This is the first of an article series about this diet. See the bottom of this article for how to read the second article.

Natural gout treatment largely involves diet. The most widely touted gout diet for sufferers of "the disease of kings," is the low purine gout diet. The cause of gout theory behind it is that because uric acid is made from purines, and because uric acid is the gout culprit, purine intake from foods and beverages should be restricted.

But some studies have found that a low purine gout diet has no effect on uric acid levels. Most likely one reason is because most uric acid in the body is made in the liver from purine molecules of DNA and RNA, and not from the purines in foods and beverages. Another reason may be that the problem for a gout sufferer is not that he/she is producing too much uric acid but that he/she is not excreting enough.

There is another cause of gout theory, which is that excess uric acid (hyperuricemia) is the result of insulin resistance, the pre type 2 diabetes condition. Insulin resistance in gout has been the subject of many studies. Simply put, insulin resistance is the condition where the cells become more resistant to allowing insulin to deliver glucose (mainly broken down from carbohydrate in foods) to them, for the purpose of energy creation. It's as if the jailer refuses to open the door of the cell. It's one of the causes of excess insulin. Excess insulin has been found in a number of studies to inhibit uric acid excretion as well as causing other problems.

To examine whether a diet could affect the markers that show insulin resistance exists, and lower uric acid levels, researchers in South Africa put 13 males, all gout sufferers, on a diet governed by three cardinal rules of the Zone diet, the well-known diet book written in the1990's by Barry Sears PhD.

RULES

Calories were restricted to 1,600 a day: 40% from carbohydrates, 30% from protein and 30% from mono and poly unsaturated fats.

Refined carbohydrate foods were swapped for complex carbohydrate foods. i.e. they ate complex carbohydrates, not refined carbohydrates. Complex carbohydrates can be found in foods made from whole grains, (eg. whole grain flours and products made from them), and in many vegetables, low sugar fruits and beans.

Refined and simple carbohydrates are found in foods made from refined grains (for example refined flours which are the basis for pasta, breads, cakes, biscuits (cookies) pies, pastries); white rice; and most cereals. And notably from sugars with the exception of fruit sugar,(fructose) and galactose. Simple carbohydrates include corn and other syrups, table sugar and honey; candies (sweets); processed foods with added sugar; and some fruits and vegetables.

Complex carbohydrates are lower on the Glycemic Index (GI) scale than refined carbohydrates because they have a slower effect on blood glucose, and so the response of insulin to blood glucose is slower and more moderate. Insulin is much more responsive to refined and simple carbohydrates.

There isn't space in this article to explain more about the difference between complex and refined carbohydrates. If you're not sure, the subject is easily researched on the Internet. For example, do an Internet search for "Glycemic Index," or "Glycemic Load."

Fats Saturated fats, which are among the fats found in meat fat, dairy products, beef tallow (beef dripping) and lard, were swapped for monounsaturated fats (e.g. olive oil, canola oil) and polyunsaturated fats, (oils such as corn, sunflower and soybean oils). However, in the study, participants took polyunsaturated fats from fish. They were advised to eat fish at least four times a week during the study, even fish that are high purine such as mackerel.

Meat and Alcohol They also ate meat, no doubt lean meat since mono and polyunsaturated fats were encouraged. (Meat does contain both these fats, as well as saturated fats). Participants' alcohol consumption was moderate, there were no alcohol rules, and it remained the same as usual.

So in this diet there was moderate restriction of calories and carbohydrate, and control over proportional consumption of carbohydrate, protein and of fats. In the Zone diet the number of calories you get from food should be in the proportions of: from carbohydrates (40%), from protein (30%) and from fat (30%). This is one of the principles at the core of the diet. These proportions, or numbers close to them (getting more or less there is allowed) should be eaten at every meal and snack too. In the study, participants were asked to keep to these proportions at each meal, and they were encouraged to eat 3 to 5 meals and snacks daily, another Zone diet rule.

Anyone going on the Zone diet will have their personal daily carbohydrate, protein, and fat requirement. How to discover it is explained in Barry Sears' "Enter the Zone" book. The amount of protein you can eat determines the amounts of carbohydrates and unsaturated fats, in the 4:3:3 proportions, you can eat. Why the 4:3:3 rule is important is also explained in the book. If you know about soccer, you can think of the 4:3:3 rule as the commonly used soccer team formation. Or, another way of putting it, is to say that calories from protein are 0.75 (75%) of calories from carbohydrate and calories from fat are in the same proportion as calories from protein. Getting almost to 4:3:3 is allowed.

NB. The contents of this article contain medical information not medical advice. Please always discuss remedies with your doctor or other health care professional before implementing any treatment.

Now please visit the second article: Natural Gout Treatment – The Results Of A Gout Diet That Had A Lot Of Success