Oh I have no idea about Gout, sorry 🙁 I hope someone with experience can give you some advice.

There seems to be a lot of health improvement on the 5:2 in different areas though. It can’t help to try, right? Maybe you’ll become the spokesperson for 5:2 and Gout 😉

OK I have had gout attacks and took drugs for some years UNTIL I started 5:2 in February 2013 and my blood tests were so good in May the Dr decided I could try without the drugs and I haven’t had an attack since. I do carry antiinflamitories in case when I travel and make sure I do drink plenty of water particularly if I drink? Once or twice I’ve had that feeling in my big toe joint and went and drank lots of water and rubbed anti inflammatory cream into the joint and I was fine. I’d talk to your Dr before you try anything though.

StevieJ
I take what you say and as I realized the danger of a gout attack with fasting I took my doctor’ s advice and drank lots of water!!!
As my doctor told me gout was a form of arthritis I kept some anti inflammatory pills handy and if I felt my big toe joint feeling tender I rubbed it with poke root ointment an old fashioned gout and arthritis remedy a chemist made up for me and here I am 6 months after stopping Allopruninol and haven’t had an attack but I’m prepared with tablets in my bag if I do. I’m not saying this approach is for everyone and I’ve followed my doctor’s advice to the letter.

Hi Stevie – as GP I would agree with Beavergong’s sensible suggestion about the value of drinking plenty of water of fast days. As the gout is set off by the precipitation of uric acid dissolved in the blood into crystals in joints, it would make sense that remaining well hydrated should reduce the chance of a flare up.
Research on increasing fluids seems to support this http://www.arthritistoday.org/news/drink-water-gout-attack008.php

I guess it worth remembering one of the basic rule of fasting that when reducing food intake remember to keep up adequate fluid levels by drinking plenty of water…
I hope this helps as gout can be excruciatingly painful

StevieJ
I’m not sure if this helps but I looked up my Uric Acid from my blood test after 3 months on 5:2 and it was.36 .It is recommended it be between .15 and .4 in Australia. So my doctor was happy with that and I stopped taking Allopruninol and haven’t had a gout attack since.

Stevie J
Just rechecked the units for Uric acid on my blood test. it says mmol/L . I live in Australia.

Hi All,

There’s some further information within the booklet in following link:

http://www.ukgoutsociety.org/PDFs/2009FinalGoutBooklet.pdf

The dietary measures section of the booklet makes interesting reading-warning of the possible pitfalls of fasting for Gout sufferers.

Personally, I’ve just experienced an attack of gout after a couple of weeks on the 5:2. This may have been due to my shift to a lower GI (but Purine richer) foods, and inadequate hydration.

It’s kind of ironic that weight is a factor which influences gout, and in an effort to reduce mine by adopting a 5:2 regime, I end up with a sore big toe.

CG

My diet, it would seem, needs further tweaking.

Hi all, I am a 59 yo Australian that suffers from gout and high bloody pressure, I take medication for both daily. I am a little overweight and do very little exercise. BUT I am about to start the 5.2 diet with an exercise program. I will keep you all posted with the progress and medical issues if any. Thanks for all the info thus far.

I began suffering from gout about 7 years ago — on a 3000 mile bicycle trip. Didn’t know what it was but couldn’t proceed for 2 weeks. I have since learned hard exercise, dehydration and the high carb & sugar intake loved by cyclists all can precipitate gout in susceptible persons (especially the heavier set cyclists who exercise primarily to control weight.) Uric acid was indeed elevated. Thereafter I got bouts a couple times a year. A fellow cyclist (I later learned) developed the same problem to the extent his bouts became almost continuous. He had to take time off work.

Then three years ago I went on a temporary very low carb diet, which, after extensive reading, I decided to make permanent. As referenced in a post above, author Gary Taubes warns that starting such a diet can indeed launch an attack but the danger soon subsides. Likewise Volek and Phinney (“Art and Science of Low Carbohydrate Living”) stress that low carb eating is not a danger in and of itself but going on and off it repeatedly is. Luckily as my BMI approached 25 my gout ceased and never returned. My Uric acid dropped to normal (a 33% fall.)

