Q: I was recently diagnosed with gout, and my doctor said that if I have another attack he is going to put me on medication to control this. I already take a lot of medications and would prefer not to add another. I have tried to cut down on red meat. Is there anything else I can do?

A: Gout is the most common cause of inflammatory arthritis in men. It is brought on by the deposition of uric acid crystals in the soft tissues of the body, including the joints. Uric acid is a breakdown product of metabolism in the body, especially the metabolism of certain foods. Although gout can affect multiple tissues, it often presents as an exquisitely painful foot or great toe (also called podagra).

In the distant past, when obesity was primarily a condition of the rich and affluent, gout was referred to as "the disease of kings." People who consume a lot of rich meat and alcohol are often at higher risk.

A recent study in the British Medical Journal highlights a new risk factor for gout. This study followed a group of more than 46,000 men for 12 years to determine the factors that had the biggest impact on the risk of developing gout. The researchers discovered that men who consumed more than two sugar-sweetened beverages per day had almost twice the risk of developing gout compared with men who consumed less than one per month.

Diet soft drinks, on the other hand, did not increase the risk of gout.

The risk of gout was also higher with the consumption of foods naturally high in fructose, like fruit juices, oranges and apples. It turns out that the metabolism of fructose in these products leads to higher blood levels of uric acid, just like meats do; fructose is the only carbohydrate known to do this.

Between 1977 and 1997, the consumption of soft drinks in the U.S. went up by more than 60 percent. In addition, high fructose corn syrup is now used to sweeten hundreds of commercially prepared foods, and adds significantly to the burden of fructose in the American diet.

So, what can we now advise you to help lower your risk of gout?

• Eliminate sugared drinks from your diet, including sodas and juices.

• Read your food labels and try to minimize any processed foods with added high-fructose corn syrup.

• Limit your intake of meat and fish, which can both increase uric acid in the blood; if you need more protein, increase your intake of vegetable protein or non-fat and low-fat dairy products, which have been shown to lower gout risk.

• Limit your intake of alcohol.