My Farmer’s Concoction Recipe for Gout

This last summer, my Farmer had a bout of gout for a couple long weeks. He hadn’t had a flare up this bad in a while. It’s really not fun around here when my Farmer’s gout acts up. Not fun at all.

I still remember the first time my Farmer had a bad flare up of gout. He was a long ways from home, in his semi-truck, and he was in so much pain, he wasn’t sure if he was going to be able to drive home.
My Farmer did go to the doctor and get some medication for the gout. After a few years, and no flare ups, he stopped the medication (my Farmer is not real big on taking meds) and we chose to control it by watching what he ate and drank. I read what some of the main foods that caused gout were, so we watched his intake of those foods. Plus we increased his intake of what helped. We have been pretty successful at controlling it, for the most part.

The food item that we found caused flareups the most with my Farmer is baker’s yeast, which is found in bread and beer. Two of my Farmers most favorite items to consume. My Farmer grew up eating bread with every meal so it was a challenge for him to limit his bread intake. Giving up bread was easier then giving up his beer, however. He LOVES his one beer in the evenings. I suggested he switch to an evening whiskey cocktail like I drink. Not quite the same, he says.

Since food seems to be the tractable trigger for his gout flareups, my Farmer has become very aware of what causes a flareup. You will hear him say, “Can’t eat that! It’ll give ya’ gout!”….a lot. In fact, years ago, after my Farmer had said his “That’ll give ya’ gout” phrase for the umpteen time, a friend came back at him with “Everything will give you gout….salad will give you gout.”(I was smiling, trying hard not to laugh) My Farmer tries not to say his saying as often any more. :-))

Yes, we all give my Farmer grief about his gout, and he’s totally OK with that. I think he feels he deserves it. Here’s why…
His Grandpa suffered from gout. He says his Grandpa would show him his hand where the gout was flared up and say ”See that right there? That’s gout”. My Farmer never could see it. He questioned whether it was real. His dad suffered from gout also. His flareups were in his foot. He would not be able to walk for days when he had a flare up. Again, my Farmer questioned it. Was he just trying to get out of work to watch a ballgame? My Farmer feels really bad for not feeling sympathy for them back then. If fact, my Farmer used to refer to gout as an old man’s issue. Well, he is the old man suffering now and has been for over 15 years.

As I said, my Farmer stopped taking medicine a while back and usually does not have many bad flareups. He pretty much is able to control it. He can usually feel it coming on, so he will watch more carefully what he eats and drinks. Plus he will increase his intake of water and milk. A few years back my Farmer had a really bad flare up. He was is so much pain, he could hardly walk, which is not a good thing especially in the summer time when you are a farmer. So I searched for a natural remedy for flareups. We had read that cherries helped, but they did not really seem to help much for my Farmer. (I did later learn that sour cherries are better, and he was eating sweet)

I found an article that stated that salmon would help with a gout flare up and I happened to have a can of salmon in my cupboard. My Farmer is not real big on eating fish, especially from a can. That really is a HUGE understatement. He HATES it. However, evidently a gout flareup hurts so bad, he is willing to try anything. I made salmon patties for dinner and my Farmer’s gout was gone the next day. He was very impressed with my natural remedy, to say the least.

With his next flare up, which was a couple of summers later, I did not have any salmon so I looked for another natural remedy on the web. That’s when I found the “Concoction” recipe. It was made from items I had on hand so I mixed him one up. He drank the concoction 3 times that day and the next morning his gout was gone. I was, once again, a miracle worker.

Now to this summer’s flare up and what we learned. I know exactly why my Farmer had this flareup. That one day, I had made french toast for breakfast, sandwiches for lunch, and hamburgers for dinner. To much bread! Plus he had a couple of beers. I felt really bad since I was the one that fixed all the meals. We knew the “Concoction” worked, so I made him one. He drank one every day for 5 days. However, it was not helping. His gout was not getting any worse, but it was not getting better either. I started to search for a new remedy, thinking maybe his gout builds up an immunity to a cure once it’s used. (I’m new to this miracle worker thing, so I had no idea. LOL) I found an article that said currents can help with gout. It just so happened that I had just picked currants and juiced them. I made my Farmer a currant cocktail. Currant juice with water on ice. Not the best cocktail he had ever had but he drank it. (probably would have been better with some vodka in it)

His gout would start to get better, then it would flare up again. I was feeling really bad that I was unable to help my Farmer. Then it hit me. The last time we did the “Concoction” drink, he drank it 3 times a day, and this time I had only been giving it to him once a day. So for the next 2 days straight, my Farmer drank the “Concoction” 3 times each day and BOOM! The next morning his gout was gone. It really does amaze me and my Farmer how fast a gout flare up can come on and how fast it will go away. It’s crazy. (Those are his words.)

As I said, it was a long couple of weeks, more so for my Farmer. Me just because I felt bad for him. (also maybe because he is extremely grouchy during a flare up! Yes that is a don’t tell my Farmer statement 😉 )

Now the note added on the “Concoction” recipe card reads…”Must drink 3 times a day”…in red!! Yes, I have a “Concoction” recipe card in my recipe card file.

We do wish we would have know about this for my Farmer’s dad and grandpa. Even my dad suffered from gout. We could have helped them all. The only thing is, the “Concoction” is not real palatable. But as my Farmer says, gout pain is so bad, he will drink or eat anything to make it go away.

Here is my Farmer’s “Concoction” recipe…..

• 1 tablespoon of honey (we use honey from our friendly bee man, not the stuff from the store)
• 2 tablespoons of Braggs Apple cider vinegar
• 3 tablespoons of lemon juice (I just use juice from a bottle)
• water and a few ice cubes
• Mix all together and drink. 3 TIMES A DAY!!!

Watching your patient drink it down is actually kind of entertaining. The faces my Farmer makes is pretty funny.
I also have my Farmer soak his gout flared up foot in Epson salt. Not sure if that helps, but it can’t hurt.

I wrote this blog post a while back, I just never got around to posting it on my site. In the last months, I have heard my Farmer talking to others about gout. I have heard almost the exact words from this post come out of his mouth. As I listened to him, smiling, in my mind I was thinking, did he read my blog post? I answer myself with a no because I knew I had not posted it, besides the point that my Farmer doesn’t know how to find my blog site. Then I ask myself if I read it to him in prep for posting it? Because I do that sometimes for his OK and opinion. But I had not done it with this one. So I just chuckled to myself, saying….”Yep, this post hits the nail on the head”. Or maybe, it hits “the gout out of the joints”. HaHa. Bad joke. 😉 🙂

If you or someone you know suffers from gout, I do highly suggest that you try the “Concoction“. Just be prepared that it is extremely puckery. (My computer tells me that is not a word. I’m sure it would think differently if it had ever tasted the “Concoction“.) I am sure thankful we found it. My Farmer is also. It makes Livin’ the Life, the Farm Life that is a LOT easier during gout flareups.