Mark Thorson > wrote:

>Wayne Boatwright wrote:

>> Speaking of gout, Mark, did you happen to know that asparagus can greatly
>> exacerbate the condition in some people? I have a close friend who didn't
>> know that until she binged on asparagus for a while.

>I seldom eat asparagus. I've never had gout caused by
>eating asparagus. Every occurrence of gout has always
>been caused by eating too much protein.

Asparagus is one of the highest protein vegetables.

My two instances of gout (presumptive, no needle assay) were
not really traceable to any recent eating history, but the
more recent one definitely followed an asparagus-eating phase.
From what I know it takes months/years for the uric acid to
build up before an attack. Overall diet, if it has an effect,
make the next attack come sooner. Perhaps a large amount
of asparagus consumeed all season long could have an effect,
however that's a tricky one because gout occurs more often in
the early months of the year, anyway, and they don't know why.

Steve