Gout And Coffee

Now we know that gout and coffee are linked.

The scientists have told us, so it must be true.

But they haven't told us how coffee and gout are related. Nor have they told us if coffee can help once we get gout.

So sit back and relax with your cup of decaf, read what all the fuss is about, and see if coffee can really perk your gout up.

Gout And Coffee Study

You need to be aware that the study that everyone is talking about, Coffee Consumption and Risk of Incident Gout in Men: A Prospective Study from Arthritis & Rheumatism, is a statistical study. It shows that, for the group of people in the study, those that drank more coffee had a lower incidence of gout.

The authors have admitted some limitations, explaining that this study is:

Based only on professional men
Self-reporting with no medical supervision
May be not cover all important factors

Gout And Coffee

But despite the limitations, the results are stark enough to suggest a definite link. I hope more clinical trials follow, at least to prove that coffee drinking can help gout, even if we do not know why.

One explanation might be that coffee is very rich in antioxidants. There is lots of research about antioxidants, and I will report on this in the Food Facts section. One antioxidant study ranks coffee 6th highest in a list of 50 high antioxidant foods. This study is not about gout and antioxidants, but the beneficial effects of antioxidants are as likely to benefit gout sufferers as anyone else - possibly more.

Hydration

One other benefit of coffee for gout is it's water content. Though coffee is mildly diuretic, it still counts towards your daily fluid intake. I cannot overemphasize the importance of hydration.

Do not think it just has to be water. Keep drinking all day - tea, coffee, fruit juice and milk are all good fluids, and will stop you getting bored with plain water.

For more information about the importance of hydration, see my water and gout page.

Coffee Warning

I have seen many warnings about overconsumption of caffeine. However, in "Caffeine, Fluid-Electrolyte Balance, Temperature Regulation, and Exercise-Heat Tolerance", Armstrong and colleagues note that such warnings rarely cite research that supports the view. In fact their review of available evidence prompts them to the view that:

caffeinated beverages, in general, contribute to euhydration [normal state of body water content] similarly to water

If you remain unconvinced, or simply prefer decaff, it still makes sense for gout sufferers to see coffee as a friend. The gout and coffee study described above did report a lower incidence of gout in decaffeinated coffee drinkers, though the results were not as pronounced.

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Coffee and GoutPage Created: Before 2008 - Last Reviewed: 10^th February 2009