What was once called the “disease of kings” could now just as well be called the “disease of commoners.” Gout is now the most common form of inflammatory arthritis worldwide, with its prevalence rising in many countries.1 Based on data from the National Health and Nutrition Examination Survey 2015-2016, an estimated 9.2 million Americans have gout and the total number of Americans with hyperuricemia is 32.5 million.2 Gout is often associated with other metabolic disorders (metabolic syndrome, diabetes mellitus, dyslipidemia, stroke, and cardiovascular diseases).3
Concerns have been expressed that gouty patients should avoid soyfoods as should individuals at risk of developing grout.4 To this point, a survey of 227 physicians and dietitians from Singapore, Indonesia and Thailand found that on average 48% indicated that gout is one of the undesirable effects of soyfood consumption.4 That figure was 3 times higher than the percentage of respondents expressing concern about soy and breast cancer. However, substantial clinical and epidemiologic evidence shows these concerns to be without scientific foundation.4
