Foods That Flare Gout Attacks

I am thankful to blogger Aphra  for reminding me to post the food chart with the foods that should be avoided by a gouty patient. Reducing or avoiding the listed below, helps immensely.Please check with your doctor before following instructions. This is the chart which is affixed to my  kitchen door.I managed to take a copy from my digital camera. Click on the chart for better viewing.

Our ordeal with Gout 

Gout ? Make Dietary Changes !

"Ouch ! That hurts ! What’s that? Gout??" I have never heard of this term until a few months back when my husband was diagnosed with this condition. One particular morning, not so long ago, my hubby complained of a throbbing pain under his heel when he tried to get off the bed. Thinking it was due to fatigue from the previous day’s  spring cleaning, he rubbed some ointment and got about his days’ schedule. Howsoever the pain was too stubborn to go away. That is when he decided to seek medical help. Since we had never heard of this condition before, I began to collect information from the internet. And thank God! There were a whole lot of data available for gout and gouty patients.

Gout is a medical condition typically distinguished by the recurring attacks of acute inflammatory arthritis, tender and hot swollen joints.  It is caused by raised levels of uric acid in the blood which crystallize and is deposited in joints and in surrounding tissues.Gout is one form of arthritis which can be triggered by certain types of food and also which can be reduced by avoiding those particular food from the diet. 

Both dietary changes and medications can decrease uric acid levels. Once the acute attack has sinked,levels of uric acid can be brought down through lifestyle alterations.Reducing intake of food such as meat and seafood  and certain vegetables with are high in purines and proteins also helps.

To help us understand this condition better,  my husband was given a chart from the hospital with a list of food that he should eliminate from  his diet. I have attached it to the  kitchen door for quick reference. I run through the list everyday before preparing our daily meals.

Food Addictives And Allergies

A few years back, it was distressing for my husband and I, to see our younger daughter fall sick, every time she ate some of her favourite food. She would either start coughing; a nagging cough which would linger for sometime or she would get itchy red bumps on her arms, sometimes on her face, (later I learnt the red bumps were hives.). We were clueless as to why she got them constantly.

After many visits to the hospital we learnt that it was due to an allergic reaction, but was not certain what triggered the “hives” on her. The thought of this, gave us many sleepless nights and constant worries, until one day our very own Sri Lankan Doctor, a paediatrician, who was attached to a reputed facility in Saudi Arabia, who on learning of our daughter’s condition helped us identify the root cause of her allergy. She was vulnerable  not only to certain foods like coloured candies and coloured drinks, but also to the strong smell of perfume, washing powder, bleach etc, all, with a considerable amount of additive compounds in them. Gradually, with much cajoling, we made her stop eating her favourite titbits like the multi coloured candies, chocolate chips and the luminous coloured drinks. After following the doctor's advice and guidelines, we saw a vast improvement in our daughter’s health. He helped us to keep a food diary and note carefully for any adverse reactions whenever she ate food. In the case of a sensitivity being identified, the practice was to eliminate all suspected foods from the diet and then reintroduce them one by one, to see which additive (or additives) caused the reaction. This was done under the supervision of this good-hearted doctor, whom we are ever grateful to. With the invaluable information on food allergies/additives, which my husband and I acquired, each time we accompanied our daughter, during the fortnightly visits to the doctor, we have become more selective in the choice of food we consume.

 Our distressing nightmare maybe over, but with four growing children and their immune system  different from one another, I sometimes  get the creeps to think,  what if , one of them  goes through that agony again.

( - This is an excerpt from my published article- )