I see "sungit" days ahead

DH complained of pain on his toe last night. He said it was slightly swollen and he was limping when we got home from having dinner at SIL's house. At first we thought it was some sort of bite but this morning when he woke up and the toe was even more swollen, I told him to have it checked. I didn't think he would listen to my advice because he's known to have a stubborn streak, especially where medical-related issues are concerned (look who's talking!). But he did get it checked and the doctor's initial findings revealed that it could be GOUT.

Dear Lord...

I immediately went on the internet to research about it and here's what I found out:

GOUT is a more painful form of arthritis that attacks the joints, mostly the wrists, ankles, fingers and feet. In some cases, the large joint of the big toe. But in DH's case, it's his 2nd toe that's affected.

GOUT is caused by an increased amount of urate crystals around the joints. These can form when you have high levels of uric acid in your blood.

A GOUT diet would have to involve : Cutting back on the amount of red meat and seafood you eat, avoiding alcoholic beverages (no problem in this area because we are both non-drinkers), eating more low-fat dairy products, eating more complex carbohydrates, such as whole-wheat grain bread.

He texted me after the doctor looked at him : But am I not too young to have arthritis or gout??? I know he was half-kidding. I don't blame him. When your age starts to show, it's never an easy thing to accept. I know he's a bit resentful about all these potential dietary sacrifices he needs to make. Cutting back on or totally eliminating red meat from his diet is like sticking a knife into his chest. He eats vegetables but he would always choose meat over anything else.

There's absolutely nothing healthy about the way he and I eat. I, for one, eat anything I want. Neither of us has an exercise regimen. We don't even brisk walk! We have both, at one point or another, abused our bodies by working very long hours and getting involved in daily stressful activities at work, not to mention the fact that we're both smokers.

I see some kind of warning sign in the distance. If he needs to give up meat then I would have to do the same thing to make things easier for him. I THINK I can do that. He needs to undergo a uric acid test though, to confirm all of the doctor's suspicions.

IS AGE REALLY JUST A STATE OF MIND?

I guess it is...until your body tells you otherwise. Darn it...he hasn't even tried Pepper Lunch yet