As a Master Herbalist, I’ve helped several clients with gout issues. I’ve also seen the effects of gout from a member of my family. It is very painful and most of those who’ve had one bout of it do not want a second. This information could help you avoid the problem.
Just like Thanksgiving, the foods of the season can be an obstacle if you have gout. Who can resist the cookies coming out of the oven or the mincemeat pie? Both of these may have ingredients that put you at risk for flareups.
One of the problems with writing an exhaustive article on the holidays and gout are cultural. Some people have a tradition of deep fat frying their turkeys. It may taste great, but deep fat fried anything has a lot of purine.
In our family, the traditional entre for Christmas is a turkey, but not deep fat fried. It’s roasted, which helps cut down on the kind of things that can cause gout to be a problem. It’s also healthier, especially the white meat.
Mashed potatoes and gravy can be another landmine. Most cooks add butter/margarine and sour cream to the potatoes to improve taste. That’s not very helpful for you. The gravy is often made with giblets. If you don’t know what that means, it’s real simple. Giblets are the organ meats of the bird, and therefore contain about the highest amount of purine on the table.
Stuffing can either be neutral or bad. Most boxed stuffing is fairly mild in the purine department. However, if you or a relative make your own, you may run into trouble. Using the organ meats of the bird or sausage can make the dish a very bad idea.
Not everything on the table is bad for you. That dish of cranberry sauce may be ideal. However, I like to make my own. Cranberries are high in acid, so mixed with other things they may not be as good for you. My sauce contains apples and sometimes plums. With that recipe, I seldom need to add sugar, which is another plus.
When you get ready for dessert, you may want to skip the pumpkin and mincemeat pies. Instead, some fresh fruit would be your best bet. Not only does it provide a nice, sweet end to a hefty dinner, it cuts down on any risk factors the rest of the meal may have provided.
If you are planning on having foods not mentioned in this article, I recommend strongly that you look them up. There are many different traditions in the Christmas dinner department, and they each have their benefits and detriments. Knowledge is power over gout.