If you have suffered from gout for what seems like an eternity, throw up your hands and raise a shout of joy because you no longer have to endure through any more of those almost impossible diets. It's a new day with new hope in a new menu. Recent brand new studies are putting old theories aside as results reveal that much of what was once believed was either good or bad for this form of arthritis is flawed with half-truths.
Some facts however about this painful type of arthritis still hold true. High concentrations of uric acid in ones blood has the potential of causing serious inflammation problems which equals pain for you. In fact you can pretty much count on it. Another fact that hasn't changed at all is the problem of obesity. The truth of the matter is that if a person is overweight it is almost certain to exacerbate gout symptoms due to the waste products that are broken down into uric acid. The overweight state is in itself a shortfall because most of the excess poundage is in the form of waste products such as purines that the body was unable to digest or get rid of. It is then forced to change it into uric acid. So all of these indigestible foods finally wind up as a putrid mass of uric acid. This uric acid is at the heart of this agonizing on again off again condition.
The old methods of trying to keep gout under control by exacting diets and abstinence from certain foods just didn't work. It was just too difficult for most people to stick with any diet program of this type. And it came at a high cost with little hope of an end in sight. Many of the diets required people to avoid many of the foods that they loved and in time, it became hard to stay focused and not lose sight of the desired goal. That goal often seemed absolutely unattainable. Soon even the supposed experts in the field had to agree that it wasn't working.
While working on diets for patients with diabetes and various types of heart disease who were resistant to insulin, scientists stumbled upon information they thought just might reveal itself to be of value to those suffering from gout as well. During testing, it appeared that those who were resistant to insulin also had an excess of uric acid in their bodies. They concluded that indications of high levels of uric acid could possibly be a major clue and possibly an early warning into other severe health conditions. Going forward with that tidbit of information lead them to conduct a study on patients suffering with gout. The patients, all men, were put on the same diet that they had created for their insulin resistant patients. They analyzed thirteen men during a four-month testing period. The results showed a whopping victory of not only an average weight lost of 17 pounds but an almost 19% landslide drop in uric acid levels too. Almost all of the test subjects experienced less gout attacks and probably best of all is the impressive good news that the majority was able to stay the course of the study and continue on the diet well into the next year.
The diet is surprisingly simple as experienced by the original test subjects. You are encouraged to consume no more than 1600 calories each day. 30 percent should be taken from protein, which is about 480 calories; 30 percent should come from fat and you need 40 percent (640 calories) to come from carbohydrates. There are no other additional restrictions about avoiding purine-rich foods etc.
Although there are no inflexible restrictions, you do want to keep in mind that being overweight can still hurt you. Be sensible and smart about your new freedom menu. If you find yourself hungry try spacing out your 1600 daily calorie allotment. Eat four small meals instead of one huge one. It'll lessen the load on your digestive system too.
When you crave fat, choose healthy fats over the saturated fats. Fill up on avocadoes, nuts, peanut butter and polyunsaturated oils like olive and canola.
Add fish to the menu. One thing that was a major change in the diets of the test subjects was the addition of fish to their diets at least four times a week. They ate a variety of fish, which amply satisfied the daily protein requirement.
Have a sweet tooth? Reach for the sugars your body really craves found in fresh fruits and vegetables instead of the lifeless snacks being offered. Enjoy your new freedom menu. It may be the best one you ever dined from.
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