Since my last post, I have eliminated ultra-processed foods, sodas, juices, and all forms of sugar, from table sugar to syrup and honey. While my health is maintained, my psoriasis skin rash did not fully recover. In recent months, I even stepped up in diet control after seeing my spouse suffer from gout.
I have heard about gout long before my spouse’s first ever flare up in 2025. I didn’t know too much about gout then except that I heard it happens among people who consume beef. My husband definitely have eaten beef all throughout his life. Little did we know, at age 50, his body could no longer process beef without causing health issue namely, gout flares. Gout attacks are no joke, the big toe hurts so much that make walking impossible. Difficulty walking is such as disabling condition that affects even basic activities. It’s a reminder that we shall not take our health for granted because without health, we are unhappy and nothing really matters.
Trying to heal from gout is also challenging especially if you don’t want to take life-long medication. Allopurinol is frequently use to treat chronic gout symptoms but having prescribed for life means you cannot ever stop taking it. In my husband’s case, taking Colchicine only helps managing the inflammation of gout attacks, Colchicine does not have effect of lowering uric acid level at all. While he had gout attacks, taking 3 times a day of Colchicine over a week or two duration only manage to reduce pain in his big toe. As soon as he started eating meat, gout symptoms and pains returned. It was a humbling experience where I felt helpless because there was no good treatment to cure gout completely.
The way we have been managing his gout symptoms and flares is through specific lifestyle changes. First, cut out all the red meats from his diet. No more beef, not even pork. Also no seafoods, because even shrimp caused gout attacks. Second, he tried to lose some weight. Even though he was not over-weight before, he tried to lose weight by walking after meals and eating smaller portions. Third, increase fiber in every meal, eating vegetables first before eating carbohydrates (such as rice or noddles) and proteins (mainly chicken meats) seems to help. Vegetables like cucumber, celery, lettuce, cabbage, or any salads are helpful. Not to mention, one other most important food to avoid is fructose corn syrup.
Do you also suffer from gout? Please share your experience by commenting below. Let us know what helps treat your gout including how you manage symptoms and flare-ups.