Understanding Gout: Why Strict Dietary Restrictions and Painkillers May Still Not Address the Root Cause
The real issue may be that certain parts of the body’s circulation and metabolic system are no longer functioning efficiently.
Patient: Mr Fung, aged 86, with a regular routine and a light, balanced diet.
Main concern: In recent years, he had experienced a gout flare approximately once a month. His toes and ankles would become red, swollen and intensely painful, with a burning sensation. Each episode took around two weeks to gradually settle.
Mr Fung’s gout first began when he was 78 years old. During the first few years, pain medication was still able to keep the symptoms under control.
By the age of 83, however, the medication had become less effective. After stopping it, he tried over-the-counter pain relief products, but the gout continued to return almost every month.
He restricted his diet so extensively that there seemed to be very little left that he could eat, yet the gout attacks continued.
He asked in frustration, “I have already cut out almost everything. Why am I still in so much pain?”
Following an assessment, the practitioner found that, in addition to mildly elevated uric acid levels, Mr Fung also had moderate to advanced cervical spondylosis.
From the practitioner’s perspective, recurring gout is not always caused simply by eating the wrong foods. In some cases, it may involve a combination of poor circulation, slower metabolism and a weakened overall constitution.
This combination is one of the important factors that may be overlooked in clinical practice:
The underlying concern in Mr Fung’s case was that his metabolic capacity was no longer keeping pace with the accumulation of uric acid.
This may also help explain why:
Gout is not always the result of eating too richly.
In some cases, the greater concern may be restricted circulation and a metabolic system that is no longer working efficiently.
Important questions to consider include:
A more comprehensive approach may therefore focus on:
Supporting the constitution × improving metabolic function × promoting freer circulation through the channels.
When circulation and metabolism function more smoothly, gout flare-ups may become less frequent.
HK Clinic 
UK Clinic 
