Meat of the Matter: Fish, flesh feed gout, but milk counters it

Alexander the Great had it. Benjamin Franklin and Charles Darwin also suffered from what was once known as the “patrician malady.” Their common affliction was gout, an arthritic condition that causes spells of intense pain, most often in the big toe.

Nutrition research now consolidates an ancient notion that a rich-man’s diet, heavy in meat and seafood, contributes to the disease.