This article is the result of my personal experience on the matter and as such please understand that the old saying your mileage may vary.
Roughly one year ago I had the pleasure of experiencing my second debilitating gout attack. Although a gout attack always sucks and is always serious, this time I was really worried because unlike the first one is was beggining to look like it would affect my quality of life. This called for drastic measures and a lifestyle change, for sure.
Up until the point of the attack I think I lead a more or less normal life when it came to my eating habits. Alcohol consumption was moderate to low, I drank between 2-4 espressos a day and otherwise ate a balanced diet. Unfortunately all it took was a vacation and a small change in meat and alcohol intake along with a little dehydration for my attack to occur.
After the second attack settled down I did some research on gout. Basically, gout consists of elevated levels of uric acid in the bloodstream. Uric acid crystals are deposited on the articular cartilage of joints, tendons, and surrounding tissues. And, from Wikipedia: precipitation of uric acid is markedly enhanced when the blood pH is low (acidosis).
So there was a clue for me and what pushed me to the alkaline diet: when the blood is more acid one is more prone to a gout attack.
I took drastic measures: I dropped coffee, started eating a vegetarian diet and spent 15 days on the Master Cleanse. On day 10 of the cleanse I had regained full mobility in my left big toe; great news!
After the fast I decided that it was going to be important for me to stay alkaline to avoid any of these gout issues. On top of that one feels so good and healthy after a cleanse that you really do want to make a change and eat properly. Also, when fasting or cleansing you learn just how much you use food for things or simply abuse food in general.
As I write this I am one year on and have had no recurrence whatsoever of gout. My eating habits and generally excellent with respect to eating along the lines of the alkaline diet and when I am very strict about it – staying away from coffee, white flower and sugar – my energy levels are higher and alertness sharper.
