quote:Originally posted by Sonny Funzio
Sardines are *WONDERFUL*.
But along with a lengthy list of other foods I am supposed to avoid ... I have to pick my battles ... I have GOUT.
No sardines; no anchovies (my *absolute favorite* - that really kills me - I LOVE anchovies); no organ meats like pate or chopped liver (my favorite sandwich is a pastrami and chopped liver) ... Beefsteak and Kidney pie? fuggedaboudit; no turkey (my favorite white meat); nothing made with any meat reductions so no gravy, no stews ... no mussels (my favorite at the Belgian restaurant in Detroit); no smelt (something I make every year when they are running); nothing with yeast; no salmon, veal, bacon, scallops, trout ... believe me this list goes on and on ... and I haven't even gotten to the vegetables.
OH, and absolutely positively NO ALCOHOL WHATSOEVER ... *especially* no alcohol.
This, along with my doctors admonitions to lay off the cigars (thank God they keep; I have over $400 worth of cigars) ... what's left?
It's like I must have been a very, very horrible person in a previous life or something ... crossed the Alps on elephants and razing whole villages.
Only through ardent prayer and the purchase of indulgences from the Bishop have I been able to get my gout into remission (and without medication for the time being).
During this reprieve I have been able to carefully indulge in those prohibited foods ... but I know ... I'm always eating on borrowed time.
Dude, tell your doctor to go scr*w himself. For reasons unknown to me, but proved by my experience, 99% of "mainstream" physicians don't know SH*T about nutrition. I could talk to you for hours about the advice given to family and friends for the almost 50 years I've been on this planet. It's not that the doctors aren't well-meaning, they just don't know sh*t from Shinola about how foods affect your body.
I've had bouts of gout over the last 15 years of my life. All my uncles have suffered from it; most likely because we're all a bunch of drunks. So, I'm not speaking from ignorance.
The best thing you can do is drink LOTS of water. Gout is really nothing more than an excessive amount of uric acid in your body. It tends to gather in the joints and crystallize. That accounts for the extreme pain (and IT IS an extreme pain).
Anti-inflammatory drugs help. Motrin works best for me, but your doctor could prescribe a stronger drug.
Your diet can definitely affect this, but you should NOT stay away from sardines. Sardines are an EXCELLENT food. And frankly, any person, doctor or not, who tells you to stay away from salmon is a moron. I once went to a nutritionist at the advice of a doctor many years ago. She said I should not eat salmon because it had too much fat.
The majority of the nutrition advice in the "mainstream" is
total BS. Do your own research. Instead of staying away from any certain food, stay away from
processed foods as much as you can. Don't buy farm-raised fish, buy wild-caught. Buy locally-raised fruits and veggies and much as you can. Ditto for chicken and beef if you can get them raised locally.
If you want a meat to stay away from, it's pork. Any pork product.
Tell your doctor to contact me if he takes offense at my advice.