Gout Causes for You and Me
There are many gout causes that may induce a full gout attack. But what needs to be made clear here is that this condition effects people differently. That is correct, what foods and lifestyle choices I make can cause my gout to flare up and these same things can be the polar opposite for you and everybody else.
What causes gout for me? I’m glad you’re interested to know… After dealing with gout for 8 years already I know what makes it angry. Here they are:
- Soy products
- Shellfish
- Niacin
- Dehydration
Tofu = Gout for me!
Sounds strange eh? Well it is true for me, some of those may sound familiar. Red meat has little to no effect on my gout, but when I consume soy milk with my morning cereal I can start to feel my big toe stiffen up as the week goes by. So since I do not like milk (reminds me of phlegm) the only choice I have is almond milk or rice milk which is not bad really. Just make sure you get the vanilla flavored or else it taste kind of gnarly.
The vitamin niacin is what caused my very first gout attack 8 years ago and landed me in the hospital. Was taking a daily vitamin for men and it had 1,000 times your suggested daily dose of niacin. The reason I went to the hospital is because I thought I had broken my toe or had an infection (scary moment). Took those idiot doctors 2 days to figure out I had a case of gout. An intern figured it out of all doctors.
Of course when you get dehydrated by not drinking enough liquids your urine turns mellow yellow meaning your uric acid is probably spiked. Drinking natural juice that is not acid rich and water is a safe bet. Cranberry juice and cherry juice is ideal, just make sure you get 100% juice, not some fake garbage.
So what does my current gout diet consist of? It is easier to say what I avoid and seems safe. The normal gout foods that we are told to stay away form we should, unless you are certain you know what causes your gout and what does not – through years of experience which can change over time actually. Like I mentioned above I stay away from soy (which is a bean) and anything with too much acid and that nasty niacin! Drink plenty of fluids and watch out for stiffness which is a warning sign.
I used this Out with Gout guide to help me find combinations of diet and remedy that I can do at home since the current medial arena is dumb to gout. The people who know it best are the people who deal with it on a day to day basis. If you want to know what to do when a gout attack happens and how to prevent it then get the guide and keep it in an easy to find find place either on your computer or print it out and keep it near the medicine cabinet. A few bucks will save you the time of searching around endlessly online trying to find the latest info. It really is all right there.
Funny how you meet people from all over the world who suffer from gout too. I met a fellow in Hawaii who is a mix of Hawaiian, Samoan, and Chinese and he gets the gout in his knee, ouch! Cripples him for weeks he said. And met an lady in her 20′s who gets gouty arthritis in the joints in her hands that can last for up to a month. That seems way more painful and inconvenient than my big toe gout, at least I could hobble around on crutches with one shoe if I need to.
For now my gout seems to be behaving even though I went off my allopurinol since my medical insurance disappeared along with my job. I was kind of glad though, becasue it did not seem to do much as the gout still creeped up on me and the horror stories I kept hearing about side effects was starting to play mind games with me. So today I watch what I am eating along with having these black cherry extract pills on stand-by in case I feel it coming on. I take 2-3 pills twice daily until I feel the safe zone, meaning the toe is not swelling and the pain is gone along with full movement in my toe joint.
The guide mentioned above really helped me understand how natural remedies can help more over than for-profit drugs, which seem to do more harm than good these days. Unfortunately I realized the Chinese herb pills I was taking years ago had lost their potency over time to gout, so you really need to be well informed of alternatives because one solution does not last forever.
Oh I want to mention a story about my friend Stuart who got gout after ingesting too much salt water while learning to surf in Hawaii. He is in his mid 40′s and has never had gout or even knew what it was, so one night his toe swelled up to a big red apple and he freaked! Was ready to call 911 and have the priest ready for last rights. Good thing I was around, even though I am not a doctor I know what to look for and interrogated him on his eating habits (drinks like a sailor…) but he insists it was cause by the salt water becasue he feels “Hawaiian” now. He went to the doctor of course just to make sure and was given that tiny white pill known as colchicine which did the trick for now. But he keeps those black cherry pills in the medicine cabinet just in case.
If you are reading this chances are either you or a loved one has or is suffering from gout. The proper gout treatment is to be educated on what you are dealing with and know how to treat and also prevent it. Gout is powerful and relentless, no matter what you do it will come back so you need to know how to deal with it the best you can. At least you know gout causes are sometimes unique to me and to you.
Make sure you take a look at this Out with Gout guide, it’s a good idea to get and keep it on hand believe me! It is the best gout guide out there with many treatment options and preventative measures for the gout.
