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Once the disease of gluttonous aristocrats, gout is now tormenting the masses

nytimes.com

81–90 of 210 posts

Re: Once the disease of gluttonous aristocrats, gout is now tormenting the masses

#81
post #6

I watch/read a lot of history and I am always curious, if you traveled back in time how would you treat gout? Without medications to manage uric acid what would you do for Ben Franklin, DaVinci, Michelangelo or Charlemagne? Have them lose weight? Stay away from foods X, Y, and Z but eat more of A/B/C? Does exercise help/hurt? Are there any herbs etc that we know today would lower uric acid which you could find with y…

DaVinci would hardly get gout as he was basically a vegetarian.

The reason the OP mentioned those people (including Da Vinci) is because they are all known gout sufferers.

Re: Once the disease of gluttonous aristocrats, gout is now tormenting the masses

#82

Earlier quoted context omitted.

I don't have gout, but my IBS is set off by fructose, and yes, I've had to drastically cut down on fruit. Fortunately, vegetables are even healthier for you, and don't have significant levels of fructose.

Since you mention IBS in the context of fructose, are you aware of the the phenomena of fructose malabsorption? My wife has this combination of issues at times, strongly related to eating or drinking of apples or apple juice and other similarly high fructose fruits and extracts like agave.

Yup. I follow a FODMAP diet and that really works for me.

Re: Once the disease of gluttonous aristocrats, gout is now tormenting the masses

#83
post #57

Earlier quoted context omitted.

By cutting out “fructose” surely you don’t mean cutting out fruit? Do mean derivatives like fructose syrup and stuff?

Most fruit are nowhere near as healthy as most people expect they are. They have been selectively bred over many hundreds of years to be far larger, sweeter and more devoid of micronutrients than they were hundreds of years ago. The amount of sugar (especially fructose) in fruits like apples, oranges and bananas is shockingly high, and can cause or exacerbate conditions such as obesity, fatty liver, type 2 diabetes,…

Diet containing a lot of fruit can be healthy . Sugar consumed through fruit has a massively different effect compared to consuming only that sugar.

Fiber with sugar is not the same as pure sugar.

I’m not sure there are any studies demonstrating what you claim.

Re: Once the disease of gluttonous aristocrats, gout is now tormenting the masses

#85
post #72

Earlier quoted context omitted.

Most fruit are nowhere near as healthy as most people expect they are. They have been selectively bred over many hundreds of years to be far larger, sweeter and more devoid of micronutrients than they were hundreds of years ago. The amount of sugar (especially fructose) in fruits like apples, oranges and bananas is shockingly high, and can cause or exacerbate conditions such as obesity, fatty liver, type 2 diabetes,…

Most national dietary guidelines encourage eating fruits and vegetables, with an emphasis on the vegetables. The sugar amount in fruit has a direct impact on the overall calories you consume but since fruit are also high in fibre, the contained sugar is not comparable to, say, a chocolate bar.

> The sugar amount in fruit has a direct impact on the overall calories you consume but since fruit are also high in fibre, the contained sugar is not comparable to, say, a chocolate bar.

I think a more precise way to say this is:

Due to the water and fiber in fruit, they tend to be more satiating than eating something like a chocolate bar on a calorie normalized basis.

Re: Once the disease of gluttonous aristocrats, gout is now tormenting the masses

#86
post #53

Started having severe gout attacks in 2004. Doctors are particularly unaware about gout. Despite having extremely painful and long attacks (during one attack, spent more than a month in bed unable to walk), all the doctors I saw had no idea despite endless tests. Finally based on my own research I suggested gout and they were like "oh yes, I suppose it could be that". Once diagnosed, doctors are quick to get you on d…

Have you tried Cranberry juice/extract? I've often heard that it can help the body break down the Uric acid.

Re: Once the disease of gluttonous aristocrats, gout is now tormenting the masses

#87
A close friend of mine suffered from gout since 2012 and it got aggravated since last two years. He also was severely obese with a BMI around 37. Last year his SGPT and SGOT levels really spiked up drastically and doctor suggested it was the beginning of Fibrosis and asked him to reduce weight.

He started intermittent fasting 18:6 and religious intake of ~3 litres (250 ml per kg). He reduced 20 kgs in last 8 months.

He is totally off allopurinol and the gout seems to have vanished. His uric acid levels and the SGPT SGOT levels are back normal.

Re: Once the disease of gluttonous aristocrats, gout is now tormenting the masses

#88
post #72

Earlier quoted context omitted.

Most fruit are nowhere near as healthy as most people expect they are. They have been selectively bred over many hundreds of years to be far larger, sweeter and more devoid of micronutrients than they were hundreds of years ago. The amount of sugar (especially fructose) in fruits like apples, oranges and bananas is shockingly high, and can cause or exacerbate conditions such as obesity, fatty liver, type 2 diabetes,…

Most national dietary guidelines encourage eating fruits and vegetables, with an emphasis on the vegetables. The sugar amount in fruit has a direct impact on the overall calories you consume but since fruit are also high in fibre, the contained sugar is not comparable to, say, a chocolate bar.

You are comparing the sugars in raw food to something heavily processed. That's not a good comparison.

Re: Once the disease of gluttonous aristocrats, gout is now tormenting the masses

#89

Some years ago I had Goat and had to go to the doctor. The doctor prescribed (onlY)Aleve to me. I find it curious she didn't tell me anything about more effective medicines such as: https://medlineplus.gov/druginfo/meds/a682673.html?fbclid=Iw... Is it possible that a doctor does not know about this medicine? Or is this such a new treatment that it didn't exist about 8 years ago?

Allopurinol is as old as the hills.

However it cannot be taken during an acute episode of gout or it will worsen it. Ie it is a preventative not a treatment.

I’m presuming you went to your family doctor rather than the emergency room so your gout flare (relatively speaking, not necessarily from your perspective) probably wasn’t so bad which is why they gave an NSAID and sent you on your way. Ideally they should have told you that if you get more flares and dietary/lifestyle modification don’t help then you should take a long term preventative

Re: Once the disease of gluttonous aristocrats, gout is now tormenting the masses

#90
post #57

Earlier quoted context omitted.

By cutting out “fructose” surely you don’t mean cutting out fruit? Do mean derivatives like fructose syrup and stuff?

Most fruit are nowhere near as healthy as most people expect they are. They have been selectively bred over many hundreds of years to be far larger, sweeter and more devoid of micronutrients than they were hundreds of years ago. The amount of sugar (especially fructose) in fruits like apples, oranges and bananas is shockingly high, and can cause or exacerbate conditions such as obesity, fatty liver, type 2 diabetes,…

I have yet to meet someone who is obese and his calorie intake is primary from fruits.

Edit: I just did napkin calculation. Sedentary 170cm high male weighting 66kg would need to eat 20 apples a day to keep his weight. Or 3600 grams per day. The shocking high sugar content still means nearly uneatable quantity of apples just to get enough calories for rather small office worker who does no sport.

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