Susan Harris Author, Ghost-Writer

Two men eat roughly the same amount of meat. One suffers repeated gout attacks. The other has never had one. WHY? Most people associate gout with eating too much meat because meat contains purines, which are broken down into uric acid. That makes sense… However, what most people don’t know is that the majority of uric acid your body produces doesn’t come directly from the food you eat. It comes from your own metabolism. Your body constantly breaks down and recycles purines from its own cells, generating uric acid even if you never touch meat again. And here’s where things get interesting. One important factor that can increase uric acid production is FRUCTOSE metabolism. When you consume large amounts of fructose, particularly from sugary drinks, your liver rapidly metabolizes it, consuming ATP, the energy currency of your cells. This can accelerate the breakdown of purine nucleotides, ultimately increasing uric acid production. The liver is a major site of uric acid production, but production is only part of the equation. We also need to look at the kidneys. Your kidneys filter uric acid from your blood, but they also reabsorb much of it. Insulin plays an important role in this process. When someone develops insulin resistance, the pancreas often compensates by producing more insulin. Elevated insulin can promote uric acid reabsorption by the kidneys, reducing how much is eliminated. So two processes can happen simultaneously: increased uric acid production and reduced uric acid excretion. Add genetic differences in urate transport, kidney function, alcohol intake, certain medications, and other metabolic factors, and you can begin to understand why two people eating the same amount of meat can have very different uric acid levels and gout risks. And even when uric acid is elevated, not everyone develops gout. This is why telling someone with gout to simply eat less meat, without addressing their broader metabolic health and the factors affecting uric acid production and elimination, is a really bad and incompetent approach.

My Halloween post about excessive candy consumption triggered a lot of people. Good. Now let’s talk about something worth getting angry about. In America: • 61.9% of children’s daily calories come from ultra-processed foods. • 21.1% of children and adolescents have obesity. More than 1 in 5. • 7% have SEVERE obesity. • One study estimated that 16–21% of adolescents have fatty liver disease. And people are outraged because I suggested that letting children stuff their faces with unlimited candy isn’t cute? I stand by every word. I never said children should never have candy, ice cream, or treats. I specifically criticized EXCESSIVE consumption. But here’s what so many people missed. Halloween is simply an exaggerated version of how millions of American children eat EVERY SINGLE DAY. We’re watching children develop metabolic diseases that used to be associated primarily with middle-aged adults. And somehow, suggesting that parents should limit candy consumption makes ME the unreasonable one? Children don’t buy the groceries. They don’t stock the pantry. They don’t decide what gets served for breakfast, lunch, and dinner. Adults do. Children learn by watching us. When parents normalize poor eating habits, it’s hardly surprising that their children adopt them. One day of excessive candy consumption isn’t responsible for this epidemic. The problem is that for millions of children, Halloween isn’t much different from the other 364 days of the year. My daughter will absolutely enjoy candy, ice cream, and other treats as she grows up. But treats will be treats. They won’t be the foundation of her diet. So spare me the fake outrage. We have an entire generation of children growing up with obesity, insulin resistance, and fatty liver disease. If you’re more offended by a doctor criticizing excessive sugar consumption than by those statistics, perhaps you’re angry at the wrong thing. Our children deserve better. And adults need to start taking responsibility.

Quick remedies from your kitchen: • Toxins > Lemon • Diarrhea > Banana • Constipated > Olive Oil • Dizzy > Salt • Sleep > Tart Cherry • Nausea > Ginger • Dry Hair > Coconut Oil • Feeling Sick > Kiwi • Insect Bites > Vinegar • Itchy Rash > Oatmeal • Splinter > Baking Soda • Puffy Eyes > Cucumber • Fiber > Beans • Hormones > Spearmint • Pain > Cayenne • Allergies > Honey • Swelling > Turmeric • Heartburn > Baking Soda • Cough > Onion • Ear Pain > Garlic • Tired > Apple • Blood Sugar > Cinnamon • Anxiety > Ice • Bloated > Peppermint • Minerals > Eggs • Cramps > Coconut Water • Burns > Aloe • Migraines > Аlmonds

You only have so much emotional energy each day. It’s not an unlimited supply. It takes a lot of energy to get upset, to live offended, to think about what they said, to try to straighten them out. That’s energy you need for your dreams, to pursue your goals, to enjoy your family. Don’t spend it on things that don’t matter.