foodcombining diet

They don't call it "the disease of kings" for nothing. Even though modern medicine has mollified this view somewhat, gout will always be one of those conditions ever pregnant with a sense of poetic justice. 12% of all cases remain directly attributable to dietary causes, in particular alcohol, fructose, meat and seafood. Rates have doubled in the last two decades, as a result of increasing life expectancy and an associated rise in reported cases of metabolic syndrome.

But perceptions are changing. For one thing, women are no longer thought to be immune from this painful ailment, once oestrogen levels drop as a result of menopause. Hyperuricemia, the abnormally high levels of uric acid in the blood which is the underlying cause of gout, is now thought to have a genetic cause as well as a dietary one. And most importantly, new treatment approaches are now available, ironically in the form of another seafood by-product.

If you have ever been stung by this invisible scorpion (most sufferers report their first attack at the base of the great toe), you'll understand the metaphor. Unlike chronic inflammatory arthritis, gout is as acute as it gets: hot, tender, swollen, and unbelievably painful. Naturally, treatment is targeted at the alleviation of symptoms, first and foremost. Fortunately, gout can be cured in the long run by controlling the level of uric acid in the blood.

The problem is in the first-line treatment: textbooks call for non-steroidal anti-inflammatory drugs, otherwise known as aspirin and ibuprofen. Not only are these over-the-counter drugs unbelievably depressing to the patient who's hauled a swollen foot all the way to A&E, they are also prone to gastrointestinal and renal side effects, depending on the dose.

So before you pop the maximum dosage in one go out of sheer desperation, take a look at fish oils. Consumers and scientists alike are long aware of a link between long-term consumption and reduced risks of cardiovascular diseases. The observation has now been bolstered by further research, which demonstrates that DHA fatty acids in fish oils are actively converted by our body into an anti-inflammatory chemical. This mechanism explains the decrease in stroke risks, since our blood vessels are maintained to a healthier shape by the presence of this compound. But anti-inflammatory drugs are seldom site-specific: if it works in the blood vessels, it works in your inflamed joints as well.

We would have happily recommended a seafood diet, where you could take in a reasonable amount of Omega 3 fatty acids, if it had a lower purine content. Unfortunately, herrings, mussel and sardines are amongst the first items to go when you're embarking on a gout diet. If you need that anti-inflammatory fix, a molecularly-distilled capsule of Omega 3 fish oil, with around a quarter of it in DHA, should bring about very speedy relief when used in conjunction with other medications, as opposed to the week-long episode of agony when left to its own devices.