HPLC makes medical waves

The switch to a diet higher in protein and lower in carbohydrates caused enough weight loss in a group of gout sufferers to prompt doctors to call for new dietary recommendations for people with the condition.

 

Doctors from the University of Witwatersrand, Johannesburg, trialled a diet balanced at 40% carbohydrates, 30% protein and 30% fat - the same recommendations of Dr Barry Sears' influential Zone diet - on a group of 13 insulin-resistant, non-diabetic men with gout.

 

Restricted to 6690 kilojoules a day, the patients lost an average of 7.7kg each after 16 weeks on the balanced diet. Gout attacks occurred at less frequency and LDL cholesterol levels were significantly lowered. The average body mass index of the patients was 30.5kg/m2.

 

The research team replaced refined carbohydrates such as pasta, white bread, white rice and confectionery with complex carbohydrates. Saturated fats were replaced with mono- and polyunsaturated fats.

 

"The results suggest that weight reduction associated with a change in proportional macronutrient intake, as recently recommended in insulin resistance, is beneficial, reducing the SU levels and dyslipidaemia in gout," doctors reported in the 18 July 2000 edition of Annals of Internal Medicine.

 

"Current dietary recommendations for gout may need re-evaluation."