Further reading in Taubes’ writings revealed that fructose consumption (not so much purines by themselves) was pegged as a likely precipitator of gout in susceptible people and reduction of fructose was an effective treatment. But then along came allopurinol and research was dropped — it was effective and didn’t require a change in diet, so why bother worrying about fructose?

I passed this information to my suffering friend. He had been struggling on a low purine diet — no beer or wine, no meats or cheese, etc but his Uric acid scarcely changed. He switched to a paleo diet, got to BMI 24, no longer had any gout symptoms, and dropped his prescription of allopurinol. He hasn’t had an attack since (2+ years.)

Now when I fast hard (water only, 36 hours to three days) I have noticed twinges in my left toe (which was permanently damaged) but very minor, and possibly because of dehydration. But no attacks. I find fasting pretty easy but I’m convinced that’s because I don’t eat carbs and am adapted to subsisting on fat (that is, ketosis.) So, for me, at least, gout is no longer a problem fasting or not. Whether that would be true of a sufferer who eats 600 calories of carbs on their semi-fast days, or consumes a deep dish pizza after going off a fast, I cannot say.

Hello all,

First post. Had gout this week and instead of taking medication I tried something new (for me) and yet old (been around for a long time).
LEMONS – the fresh juice in a glass of warm water and the gout disappeared in 24 hours. Here are some of the benefits of fresh lemon juice in warm water.

• It balances maintain the pH levels in the body
• Having warm lemon juice early in the morning helps flush out toxins
• It aids digestion and encourages the production of bile
• It is also a great source citric acid, potassium, calcium, phosphorus and magnesium
• It helps prevent the growth and multiplication of pathogenic bacteria that cause infections and diseases
• It helps reducing pain and inflammation in joints and knees as it dissolves uric acid (source of gout as I understand it)

Hope this helps

Hi all, I’ve been meaning to share this online for a while but never did so I guess I found the right place 🙂

So I’ve been a Gout sufferer for the past 10 years and I’m only 34 now. I’ve had it everywhere and have done treatment with Alopurinol which I believe I didn’t have any Gout after a couple of months of treatment but then had it all again, tried reducing purines in food and very sadly beer is what triggers it for me, so I tend to drink cider and I drink a lot less than what I used too. I heard about the cohicchine but never tried and the Cherry juice is something I just learned so will definitely do it loads. Also done the Lemon juice but I end up forgetting about it. Also learned today about Turpentine and Paleo diet, nice!

So this was a bit of my background, now the good news is, I did the 5:2 diet for a year and I could even drink beer like never before and Gout was something from the past!
Due to my lifestyle nowadays (basically I have a Mon-Fri job lol ) I cannot manage to do it again but in the future I plan to do it again mainly for my Gout but also for many other health benefits.

So that’s the share!
Leo

If you truly have gout it is usually brought on by high levels of uric acid. Your kidneys may be under stress or in poor condition. Foods that increase uric acid are meat, fish, alcohol. Also sugar and in particular the fructose component of sugar. Reduce your sweet fruit consumption.

See a doctor and have some bloods taken to see if your uric acid levels are too high. Could be plantar fasciitis. Take some anti inflammatory medication. Once again see a doctor.

Your results are very interesting and encouraging.

Re you foot, it sounds like it could be plantar fasciitis and not Gout.

Might also be s plantar wart.

@rednash I am your age and started suffering gout years ago but didn’t realise it, just painful ball of foot and occasionally in hands, which I put down to overuse injuries from training or typing.

A few points made by different GPs I’ve seen (here in Western Australia) which contradict some advice above:

1) Uric acid levels are extremely hard to detect as they can vary significantly – by the time it hurts, the acid is deposited out as crystals so it is possible to have gout but still score normal on blood levels.

