Food for Thought - Sardines, Niacin and Gout

As I noted before that more does not always mean better.  And this was what, I think, exactly the excruciating pain from my finger joints tried to tell me.

First, I must count my blessings.  Somehow, over the years, gout was never a health issue for me.  The knuckle of one of my middle fingers did flare up occasionally in the past.  But the prickly pain never  lasted.  The puffed-up joint also returned to its former self  without any medical intervention.  Since gout is considered a "rich man's disease"*(1), I thank many juicy pears *(2) and a simple no-red meat diet that I followed.  It had helped me keep this disabling monster away for years.

But lately, the simple regime of fruits and low-animal protein foods are no longer working for me to ward off the pain from the swollen digits.  Suddenly, not one but two of my finger joints swelled up with sharp and lasting pains.  So I decided to look for clues to see if I have been eating something that I should not have over the past few months.

Indeed, I had. I was overindulgent over the foods that are supposed to be good for me.  It appears that canned sardines and Vitamin B's were the culprits.  Over the last a while, I had a quite few lunches with plenty of sardines and anchovies*(3).  I had also supplemented my daily multivitamin intakes with extra Vitamin B's that included a lot of niacin.  According to my references, both sardines and anchovies are purine-rich foods.  In addition, while I did not have the exact reason connecting gout to niacin, the researchers had suggested that the gout suffers should be cautious when taking niacin.  -  Ayee

Notes:

*(1) "Lifetime Encyclopedia of Natural Remedies," by Myra Cameron, 1993 Edition
  (2) "The Prescription of Nutritional Healing," by J.F. Balch, MD & P. A. Balch, CNC, 2nd Edition   
  (3) Both of these foods are purine-rich foods.  Gout suffers should be watchful when taking too much of      these purine-laden foods.          

Having A Pet

Personally, I find living with pet animals both amusing and therapeutic.  This is why the recent  news of a dear relative adopting two pussy cats delighted me.

Yes, pet ownership can also mean responsibility as well as additional expenses and allergies.  But the endless antics these endearing creatures brought to us are simply priceless.  Furthermore, in this chaotic world, a pet can be the nonjudgemental therapists many of us need now and then.  I found many people appeared to be happier around their pets. In many real-life cases pet animals, whether it is a dog, a cat, a bunny, a bird or a fish,  can change our lives.

For all these reasons and more, I was so  happy to hear that  a dear family member now has two rumbustious rascals to keep the entire household amused.  -  Ayee

PS When getting your next pet, please consider adopting one from your local animal shelters.