a row a trickle of pain will remind me that I need to ease up. I think it just takes time. Perhaps liver clears out the purine and/or uric acid. From all the stuff I read before about fructose, even unrelated to gout, I think this mostly happens during the periods of fasting. So most likely at night and during deliberate fasts. But to answer your question. I was eating about half a watermelon a day, plus some other smaller fruit. Then when I moved countries again, to yet another fruit abundant one, but with less watermelon access, I was eating 4-6 peaches per day.
  - simmerup 3y ago
    Thank you. That’s less than I thought would be a problem

DoreenMichele 3y ago

A quick search suggests fructose increases uric acid. Uric acid is what people with gout are supposed to avoid.

raverbashing 3y ago
> Uric acid is a normal body waste product. It forms when chemicals called purines break down. Purines are a natural substance found in the body. They are also found in many foods, such as liver, shellfish, and alcohol. They can also be formed in the body when DNA is broken down. https://www.urmc.rochester.edu/encyclopedia/content.aspx?contenttypeid=167&contentid=uric_acid_blood https://www.urmc.rochester.edu/encyclopedia/content.aspx?con... "A quick search" determines that the main source of uric acid are dietary sources and that there are factors that might make its clearance slower. Fructose, if it's a significant factor, is down there in the list of things that should be checked
- DoreenMichele 3y ago
  Eh, daddy had gout. I have some other acid-related condition and stopped drinking orange juice for a time because it was making my big toe hurt. I'm not that invested in the topic, but I still think leaping to the conclusion that fructose suggests another commenter just has a crappy diet is borderline "personal attack" and also simply unfounded. But, you know, whatevs.

Broken_Hippo 3y ago

You can eat a lot of fish and fruit and those things can contribute to gout. Fructose simply isn't the only thing that contributes: Being male, eating some meat, fish, and seafood, being overweight, and so on can contribute. It isn't really processed meats that do it, but certain types of meat. Gout used to be a disease of the rich - who were the folks that were likely to eat the foods that lead to it (and have an amount of other contributors). My brother got gout in high school: He wasn't eating too badly, was a healthy weight, but probably had a "rich" diet and was male. Edited to add link: https://www.cdc.gov/arthritis/basics/gout.html#causes https://www.cdc.gov/arthritis/basics/gout.html#causes

simmerup 3y ago

If you're interested in this Jason Fungs books go into his theory on why fructose is bad for us. His theory is based on the idea that fructose is much like alcohol in our bodies inability to process it properly