Gout Diet

Many people can manage their gout diet by following a few tips or a simple points system. Other people prefer detailed planning and this can be particularly useful where other conditions such as obesity or diabetes exist alongside gout. Indeed, given the different way foods can interact, and the way individuals react differently to food combinations, a food diary may be the only way to identify your high risk foods.

The main purpose of keeping a food diary is to compare gout attacks to food consumption. This can often take months of record keeping and several gout attacks before a pattern emerges, but eventually you will be able to identify those foods that are a problem, so that you can take action to limit or avoid them. This process can be shortened considerably if you heed the advice on this website, particularly tips for gout diet.

Your food diary does not have to be particularly sophisticated. A plain diary, sheets of paper, a computer diary program or spreadsheet are all possibilities. You should select something that is easy for you to access because it is important to maintain daily records. It is also useful to adopt some simple method of recording gout attacks. GoutPal suggests you assign a severity code - G0 for no gout (though you could just leave a blank entry), G1 for tingling / 'pins and needles' through to G5 for severe painful swelling. There is no definite method here - just use something meaningful to yourself.

GoutPal is developing an online food diary system, planned for launch in 2006. If you want to be involved in this project prior to the launch, either by suggesting features, or acting as a tester, please tell me using the feedback form.