Gout and Sugar Soft Drinks

Here is a tidbit I've just come across (in Parade magazine--don't laugh, I come across a fair number of interesting factoids from this Sunday publication).

Men who drink at least two soft drinks sweetened with sugar per day have an 85 percent risk of developing gout. The British Medical Journal states that the fructose in many of these types of drinks raises blood uric acid levels.

I actually know someone with gout, my father-in-law. Typically, gout affects the toes, especially the big toe. However, my wife's father has severe gouty arthritis in his fingers, so bad, in fact, that he has had to have replacement knuckle joints in two fingers. This has resulted in two of his fingers being fused into a permanent position. Gout runs in his family pretty badly and he now avoids protein rich foods for fear of his own condition worsening.

Tip: if you have gout, or have a family history of gout, avoid excessive levels of protein in your diet along with red meat consumption, yeast, oily fish (to get the health benefits of eating fish, you may wish to try fish oil supplements), and, of course, sugar soft drinks.