gout and my work-out

Question
QUESTION: I am 49 years old and I weight train very hard. I work all parts of my body. I usually supplement my protein intake with whey protein and 2% milk, about 90 to 100 grams a day broken down into 3 time a day. Morning, noon-ish and 45 minutes after my work-out.
Here is my problem.... I just found out that I have gout in my left knee. I also have arthritis in many places which I already knew, that's why I stay fit.
From what I have read and what I have been told, I need to take protein out of my diet. How can I train to build and maintain muscle mass without protein?
Now, I have read that tuna is good and so are nuts. Does that include peanut butter? Is there a difference between the proteins in tuna than the whey? I'm sure my 100 gram a day intake has brought about the gout. I have cut out as much as I can and have been eating complex carbs as I do anyway, but I don't want to loose size and strength.
I'm not huge, I'm 5'8" at 165. I'm also trying to train for a 100 mile bicycle ride on May 18th. but have had to stop my lower body work-out because of the gout.
Please tell me what I can eat to keep training.
Thanx!
Mike Zarnock

ANSWER: Mike,

I've done a little homework but I'm not an expert in Gout so I'm not very comfortable giving advice on this topic.

It sounds like you are doing many of the right things already by eating complex carbs. Are you getting enough micronutrition? Do you take a quality nutritional supplement? Do you get enough fruits and vegetables - these are all very important in fighting the inflammation from Gout and arthritis.

As far as the protein - I would stick to lean protein sources like chicken, fish and nuts and stop the protein supplements. You should get 20-25 of your calories from protein, typically. Gout may be somewhat less and you should work with your physician on this. Have you talked with a sports medicine doctor? They are usually better for active people like yourself.

I do work with a nutrition company that has some very good products. I usually don't promote those in this forum - but they are very high quality for athletes and actually offer a million dollar athlete guarantee that there is nothing in them that will test positive for controlled substances.

I have been a soccer player all my life and use their meal replacement shakes for a good source of balanced proteins, carbs and healthy fats. Their multi-vitamin product has also ranked at the top in 3rd party clinical studies, which is why I chose to work with them.

If you are interested in those products you can check out my site with that company at http://www.healthcoachgroup.com

Hope this helps some - good luck with your 100 mile ride

---------- FOLLOW-UP ----------

QUESTION: In your reply, you asked: Are you getting enough micronutrition? Do you take a quality nutritional supplement?
I'm a little uncertain as to what the definition of these terms is? As I wrote, I eat well, veg's, complex carb's (potatoes, rice, pasta, breads) proteins from chicken and tuna. I have since stop all the milk intake. I was getting a lot of my protein from 2% milk and the protein supplements. I was getting 40 to 50 grams of protein a day just from the amount of 2% milk that I was drinking.
What exactly is micronutrition and a quality nutritional supplement?
As for sports medicine, I would have to drive 60 miles or so to Syracuse to find a doctor of that caliber.
Thanx for the time that you have taken to answer these questions.
Mike Zarnock

Answer
Mike,

I mean't a quality multi-vitamin / multi-mineral supplement. Most people are deficient in something, even with a good diet.

I say 'quality' supplement because there is a lot of garbage on the market since it is not a well regulated industry.

I have found and began to work with a company with a strong scientific background. If you are interested in getting a good multi-vitamin you can visit www.healthcoachgroup.com and look at their 'essentials' product. It is very high quality.

I'm glad to hear you have cut-down on the milk. You were taking in a lot of dairy.

Let me know if you have any more questions.

Simon

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