Betty
The "substance" you spoke of being in food is PURINES... But you were in error when you saidd...they cause gout. Gout is (usually inherited) metabolic disease. I am speaking about true gout complete with uric acid. If your gout is in early stages changing diet might help. Because Purines are the main chemical compound in making uric acid, so in fact they might help trigger an attack. When you said, changing your diet "got rid" of gout, you are not correct. It got rid of the symptoms you felt (for a time) Just because you don't feel it, don't mean it is gone. When uric acid in the blood gets high, it changes into crystals, that are sharp and spikie...they stick and clump together, almost always starting in the toes, ankles...but they are everywhere the blood flows. You only "feel" it when the levels are very high and you get "attacks" but it is still there and still doing damage. It is a serious disease that used to be fatal and it still can be. I Know- I have it and about 2 yrs ago a very dear friends mom died from Euremic posioning...Gout attack gone wild.. She was convinced she could try the natural approach...and tried the black cherry thing, and several other things she read on line...She quit taking alluperinol that controlled her gout. and she died of euremic poisoning..convinced she didn't need the medication cause they "could" do damage to her body...