What To Eat For Gout This Holiday Season

When it comes to trying to stick to a good diet for gout, there are plenty of opportunities to eat the wrong stuff over the holidays…

What is the typical holiday meal around your house?  Is it different for Thanksgiving, Christmas, and New Year’s?

I bet it looks a lot like this:

• Roast Turkey
• Mashed Potatoes and Giblet Gravy
• Sweet Potatoes
• Asparagus
• Green Beans
• Roasted Brussels Sprouts
• Cornbread dressing
• Cranberry Sauce
• Buttermilk Biscuits
• Oyster Stew
• Baked Carrots
• Pickles
• Green Olives
• Celery
• Fruit Salad
• Mincemeat Pie

Wow, is it ever EASY to get off track and trigger a gout attack by eating too many of the WRONG foods over the holidays.  You’ve probably experienced a post-holiday “gout hangover” already, right?  Been there before?  

Well this holiday season, instead of being REACTIVE, why not join me in being PROACTIVE!  

Let’s think about what your body actually needs to be gout-free.

And say…

• NO to eating for fun.
• NO to eating to please relatives.
• NO to eating to avoid hurting feelings.
• NO to eating out of boredom.
• NO to eating because it’s there.

Prioritize your health… and happiness.

I talk a lot about what to eat for gout in my eBook called, wait for it, “What To Eat For Gout.”   (Ha ha, original title, I know.)

So if you’re really feeling like you’re in the dark about what foods are GOOD for killing your gout, then I invite you to start there.

It covers, in detail, topics like the importance of macronutrients vs. micronutrients … which I’m going to give you an introduction to here:

The Macro-nutrient Your Body Struggles With:  Protein

Did you know … our bodies are slowly using their ability to process the macro-nutrient, “protein”?

Yup, this is one of the reasons our bodies produce too much uric acid… which triggers gout attacks attacks.

And then, further snowballs into our kidney’s having trouble regulating how much uric acid is in our blood.   While some uric acid is protective (with antioxidant properties), too much is a real problem.

But other macro-nutrients you need to pay attention to are:

#1 – Carbohydrates

#2 – Proteins

#3 – Fats

And SURPRISE, #4 is WATER!

Fighting Gout The Easy Way, With WATER!

So that is the first trick to staying gout-free this holiday season is:  GO CRAZY drinking water! People always freak out that they are going to have to pee too much… get over it!  Drinking lots of water is one of the easiest ways to lower your blood uric acid!

Another easy trick:  eat foots that contain a lot of water!  Like juicy oranges and peaches, or vegetables like celery, cucumbers, and cabbage.

As holiday parties approach, think ahead, and hydrate ahead of time.  And be sure to CONTINUE drinking lots of water throughout these events.  It will help!

Surprise, Hidden Sugar In Carbs Is Working AGAINST YOU!

Carbs can be problematic for gout anytime, holidays included.

The problem is carbohydrates can spike your insulin and make it harder for your kidneys to excrete the excess uric acid.

Plus, carbs = sugar.  Sorry, but it’s true.  Those potatoes are converting to SUGAR when you eat them.  Which is why we crave those high carb foods like potatoes and bread.  Because sugar is the most addictive substance on the planet.

And again, all this sugar makes it harder for your kidneys to keep your uric acid at a healthy level.

Too much uric acid results in an acidic environment… and this triggers gout attacks.

Yes, the right carbohydrates CAN be healthy.  They are a quick source of energy for our muscles and our brain, they add fiber for good elimination, they help metabolize fats and proteins, and much more.  The real problem is understanding what carbs are HEALTHY!

Certainly NOT grain-based junky fast and processed foods like breads and cereals. (Or pastries, cookies, crackers, pasta, etc)

You need to be getting them from nutrient dense, whole food sources like:

• Dark, leafy green vegetables
• Cruciferous vegetables like broccoli and cauliflower,
• Squashes like zucchini and yellow squash
• Root vegetables like parsnips, turnips, and sweet potatoes

These foods are EASY to choose at family meals over the holidays.

Eat those instead of the cakes, pies, cookies, and baked breads.

Understanding Purines When You Decide What Protein To Eat

The next macro-nutrient that is tricky for gout people during the holidays… and any other time as well… is proteins.

Our dietary proteins come from:

#1 – Animal products, and

#2 – Beans or legumes. 

Some meats are more problematic than others because they are richer in their purines (which metabolize into uric acid).

For example, turkey isn’t as difficult for our body to digest as beef. 

But it’s HIGHER in purines!  (Surprise!)

If you have gout, your body has trouble breaking down, absorbing, and using protein…   Of course, you can retrain your body to better handle these proteins (which is what my programs are all about!) but over the holidays, avoid going overboard eating big, protein-rich meals.

Approach all those big, juicy, tempting cuts of turkey, brisket, lobster, salmon, etc, with caution.

As well as bean dishes like pinto beans, black beans, black-eyed peas, etc.

And again, be sure you’re drinking lots of water during these meals, to support your kidneys as they handle the excess uric acid.

Healthy Fats You SHOULD Be Eating!

The last and most important completely overlooked macro-nutrient is FATS!

Fats…the good healthy ones, are essential to managing the condition of gout.  Some people totally misunderstand The Keto Diet and think it’s all about eating lots of meat.  It’s not– it’s about eating a lot of fats!  Like 80% of what is going in your mouth should be fats; a balance of saturated fats, monounsaturated fats, and poly-unsaturated fats.

This is where holiday eating becomes more difficult… as well as any other time of year.

But this is the helpful part – a gram of good healthy fat has 9 calories, compared to 4 calories in one gram of protein or carbs.  So you don’t have to eat as much!

• Fats help slow down the absorption of carbohydrates
• Fats are essential for building hormones
• Fats help control inflammation
• And fats are the “slow burning logs” on the fire of long-lasting, all-day energy.

Healthy fats to embrace over the holidays include:

• Butter from pasture fed cows
• Olives and olive oil
• Avocados
• Nuts and seeds
• Nut butters like almond butter and cashew butter
• Coconut oil for frying + snacks
• Heavy whipping cream
• Full-fat Geek yogurt
• High quality cheeses
• Fatty fishes like Alaskan salmon, sardines, and tuna
• Free-range chicken eggs 
• Just to name a few!

Fats aren’t the devil.  Choosing the RIGHT kind of fats… HIGH QUALITY fats, that’s what matters.

Before You Sit Down To Eat…

So that’s an introduction to macronutrients and choosing healthier foods that are less likely to trigger gout attacks over the holiday season.

If you’d like to learn more … including more about MICRO-nutrients (not covered here)…  and how you can use micro-nutrients to stay gout-free, too, I highly recommend reading my #1 rated guidebook:  What To Eat For Gout.

It’s a no-fluff, no BS guide to eating that won’t waste your time with filler content.   It gets straight down to the knitty gritty of the SAME eating program I use year-round to keep myself feeling fantastic and gout-free, so I have the energy I want to ski, downhill mountain bike, hike with my wife Sharon, play with my nieces and nephews, work a physically demanding job 9-5, 7 days a week, and so much more.

Controlling your gout starts with what you’re putting in your body.

Be sure you know what you’re doing when choose, for example, to eat a steak versus a bowl of turkey chili.

☆ And happy eating this holiday season!