Vitamin C for Gout Treatment – Just How Easy is it to Get the Required Daily Amount From Food?

In an earlier article I quoted examples of studies that have shown Vitamin C can reduce uric acid (UA) levels, the objective of all gout treatments whether by pharmaceuticals or natural remedies. The usual uric acid level target is 6mg/dL in men, slightly less in women. This is the level below which the trouble-causing MSU crystals, formed mainly from uric acid, may dissolve and thus alleviate or cure gout. However, there are no ironclad guarantees this will happen at that uric acid level.

The most recent of these studies suggested that 500 mg of Vitamin C daily could bring about a uric acid level reduction of about 10%. This is unlikely to be enough to bring UA levels down to the required target, but helpful. This amount of Vitamin C is easily purchased as a dietary supplement. Without question Vitamin C is the world's best known and most widely available vitamin. It's also one of the cheapest.

The late Dr. Robert Atkins (the Atkins Diet) also believed Vitamin C is helpful in gout treatment. It was one of the vitamins in his anti gout formula, as explained in "Dr. Atkins' Vita-Nutrient Solution" (Simon & Schuster Inc., 1999). He included it because of a cause of gout theory that runs on these lines…

Uric acid is a major body antioxidant and antioxidants quell free radicals. Excessive uric acid is produced because of free radical production. i.e the body deals with free radicals by creating excess uric acid. Therefore provide the body with more antioxidants so that it doesn't need to create excess uric acid.

This is not the usually explained purine theory. However it should be noted that not all gout sufferers have excessive uric acid in their bodies but most do. If you have gout and excess uric acid, the important thing is to try to reduce it.

The convention wisdom is that vitamins are best obtained from natural sources, that is from fresh foods. So how easy is it to eat or drink at least 500 mg of Vitamin C daily?

Just add up from the following list to get 500 mg daily. Source figures are taken from the USDA's (United States Department of Agriculture) National Nutrient database release SR19. It is accessible online – search "National Nutrient database."

To standardize and simplify this list: serving size is 1 cup unless stated; raw foods only (except peas); foods with added Vitamin C excluded; doesn't account for different varieties, country or region of origin; climate when produced and other variables; figures rounded to whole numbers. It is, if you like, the big picture. Vitamin C amounts are in mg.

red peppers 190mg; orange juice 124 mg; green peppers 120 mg; strawberries 106 mg; orange 96 mg; grapefruit juice 94 mg; kale 80 mg; broccoli 79mg; pineapple 74 mg; kiwi fruit 71 mg; lemon juice 61 mg; cantaloupe melon 59 mg; mango 57 mg; cauliflower 47 mg; red cabbage 40 mg; roasted chestnuts (European ) 37 mg; peas (frozen) 35 mg; raspberries 32 mg; lemon 31 mg; honeydew melon 31 mg; blackberries 30 mg; cabbage 26 mg; watermelon (one wedge ) 23 mg; tomatoes 23 mg.



Since the potato is so popular, note one baked potato 202 grams size: 19 mg.

Fruits amount of vitamin C, if one whole fruit, or other amount, is the serving size: 1 papaya 188mg; 1 orange 70 mg; 1 red chili pepper 65 mg; and the juice from 1 orange 43 mg; 100 grams limes 29 mg.

And here’s a couple of surprises. Two spices or condiments that are high in vitamin C and not often mentioned: paprika 100 grams (71mg); prepared horseradish 100 grams (25mg).

It's hard to summarise a daily diet for all the tastes of people who read this article. But the easiest (no cooking time) and probably the most popular way to reach 500 mg daily - drink plenty of orange juice. Or, putting it simply, and you've heard this before, eat these fruits and vegetables.

A few words about strawberries Berries are excellent foods for a gout diet, principally because of their flavonoid anthocyanidins. (It is the anthocyanidins in cherries which are believed to have positive effects on lowering uric acid levels) These act as antioxidants thus boosting general health which is so important for gout sufferers. But among the anthocyanidin berries, strawberries stand out as the highest in Vitamin C.

Strawberries should be considered very carefully by gout sufferers. The Swedish botanist Carl Linnaeus (1707-1778) stated that a diet of only strawberries had cured his gout. His linkage of vitamin C and gout gains extra weight from the fact that Linnaeus was a botanist. He probably knew a lot about strawberries.

But do not follow a strawberries only diet. This is a crash diet which is not a good idea since crash diets can trigger gout, and may worsen it. But if you suffer from gout strawberries are an excellent addition to your gout diet plan, because of their anthocyanidins, (the dominant one is pelargonidin), and their Vitamin C. Was it this combination that cured Linnaeus' gout? Perhaps it was.

It's not likely vitamin C on its own will cure gout. But it is helpful especially if combined with a low purine gout diet and other natural remedies for gout.