[Gout Prevention x Diet] The Story of How Pre-made Onions Were the Best Solution | 2 Easy Recipes Found on YouTube
*This article is not a medical article, but a personal account of my experience living with gout-like symptoms. Individual results may vary. If symptoms are severe or you are concerned, it is safer to see a doctor.
Humans want to "lose weight easily." And the reality is, we want to "continue easily."
In the end, that's what dieting is all about.
Work hard in the short term → Collapse due to the backlash
Create a sustainable routine → Win
Gout is the same; a "system that is hard to break" is stronger than "perfect management."
So, what I'm currently using to address both is pre-made onions.
Click here for information on the supplements I use myself.
Why onions? (Experience + light evidence)
From my own experience, in weeks when I eat onions properly, there are days when the next-day feeling of "gout is coming... my Achilles tendon is aching" decreases.
*This is just my personal experience.
Now, regarding nutrition, onions are known to contain "quercetin," a type of polyphenol, and there are reports that uric acid levels have decreased with quercetin intake (though these are tests using supplement forms, they serve as a reference).
The important thing here is,
not that "eating onions will cure it," but
a lifestyle where you can pre-make onions = a well-regulated lifestyle
It is highly likely that this is what is actually effective.
Both gout and dieting usually come when your lifestyle falls apart.
YouTube has skyrocketed reproducibility (lowered the hurdle for men's cooking)
In the past, just "reading a recipe" was a hassle, but now that you can see the steps on YouTube, it has become easier for men to cook.
So, after searching and trying various things,
these two are the ones that are easy, delicious, and sustainable.
① Pickled onions (easy to make but powerful)
First, this.
Simple yet delicious.
It's fine to eat as is.
It goes well with rice, too.
It's also great mixed into dishes.
I personally mix this into fried rice.
“Onions and fried rice equals zero calories” (*my own arbitrary claim)
Dietary points
When you make a standard diet portion, there are days when one meal feels unsatisfying.
That's when adding a side of pickled onions changes your level of satisfaction.
You get an extra side dish with almost zero calories. This is surprisingly powerful.
2. Onion x Mackerel Can Stir-fry (Delicious. Great for meal prep)
This is also good.
The fact that it contains mackerel is great. It's delicious.
However, the truth is that mackerel isn't a cure-all.
Blue-backed fish like mackerel are high in omega-3s, and some studies suggest they are associated with a lower risk of gout attacks (*though there are conditions).
On the other hand, blue-backed fish (like mackerel) are sometimes listed as restricted items due to being high in purines.
In short, here is the conclusion.
“Mackerel is not a cure-all. Quantity and frequency are what matter.”
For me,
I don't binge eat every day just because I have prepped meals
I rotate them while monitoring how my body reacts
I've settled into this routine.
But, I feel healthy (this is important).
"Just eating this makes me feel healthy"
This mental effect is surprisingly effective for sticking to a diet.
"I ate vegetables today"
"I ate something good for my body today"
When I have this feeling, my other meals naturally tend to be more balanced.
Conversely, on days when I think "I only ate junk food today," everything seems to fall apart.
Having prepped onions gives me a sense of "I'm doing things right today".
You can't underestimate this.
Onion meal prep = Life collapse sensor
I make them every week even during my weight maintenance phase.
In the end, I searched for and tried various onion videos, but these two remained because they were easy and sustainable for me.
Cooking difficulty: Low
Taste: High
Recovery on busy days: Strong
And I realized something.
The weeks I manage to prep onions, my life is generally not falling apart.
In weeks when I don't make them, the gout alarm starts ringing.
In other words, pre-made onion dishes are also a life-collapse sensor.
Why are "pre-made dishes" so powerful?
Let me dig a little deeper.
When you're on a diet, there are many moments where you struggle with "what should I eat today?"
Struggle → Get lazy → Convenience store → Fried chicken bento
Have you ever experienced this cycle?
When you have pre-made dishes, the "I'll just eat this for now" mode kicks in.
No struggling.
No thinking.
Just open the fridge and take it out.
This "not thinking" is the key to consistency.
If you fight a diet with willpower, you will lose.
If you fight it with a system, you will win.
Summary: Delicious diet / Delicious health / Delicious gout prevention
Onions are easy to stick with, so you can win
YouTube increases reproducibility
Use canned mackerel wisely by managing quantity and frequency
Pre-made dishes = a system to create "not thinking"
I can't wait for the winter new onion season (this is for real)
YouTube videos introduced this time
2. Onion and Mackerel Can Stir-fry
Both are easy, so even people who don't cook can do them.
▼ Read the series from the beginning (Episode 1)
▼ Summary of the 125kg to 65kg journey
▼ Gout summary