Diet, and Eating Well

Hi @Pisces56 . I got some good information from the gout society website (www.ukgoutsociety.org), which I believe is more up to date than the information often provided by GPs. I would highly recommend looking at their Diet Factsheet.
They list beef, lamb, chicken and pork under the “eat in moderation” section. So I use all of those and usually avoid anything on their high purine (avoid) list - most of that is food I don’t eat anyway.
I do generally have a low purine lunch and at least one dinner a week that is a veggie, low purine, meal.
I have tried out various meat alternatives, but they are usually require a lot more flavouring to be added for a good result. And of course Quorn is mycoprotein and comes under the same moderate purine foods category as the meats already mentioned.
I have found it a bit of a minefield as adding things like gravy for flavour then ups the purine level too.
The Linda McCartney foods are the best I’ve found for flavour so far, my favourite being the Hoi Sin veggie “Duck”, which I can’t tell that it isn’t duck.
I am on Febuxostat for gout as the other commonly used medication interferes with my immune suppression (Ciclosporin). Since being on this I have had only one time when one of my big toe was sore for a day.
Hopefully some of the above may be of use.

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Hi @Nickmarks57 A million thanks for this information. I shall be having a look at the website later! I have managed to cut out gravy in all but things like the occasional cottage pie. When I was originally looking around for information I just found it so depressing that so much tasty food seemed to be out of bounds…and I do enjoy going to a nice restaurant too! Hopefully this will lead the way.

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Hi @Pisces56 You’re very welcome. The information that is generally available is variable and often contradictory, so it is very difficult to know what to trust.
When I was first diagnosed with gout I did a “knee jerk” reaction and tried o cut out as much as i could, then decided to look into it in more detail and calmed down a bit.
I did the same when I was diagnosed with steroid induced type 2 diabetes, cut out almost all sugar, but then my levels all got better and I was able to eat some chocolate and biscuits.
It is a bit depressing because everyone talks about quality of life, and not being able to eat the things you like affect that.
I’m still on the hunt for new dishes, one of my nieces is a vegan so whenever I speak to her I try to get new tips on things to try.

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Pineapple was the greatest find during my treatment for Hodgkin’s lymphoma,used to carry either a tin or some chopped up fresh pineapple in Tupperware wherever I went.It was great for helping to sooth the endless sore and dry mouth I used to get.
Funny thing is that since my treatment ended 16 months ago I haven’t touched the stuff

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Hi James, Pineapple sounds great to me. First I read your post incorrectly and imagined you taking a tin of pineapple and a can opener in your pocket when you went out! Tinned custard and ice cream are my medicine. Please keep posting especially about your diagnosis and treatment, I have found in different situations we all have the same thoughts and feelings.

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Hello @James,

Thank you for sharing your experience about a personal favourite snack, while being treated for Hodgkin lymphoma. It sounds like pineapple was an excellent choice for you since it helped soothes the sores and even helped you with your dry mouth. It seem like finding food that you can eat during treatment is common issue with blood cancer patients. Is there anything else you’d recommend that worked for you during this time?

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Hello @Nickmarks57,

I am so sorry to hear about your diagnosis of gout and steroid induced type 2 diabetes, but I am pleased to hear you’re your levels are much better than they were.

How have you found your new diet-do you feel better for it? If you have any vegan recipes to share, or other dishes you find work well then do feel free to share them here. I’m sure it would be appreciated.

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I’m intrigued by the veggie duck! Am definitely going to try that. I seem to have inadvertently taken to eating more vegetarian food these days as I’ve become more savvy about meat and all that it unfortunately usually entails… thanks for the info!

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