Research and general acceptance
There is general acceptance among health care
professionals of the low-purine diet for people with
gout or those who have a family history of the disease.
Diets that are high in purines and high in proteins
had long been thought to cause an increased risk of
gout. For that reason, a gout diet was more about
what foods to avoid rather than what foods to eat.
However, in the March 11, 2004 issue ofThe New
England Journal of Medicine,gout researcher Hyon
Choi reported on the results of a 12-year study of
nearly 50,000 men comparing those who got gout
with those who didn’t. It confirmed conventional med-
ical opinion that eating meat, especially red meat,
significantly increased the risk of gout and that
eating seafood carried the greatest risk for getting
gout. However, the study disproved previously held
assumptions that gout was also associated with eating
vegetables high in purines, such as asparagus, having a
highbody mass index, or eating high-protein foods.
The study also found that consuming beer poses a
greater risk for gout that drinking wine or other
types of alcohol.
A 2004 study by the Arthritis Foundation con-
cluded that drinking alcohol and eating any food high
in purines increases the risk of repeat gout attack. The
study was conducted by Dr. Yuqing Zhand, professor
of medicine and public health at Boston University
School of Medicine and was reported at the American
College of Rheumatology Annual Scientific Meeting
on Oct. 17, 2004 in San Antonio.
Statistics show that African American men have
twice the risk of getting gout compared to Caucasian
men, according to the Arthritis Foundation.Resources
BOOKS
Boers, Maarten, et al.Evidence-Based Rheumatology
Oxford, United Kingdom: Blackwell Publishing Limited,
2005.
Craggs-Hinton, Christine.Coping With Gout: Overcoming
Common ProblemsLondon: Sheldon Press, 2004.
Emmerson, Bryan.Getting Rid of GoutNew York: Oxford
University Press, USA, 2003.
Grahame, Rodney, et al.Gout: The At Your Fingertips Guide
London: Class Publishing, 2003.
Schneiter, Jodi.Gout Hater’s Cookbook IPalm Coast, FL:
Reachment Publications, 2004.
Schneiter, Jodi.Gout Hater’s Cookbook IIIPalm Coast, FL:
Reachment Publications, 2003.
The 2002 Official Patient’s Sourcebook On Gout: A Revised
and Updated Directory for the Internet AgeSan Diego:
Icon Health Publications, 2002.PERIODICALS
Environmental Nutrition. ‘‘ Meds Offer Main Gout Relief,
But Diet Plays Role’’Environmental Nutrition(July
2001): 7.
Environmental Nutrition. ‘‘International Study Backs Diet
For Treating Gout’’Environmental Nutrition(August
2006): 3.
Choi, Hyon, et al. ‘‘Meat, Seafood, and Little Dairy Are
Risk Factors For Gout’’Journal of the American
Academy of Physicians Assistants(July 2004): 40.
Krishnan, Eswar. ‘‘Gout and the Risk Of Acute Myocardial
Infarction’’Arthritis & Rheumatism(July 26, 2006):
2688–2696.
Moon, Mary Ann. ‘‘It’s Confirmed: Meat and Seafood
Raise Risk of Gout, Dairy Foods Lower It’’Internal
Medicine News(June 1, 2004): 18.
Snaith, Michael L. ‘‘Gout: Diet and Uric Acid Revisited’’The
Lancet(August 18, 2001): 525.
ORGANIZATIONS
American College of Rheumatology. 1800 Century Place,
Suite 250, Atlanta, GA 30345-4300. Telephone: (404)
633-3777. Website: http://www.rheumatology.org.
American Dietetic Association. 120 South Riverside Plaza,
Suite 2000, Chicago, IL 60606-6995. Telephone: (800)
877-1600. Website: http://www.eatright.org.
Arthritis Foundation. P.O. Box 7669, Atlanta, GA 30357-- Telephone: (800) 568-4045. Website: http://
http://www.arthritis.org.
National Institute of Arthritis and Musculoskeletal and Skin
Diseases, National Institutes of Health, Building 31,
Room 4C02, 31 Center Drive, MSC 2350, Bethesda,
MD 20892-2350. Telephone: (301) 496-8190. Website:
http://www.niams.nih.gov.
The Arthritis Society. 393 University Ave., Suite 1700, Tor-
onto, ON M5G 1E6, Canada. Telephone: (416) 979- - Website: http://www.arthritis.ca.
Ken R. WellsGrapefruit diet
Definition
There are several diets or approaches to dieting
that have been referred to as the ‘‘grapefruit diet.’’ The
first two arefad dietsthat have been circulating via
chain letters, photocopies, faxes, and e-mail since the
1930s. The third form might be better described as the
regular use of grapefruit or grapefruit juice as part of a
general approach to weight reduction. It received con-
siderable attention following the 2004 publication of a
study conducted at the Scripps Clinic in California.Grapefruit diet