私たち栄養士にとって、単語帳のウラオモテにかならず出現する「痛風」と「プリン体」ですが、一般向けにスッキリ説明すると、病院では痛風のある方には、乳製品を多めに、たんぱく質（肉、魚など）を少なめに、という食事処方が出るのですね。どうやらNY Timesの記事によると、この食事は治療食としてだけではなく、予防食にもなるみたいです。
これは一般には当たり前のように感じることかもしれませんが、実はそうでもないのです。たとえば高血圧などの予防には塩分を控えめに、といわれていますが、なんと、驚きなことに最近の研究ではこれは治療食にはならない傾向にあることが分かってきています。つまり、もう高血圧になってしまった人が頑張って減塩しても、効果はほんのわずかということ。ただし、減塩でなく、無塩にすると（ほぼ無理ですが）効果があるという研究結果がでています。
NY Timesの記事では、同じたんぱく質でも、動物性ではない植物性のもの（豆類など）を食べるのは、治療食にはなりませんが（避けなさいという先生もいるくらい）、予防食にはなるそうです。レッドミート、つまり牛肉などや魚介類が大好きな人はそのプリン体という物質をたくさん摂取しているので、将来、痛風にならないように乳製品（牛乳、ヨーグルトなど）や豆類を意識的にたくさん摂っていると、年を取ってから大好きな魚介類やお肉を我慢しなければいけないなんて悲しいことにならないかもしれません。
ではNY Timesからの引用です。
Nutrition: Dairy Diet Found Good for Gout
By JOHN O’NEIL
Doctors usually recommend a diet heavy on dairy products and light on meat and fish for people who have gout. Such diets can also help prevent the disease, researchers report in The New England Journal of Medicine.
The study found that vegetable proteins like peas and beans, which gout patients are often told to avoid, actually offer some protection. Gout, an inflammation of the joints caused by a buildup of uric acid, affects as many as five million Americans, mostly men.
The study’s lead author, Dr. Hyon K. Choi of Massachusetts General Hospital in Boston, said suspected links between gout and foods high in purines, a chemical found in many proteins, have provided the basis for centuries of advice. Dr. Choi said although it had been established that purines interfered with the ability to absorb uric acid, solid evidence was lacking for the low-protein diets.
The new study tracked the more than 47,000 middle-aged men who were health professionals and did not have gout. Over 12 years, the men who ate the most meat, especially red meat, were almost 50 percent more likely to develop gout as those who ate the least. Dr. Choi said the effect was even stronger for all types of seafood.
Those reporting the highest levels of dairy consumption were half as likely to become ill as those who reported the lowest levels.
Dr. Choi said the study suggested that dietary changes might “have a much more substantial impact in reducing the risk of gout than currently perceived.” He especially recommended a change in diet for people with family histories of gout.
By JOHN O’NEIL
Doctors usually recommend a diet heavy on dairy products and light on meat and fish for people who have gout. Such diets can also help prevent the disease, researchers report in The New England Journal of Medicine.
The study found that vegetable proteins like peas and beans, which gout patients are often told to avoid, actually offer some protection. Gout, an inflammation of the joints caused by a buildup of uric acid, affects as many as five million Americans, mostly men.
The study’s lead author, Dr. Hyon K. Choi of Massachusetts General Hospital in Boston, said suspected links between gout and foods high in purines, a chemical found in many proteins, have provided the basis for centuries of advice. Dr. Choi said although it had been established that purines interfered with the ability to absorb uric acid, solid evidence was lacking for the low-protein diets.
The new study tracked the more than 47,000 middle-aged men who were health professionals and did not have gout. Over 12 years, the men who ate the most meat, especially red meat, were almost 50 percent more likely to develop gout as those who ate the least. Dr. Choi said the effect was even stronger for all types of seafood.
Those reporting the highest levels of dairy consumption were half as likely to become ill as those who reported the lowest levels.
Dr. Choi said the study suggested that dietary changes might “have a much more substantial impact in reducing the risk of gout than currently perceived.” He especially recommended a change in diet for people with family histories of gout.