About a month ago, the knuckle on my big right toe began to hurt. Since I run every day, I assumed it was just my body telling me to take a day or two off from running. Which is exactly what I did.
But the pain continued.
For the next two weeks, I ran while in pain. When I was done running, the pain increased and I found myself limping through my day. I decided to lay off the running for a while and jumped on my StairMaster, in order to eliminate the impact on my foot, with the hope the toe would get better.
It didn’t. In fact, it got worse.
Then a few days ago, my brain told me, “buy cranberry juice.”
I always pay attention to my inner voice because I know, from my many years of studying the brain, that, behind the scenes, the subconscious is constantly at work and, through intuition, guides you in solving your problems.
So, I went out at lunch and bought a bottle of cranberry juice. When I got home I drank a glass along with my dinner. Later that night, my inner voice said, “drink more cranberry juice.” So, I did.
In fact, over the next three days, I drank all of the cranberry juice. When I woke up on the fourth day, the pain in my toe was almost completely gone.
“Why?” I asked myself.
I Googled “what causes pain in the big toe?” and Google returned a number of items, one of which was gout.
“Gout!” I exclaimed out loud to my inner self.
At age 57, I had my first mild bout with gout.
Interestingly, cranberry juice is one of the things that is very effective in reducing the uric acid that builds up in the joints of the feet, causing the condition known as gout.
“The subconscious is all powerful”, I thought to myself.
Well, I’ve since been completely absorbed in understanding everything there is to know about gout and found out that your eating and drinking habits are to blame.
It dawned on me that since Thanksgiving and through the Christmas holidays, I’d been eating food I normally don’t eat. Namely, steak. I also drank more beer and wine during the holidays, than I normally drink.
At age 57, my rain barrel had overflowed. And from that overflow, gout resulted.
So, I thought this was a good teachable moment and decided to share what I’ve learned about this painful annoyance, in the hopes it might spare some of my readers from the pain of gout.
What Food/Drinks Cause Gout?
- Red meat
- Organ meats
- Seafood
- Alcohol, particularly beer
- Sugar-sweetened beverages
What Foods/Drinks Reverse or Prevent Gout?
- Cheery juice
- Cranberry juice
- Fruits, in general
- Vegetables
- Legumes (i.e. peanuts)
- Nuts
- Whole grains
- Eggs
- Coffee/Tea
- Herbs/Spices
- Vitamin C supplements
Cranberry and cherry juice, I learned, are very effective in eliminating the uric acid build up in the joints of the feet.
At lunch, I went out and bought more cranberry juice and a bottle of tart cherry juice. I will now make drinking both juices a daily habit.
Your habits create the circumstances of your life. And, bad Gout Habits, I learned, create gout.
About Thomas C. Corley
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