I suffered frequent attacks in my younger years, age 12 to 24 (now 57) in my great toe and various digits. I then got on meds to curb my over production of uric acid and the attacks subsided. My rheumatologist felt that diet didn't really have an influence--you either over-produce or under-excrete. I was the former. I stopped taking my meds under chiropractic treatment in 1994 (age 34) and the gout just disappeared. I'm no longer under chiro care (stopped 1998) but haven't had any attacks since. Maybe chiro fixed something? I think my eating and exercise habits are the same, except now I've training for mtb racing the last 5 years or so (started well after the end of the gout attacks). So, why did it go away? Gout is quite a mystery I guess.