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bethboy

New User, Becoming EHEALTHy
Joined: 01 Jan 2008
Posts: 6
drinking and gout
Posted: 01-04-08 03:44am
Hi,

Read all your other threads re: baking soda with interest. You'll find more info on me in my other threads!

Summery-41 year old single guy-up until 2 months ago a regular heavy drinker (in uk terms 1/2-2/3 bottle whisky/night)-every night! Without going too much in to reasons-depression, family death, money, etc..all sorted now & very rarely drink at all. Regualr gym goer (3 times a week-cardio+weights)-watch my calories (NOT crash dieting)....new year & new job to start!

I've had gout on & off for about 4 years (maybe 2/3 attacks a year). Last one strangely was after I'd had no alcohol at all for a good 2 weeks (guessing uric blood level dropped, redissolved deposits, etc)...lasted a fair while though..toe & then knee! No pain noww but knee a bit stiff still.

I take daily-3 lots of 2tbspoons (6 uk teaspoons) organic (not the cloudy-from supermarket_ of apple cyder vinegar (to I hope alkalise my food & according to web help dissolve uric deposits??) with meals, start the day with a glass of lemon juice (fresh) in warm water (again according to web not only is good for you but helps alkaise blood & clear/dissolve deposits) on an empty stomach, an absolute minimum of 4 pints water a day (4 1/2 litres), 2 x milk thistle (for my poor liver!) daily, 1 x 500mg vit c tablet + flavenoids, 3 daily clery seed tablets (1 with meals) & 1 x multi vit tablets.

Now I've read on the web that if you stop heavy regular drinking that gout may dissapear completely (obviously I'll keep taking precautions such as above!)-is this true? Also, as (a good few years back!) I had high blood pressure (last reading however 7 years ago or so was nearly normal as I'd joined a gym though still drinking too much!) so am a little hesitant of taking baking soda daily...however as a preventative would say 2 glasses a day (1 in morning-1 in evening) with 1/4 tsp be ok? Don't want to see the doc really & open a can of worms!!!

My diet is good-lots of berry fruits, ground flax for omega 3, etc...very rare to have sweets or really fatty meats! I also eat a lot of baken beans (-1 x 410gm tin-Uk style! cooked navy beans in toamato sauce-charts say they are slightly alkaline so ok??)-are these ok to eat as they are low gi & good for you!

Any other tips you have would be great!

Feel this last BIG attack was hopefully my last & a sign that my new 'lifestyle' is working!! Do you think it's worth getting ph testing paper from pharmacist to check blood alkaline level say twice a week? I'm also pretty up on what foods alkalise-so say I had a lean small steak I'd finish meal with a handfull of dried apricots to alkalise. I also enjoy a daily bowl of whole grain organic porridge-I know the purine/uric content of this is moderate but have it with raisons to alkalise-any thoughts on this?

Sorry to ask so many questions-but you seem the 'gout guru'.

Last question-how long since your last attack?? (Sorry-just curious!)
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JYY2

Experienced User , Rather EHEALTHy
Joined: 05 Jun 2004
Posts: 227

Posted: 01-05-08 12:35pm
I am sorry you have gout. Glad you now have a healthier life style.

The best way to prevent future gout attacks is to lower the serum urate level to .33~.36 mmol/L (5.5~6.0 mg/dL) so that the urate crystals will dissolve and disappear from the body in months or years. Unfortunately, it is difficult to achieve this by diet, lifestyle changes, and natural/herbal medicine alone. Urate lowering drugs are generally very effective and well tolerated.

To help manage gout, you need to find out what are your serum urate level, the urine pH, and the amount of uric acid excreted in urine a day. The proper actions based on these info can prevent not only gout attacks but also bone erosion, uric acid kidney stones, and kidney failure. Sometimes, seeing a doctor and taking drugs are the best among the evils.

My additional info are:

Apple cider vinegar (ACV) & lemon juice -- I haven't seen any scientific data showing they can dissolve urate deposits, lower urate level, or prevent gout attacks. On the other hand, for people whose kidneys are deficient in excreting acids, the acids in ACV and lemon juice can accumulate in the body and is bad for gout. Occasionally, I read people saying citrus fruits, tomatoes, cranberries, and pomegranate trigger their gout attack. I wonder if it is because their kidneys can't take care of the high level of acids in these fruits.

Alcohol -- It can raise the serum urate level and trigger gout attacks. It can also raise the blood pressure. Stop drinking alone does not cause gout to disappear completely.

Gym activities -- physical exhaustion can trigger gout. Avoid prolonged heavy exercise.

Water intake -- Drinking too much water can cause extra loss of electrolytes in the urine and is bad for general health and gout. Common advice is to drink about 2~3 pints of water a day, or until the color of the urine is about clear. I think drinking 4 pints a day can be too much.

Bicarbonate of soda (baking soda) -- Do not take it until you study its side effects and have a doctor's permission to take it.

Dried apricots and raisons -- Sulfite, which is bad for gout, is often used as preservative in dried fruits.

My last gout attack -- fortunately, I have been free of gout attacks for more than 5 years without taking urate lowering drugs. I credit it in most part to bicarbonate of soda.

More gout info can be found at ICuredMyGout.org .

Take care.
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bethboy

New User, Becoming EHEALTHy
Joined: 01 Jan 2008
Posts: 6
Thanks!
Posted: 01-05-08 13:18pm
Very Happy

Thanks for taking the time to reply. Must get an up to date blood pressure reading. I don't know if you are UK based but we can get this checked at superdrug-hence bypassing the doctor!

I've a feeling it will be ok....as I've noticed straight away that my 'resting' heart rate is much much lower now I don't drink often & it takes much more effort to raise it to required level!

I've only been on the ACV for 2 weeks or so...really just assuming it helps alkalise the blood when had after food. The lemon juice is only once a day....I've done a lot of research & whilst nothing is cast in stone it does seem to have some health benefits, so will probably carry on with these for a while.

The dried fruit-i may have say 40gm as a MAXIMUM daily, surely the alkalinity of these would outweigh any sulfite problem-or should i cut out all together?

Also...my porridge! Organic, whole grain, using just 50gm oats-is this daily enough to cause purine problems??

And my favourite baked beans! On all the web info seems to be not too alkaline-is a 410gm tin of these every day or so ok??

I'm 95% sure it's my heavy, regular drinking over the years that have done this! You reap what you sow!

As for the gym-nothing TOO heavy-25mins weights, 30 mins on a cross-trainer-3 times a week. Assume as said before not being overweight helps??

JYY2-your views on cleery seed tablets/vitamin c?

Will deffo take blood pressure-if ok will try baking soda as an ongoing 'maintenance' (cheaper than ACV & celery seed tablets!).

Thanks so much for your help/advice!

Don't want to really go to doc as scared of liver tests (!!!)..Well in all honesty not that scared but would guess my liver is probably a bit swloen/enlarged...hopefully new lifestyle/milk thistle will help!

Thanks again!
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