The REAL Cause of Gout - Hint: It Isn't Meat!

By Kim Marquardt, RN MSN

This blog post is from the Nurse Kim archives of myth busting. I want to share some "alternative" or maybe just lesser known health and wellness viewpoints for you to chew on.

*These posts are not intended as official medical advice.

They ARE meant to be fun, informative, and thought provoking, hopefully sparking an interest for you to do your own research (you can start with the links I provide!) and discover the marvels of the human body, and how it can function at its optimal performance level if we understand how it works and interacts with our environment and our diet.

I have a passion for health and wellness through lifestyle and nutrition and have done thousands of hours of research in addition to being a registered nurse for 23 years. I have done A LOT of self-experimentation in and around diet, lifestyle, body care, and supplementation and have spent a lot of time looking into the science behind it all (or lack thereof!). Check back weekly for the latest post!

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First things first: 

1. What is gout? Gout is an ailment that is comprised of increased blood uric acid levels resulting in the formation of sharp crystals that lodge in joints (typically the big toe) and cause pain. 
2. What is uric acid? Uric acid is a by-product created by the breakdown of protein compounds called purines. 

The Myth:

Meat is high in purines. So naturally, meat causes gout... right? That was good in theory, however time told the tale that putting people on low purine (low meat) diets, in fact, did not decrease blood uric acid levels and therefore did very little to prevent or ease gout flare ups. So if meat high in purines doesn't cause gout... what does? 

The Myth Busted: 

FRUCTOSE directly impacts AND INCREASES blood uric acid levels. Where do we get fructose from?  

• Most fruits, especially dried fruits and fruits canned in juice or syrup.
• Vegetables including artichokes, asparagus, broccoli, leeks, mushrooms, okra, onions, peas, red peppers, shallots and tomato products.
• Foods with wheat as the main ingredient, such as wheat bread and pasta.
• Sweeteners such as honey, agave nectar, and high-fructose corn syrup.
• Sodas and desserts sweetened with fructose.

The relationship between fructose and gout has been well documented in the scientific literature since the 1960's. But for some reason, the medical community decided to leverage gout as an "eat less meat" campaign opportunity. Not only does eating less meat not effectively lower serum uric acid levels (just as eating less cholesterol has a negligible effect on serum cholesterol levels), but a diet high in refined carbohydrates, specifically fructose, has a much greater impact on whether or not someone will suffer from gout flare ups. 

There are a couple of mechanisms at work here: 

1. Fructose accelerates the breakdown of ATP (the body's primary energy source) which is incidentally loaded with purines and therefore increases uric acid levels in the blood. 
2. The breakdown of fructose in the body also causes lactic acid production which slows the excretion of uric acid through the kidneys, again, contributing to rising blood uric acid levels.
3. Diets high in processed foods result in metabolic dysfunction and chronically elevated insulin levels (hyperinsulinemia) which directly affects and inhibits the kidneys' ability to clear uric acid. 

Plain and simple, eating a diet high in processed foods with lots of high fructose corn syrup is the absolute BEST way to guarantee yourself a gout flare up. So we again ask ourselves, why are our doctors still pushing low meat diets for the management of gout? Do they even mention fructose to their patients? Well, now you know! Go educate your doctor. 

Eat your meat, cut the processed sugar, and save your toes! Until next week!