Gout and Alcohol

Bang on right Soch.

Keep the blood flowing and dont seize up.

Easy to do nothing as you get older.

My wife is 65 and does ballet twice a week and pilates twice a week 

She has a really bad back and poor joints but the exercise helps them.

Doing nothing for too long is the worse thing ever. I could hardly walk 5 years ago with bad knees, but cycling has improved the muscles around the knee joints and I hardly get any trouble now. I wouldnt have believed It if I hadnt started excerzing again to try to beat gout, surprizing how you old body can be resurected by some minor execise. Im now thinking of giving yoga a try but I think its going to take a while to get some muscles going again

Colin, yoga is great for building up strength in muscles you rarely use or are weak. I'm not coordinated for yoga, but I have friends who swear that it helps their aching bodies lose the pain. Of course, everyone's different but give it a try, this maybe what you need but be gentle with yourself and if you can't do it or it hurts stop. People think yoga is easy, really it's not, but the idea is to go at it slow.

In the U.K alcohol has become a big subject. In the last 12 months our government reduced the maximum recommended level to two units a day. CRAZY. It was previously 4. In Japan the recommended level is over four times what ours is, and in most of  Europe it is twice. Our NHS service is in such a state due to mass immigration and an aging population, they want us to stop doing anything we enjoy. You only have to walk into a doctors surgery, and the first question is, "do you smoke and how much do you drink". I have noticed that most people on this site either don't drink, or drink very little, but they all appear to be having a pretty bad time with gout. I on the other hand take 100mg of Allupirinol a day and drink what I want. The answer is that we are all different, and we need to experiment with our diets and drinking habits. Don't just cut things our just in case. Life is for living, and we only get the one visit. 

There is a logic to recommending the very low level - at this level less than 1% of people will be killed by alcohol related issues - but I agree it is now ridiculously low.

What however is pure political correctness is putting the women's and the men's consumption at the same level. Next they'll be saying that the average guy should be eating the same calories as the average woman.

In the States, alcohol has been deemed a poison and the number one reason for breast cancer. So whatever the rest of world is doing, the U.S. doesn't care it isn't promoting alcohol. Our alcohol limit is currently .08% and .04%. I don't drink so to me I'm not missing anything and I believe that people who drink to loosen up aren't as evolved to enjoy life without liquor as those of us who enjoy life without it.

"Moderation in all things."

oops I mean...I believe that people who drink to loosen up aren't as evolved to enjoy life without liquor as those of us who enjoy life with it.

The terrible thing is, at least in the uk we are drinking 3-4 x on average more than a generation ago. But alcohol companies pay lots of tax and are very generous to their political supporters.

Yup, that's to keep the alcohol flowing throughout their exports without a glitch.

That's rather a supercilious view Soch, a lot of people still believe in god which I regard as extreme backwardness. Of course alcohol is a poison everything is if you take enough of it, even water. LD50 for alcohol is aournd 550grams (US) or 70 units in English. For water it's 9 litres or 20 US pints. Saying people aren't as evolved to enjoy life without alcohol is like saying that the astronauts who went to the moon couldn't enjoy life without trying to kill themselves!

A narrow view Rusty todays young are said to drink much less than I did when I was young and if you go back 200 years people drank alcohol as a matter of course rather than water as it was considered safer and cleaner. In the 18th century a majority of deaths were alcohol related in some way so we're getting better if anything.

Chances of a rocket blowing up while at take off on a first rocket mission, 50/50, chances of something going wrong 50/50, chances of some type of power failure 50/50, timeline when technology was not as advanced as it is today 50/50 so in essence the stakes are high in trying to kill themselves in such a low technological world in 1969! Remember what happened to the challenger a failed attempt that ended in tragedy.

Not superfluous, just seeing it from dealing with family and friends who have no will power to stop poisoning their bodies when they've been told that their chances of surrviving is slim if they keep drinking because of liver cirrhosis or cancer of some sort.

By a narrow view, do you mean mean it is inaccurate?

As for your point about people drinking beer instead of water, while this is true, it was called "small beer", and was about 1% proof.

Your second point that today's young drink much less than you did - first you are distorting what I said - I didn't say young people are drinking more than ever, I was referring to society as a whole. Your reference to the young drinking less is in fact a reference to underage drinking. But today we (in the UK) consume more alcohol per person than at any time since WW2 - Fact.

16-24 year olds are drinking less than the 25-30 year olds at the same age. But this doesn't mean they are drinking less than 25 years ago.

In the UK about 5-6% are alcoholics, and another 10% or so are drinking more than is good for their health.

But to return this to gout, this alcohol dependant group are more likely to get gout, and are going to have more difficulty in controlling urate levels if they don't substantially reduce consumption.

Ugggg, supercilious, I mean, not superfluous like the computer wrote. Smart tablet isn't so smart after all.

By narrow I meant only recent history and if you understand the brewing process you will know that "small beer" is produced only as a result of brewing "big beer" which in those days was generally stronger than the stuff commonly produced today. However as I personally have had an exceptionally healthy life until my mid-fifties despite some dangerous and undesirable activity I choose to be philosophical about the dangers of alcohol whilst, at the same time, not taking things to an extreme.

a) read history

b) just use common sense. Small beer was being drunk by children as well as women. If you give a child beer stronger than we have today they'll be drunk 24/7.

History is the one thing I do read, nearly exclusively. AND if history is anything to go by people were drunk a lot of the time! You seem to quote history to your own devices irrespective of facts.

Silly argument. Water is essential to human life, alcohol isn't. Not only is alcohol not essential and indeed illegal in some countries, but consumption of relatively small amounts has a deleterious effect on health. Those who deny this tend to be alcoholic dependent to some greater or lesser extent.

You might try searching for The Myth of Boozed up Britain.

I will not debate this further unless it is to do with gout.

If you cannot give up alcohol there are plenty of self help groups and other fora.

Sadly i have to concur with Rusty..

Now my opinion as a non drinker that 95% of drinkers are dependant.... key word dependant not alcoholic.

If the man wants to drink and has gout so be it. I do not see the problem..

If he has attacks and associated damage that will happen that is his choice..

My only naughty comment is who is going to help you if your mobility is impaired by the effects of gout caused in part by drinking?

Not knocking you, just a thought.

I do not say this lightly but not drinking is the best thing an individual can do. But, it is your life and you are entitled to do as you choose.

Peace out.

Glad to hear it, advice from you I can do without!