The section called LOW PURINE DIET has a summary of the foods to avoid because of high purine content, and the first item listed is “Food Made With Baker’s or Brewer’s Yeast.”

Of course, the #1 food we eat made with Baker’s Yeast would mean BREAD. I wondered what you were basing that on so I flipped to Appendix A: Purine Content of food. Sure enough, it shows Baker’s Yeast yielding a whopping 680 mg of uric acid, as compared to a pork chop with 145 mg.

However, like so many of these listings, it’s not based on realistic portion sizes, it’s just 100 grams across the board. 100 grams is about 3.5 ounces, or roughly the equivalent of 4 Reese Peanut Butter Cups! Who would ever eat that much Baker’s Yeast?

On the other hand, checking under the Grains section of the list, 100 grams of actual BREAD (roughly 2 slices, but it will vary widely by type) is only 16 mg, as compared to an apple with 14.

Since you fail to point out this distinction, I now don’t trust any of the other summaries this book offers.

There is an additional mechanism involved in gout attacks that I don’t find mentioned anywhere, and I’ve verified this with a doctor that specializes in gout. If you go back to chemistry 101 you may remember a crystal growing demonstration your teacher did. When you saturate a liquid (water) with certain chemicals and you then stop the motion of the liquid, or reduce the temperature of the liquid the chemicals may come out of solution as a crystal. This is exactly what happens in your blood. The uric acid may exceed or hover around the maximum saturation level your blood is capable of sustaining, then typically at night when you sleep your circulation slows and is typically the poorest in your foot. Your foot may also become quite cool when you sleep. Bingo: you wake with a gout attack.

So how do I get this to stop? I increase my salt intake (not much, perhaps 1/3 teaspoon spread over a day, let it absorb into my tongue, not with food) each day during an attack and drink LOTS of water (15 8oz glasses) and take several ibprofin. I take 6 (200mg) 2 or 3 times a day. The salt causes you to retain water, which thins the blood, enough to allow the blood to be able to absorb more uric acid. In this case, assuming you are not eating a bucket of anchovies, the crystals that have formed will be reabsorbed. I also drink two or three sports drinks to keep electrolytes in balance. I end up urinating about every 30 minutes most of the day. It’s a nuisance yes, but it mitigates the attack quickly. I gain about 3 to 4 pounds of water weight when I do this, and yes, your BP may go up a little (5 – 10 pts) but it’s only temporary. So to all you gout sufferers out there, give this a try! If your doctor tells you this is nonsense then all I can say is find someone that REALLY understands ALL the mechanisms involved. When you are sitting there with your foot twice the size it should be and you can’t function, you may want to try this! A little extra salt, LOTS of water, and handful of ibprofun. I can usually stop a gout attack within 1 or 2 days.

Best of luck!

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