2) Gout is not necessarily due to being obese or having other health problems. I’ve suffered gout at times when I’m athletically lean. My resting pulse is often below 50 and my blood pressure at the low end of normal. I cycle, lift weights and practice kung fu to an average of 1.5 hours a day. Sometimes it’s just the generic lottery.

3) Going off allopurinol because you haven’t had a gout attack recently may not be a great idea – one GP pointed out that kidney damage occurs at lower levels of “high” uric acid than enough to deposit out crystals.

I realise points 1 and 3 sound contradictory but if your uric acid levels go up and down, you can have damaging high levels and still struggle to pick them up on a blood test, unless you have a LOT of tests.

With regards to exercise and dehydration, the worst attack I ever had was on returning from holidays in Malaysia – I had been exercising quite a lot over there but drinking massive quantities of water due to the humidity. I returned to Perth and went back to my usual bad habits of drinking black coffee and not enough water and missed a lot of sleep catching up on work. After my first long bike ride here, about 30km, I was in agony.

Interesting topic this one!
I recently suffered bad pain in an ankle in late November until recently, which left me limping and in pain for a number of weeks. I thought it was damage from the walking I do as I try and get out for a 4-5 mile round trip every day.
The Doctor I visited was in three minds, gout, arthritis or tendonitus. A blood test a couple of months previously at the beginning of October, revealed I was at the higher end of ‘normal’ for uric acid.
The ankle was swollen, but no redness, just a lot of pain, especially at night, both around the ankle area, top of my foot down to my toes and the heel.
I have been on 5:2 on and off for about 5 years now, and have never had any problems before this.
I have upped my water intake enormously, especially on fast days, watching what I eat a bit more than usual, and keeping alcohol to weekends (interestingly, before the ‘attack’ and on 5:2, I didn’t drink alcohol for 2 months August to end of September as a blood test revealed I had highish cholesterol and a high uric acid level). Wake up call to get fitter !
So far so good, but if the ‘attack’ happens again, I may have to have meds for uric acid if the uric acid levels are high on my next test.
I eat well, no junk food, cook from scratch etc but admit that my alcohol intake varies, and sometimes I am OTT depending on whats happening socially. I only drink wine, never beer, and the occasional g&t. I am also taking B complex and folic acid. I drink lemon juice in warm water every morning. I am currently 4-5 lbs over my ideal weight maximum, but I am in healthy range with my BMI so not too worried. At nearly 60, I don’t like my face looking too thin, which is tends to do if I loose much more weight.
I will re-post any info/experience I may gleen, but am continuing on 5:2 in the meantime and hoping that whatever caused the condition, does not return.

I know this is a old and long chain but here are my two cents.

-I have had gout for a decade.
-Started taking Allopurinol a year ago.
-Started a fasting diet (6:1, 5:2) for a month.
-I have a uric acid monitor and was monitoring my levels.

I wanted to lose weight and the health benefits of fasting were very interesting. Dr. Fung (has a book on fasting and a ton of youtube vids) was the only doctor talking about gout and fasting. He said fasting definitely ups you risk of gout, so I monitored it through my experiment.

My starting uric levels with Allopurinol was in the 5’s (always tested in the morning). 4 weeks into the fasting diet my levels have stabilized in the 7’s. This is empirical evidence for my body and if I see levels increasing I will consider increasing my Allopurinol or stop the fasting. I would get attacks when I was greater than 8UA so I am somewhat concerned.

My recommendation would not to do a fasting diet without Allopurinol and a uric acid monitor.

Cheers, I hope this helps someone.

I forgot to reply to my original post on did I get gout from fasting.. It turned out to be a Bursa in the back of my heel caused by old work boots and at the time carry heavy bags inflamed the bursa. I needed steriods to stop the body attacking the bursa and let it settle back down .. I never had gout and I am still doing the fasting with good results.. with excerise I have lost 13kgs in 9 months.. I find the fasting quite easy and don’t do the 600 cal. Just go without but I only do the fasting 4 times a month..