Over the past 20 years the incidence of gout—a debilitating arthritis caused by eating rich food—has doubled in the USA.1 Not surprisingly, this is an increase that parallels the growing epidemic of obesity.2 Although gout is the most common form of inflammatory arthritis in men,affecting 1 to 2 % of men in Western countries and as many as 5 million men in the United States3 —this painful arthritic condition is essentially unknown in parts of the world where people consume a diet based on starches.4-6 |