Free food, from one of the many trees in the yard. Proanthocyanidins are a class of polyphenols found in a variety of plants. Strong free-radical scavengers, they are known to affect oxidative stress (a factor in oncogenesis/carcinogenesis), a potent contributor to cell deterioration and longevity. Eat a colorful diet, with your ‘red-spectrum foods’ being chosen from fruit and vegetable sources (because red meat doesn’t count towards this goal). Filmed in glorious PotatoVision.

[GOUT] – Gout and Mushrooms – Mushrooms in a Gout Diet – AzchanneL
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Gout and Mushrooms
Mushrooms in a Gout Diet
Love meat but need to cut down on it cause you suffer from gout? Here’s an idea! Replace meat with mushrooms! Yes mushrooms! Mushrooms are low in calories and help control your appetite. Mushrooms are a great food to help control your weight which is an important benefit to the gout sufferer. To date there is no evidence that fruits, vegetables or mushrooms cause gout or make your gout worse. Anybody that tells you otherwise, you should watch out for. They don’t have your best interests at heart or simply are dazed and confused.
Did you know that of the 140,000 species of mushrooms, science is only familiar with only 10%? Although mushrooms are meaty, chewy and juicy they can’t really replace meat cause a 3 ounce serving has just 3 grams of protein compared to 20 grams of protein that can be had with a 3 ounce serving of chicken or beef. Portobello mushrooms are known as the vegetarian’s steak after all but it won’t fill you for too long.
Mushrooms carry beta-glucans which is a type of carbohydrate found in mushrooms and is a strong anti-inflammatory that helps protect you from gout. They are a great source of vitamins B, selenium, copper, phosphorous, potassium, zinc, manganese, riboflavin, niacin, ergothioneine which is a powerful antioxidant and many other vitamins and minerals.

There aren’t any studies conducted with mushrooms for gout sufferers but there is one that was done with people suffering from rheumatoid arthritis with Reishi mushrooms also known as Ganoderma lucidum “the Mushroom of Immortality”. In the 2007 study published by the University of Hong Kong, the polysaccharide peptides in Reishi were found to “significantly inhibit the proliferation of Rheumatoid Arthritis Synovial Fibroblasts (RASF).”Reishi mushrooms helps regulate cells that influence the immune system, helping calm down overactive cells that affect autoimmune disorders such as rheumatoid arthritis. Remember gout is also an autoimmune disorder. You can consume Reishi mushrooms in the form of capsules and/or tea.
Another mushroom that shows much promise is Cordyceps that has long been used in Chinese medicine and helps protect your liver and kidneys, helps increase blood flow normalizes cholesterol levels which all good stuff for us gout sufferers and rheumatoid arthritis sufferers having extremely potent anti-inflammatory characteristics.
One thing scientists are beginning to recognize is that mushrooms carry what they consider a “master antioxidant” which is called ergothioneine and is exclusive to mushrooms protecting our DNA from oxidative damage.
At the end of the day, mushrooms should be included in your gout diet and enjoy a mushroom burger from time to time. Skip the meat!