The short answer
No. Dr. Martin says red meat has nothing to do with gout, and he uses the numbers to show it. Red meat eating has fallen about 30 percent over 30 years while gout has gone up 300 percent, so the thing going down cannot be causing the thing going up.
Dr. Martin on gout and red meat:
Dr. Martin, The Doctor Is In, Episode 1544Red meat consumption guys is down 30% in the last 30 years, it's down 30%. People don't eat red meat like they used to. And the reason is, of course, gout is one of them. The biggest reason is because of cholesterol. Don't eat red meat gives you cholesterol, right? And cholesterol is the boogeyman. But you're right, doctors, when they think of gout, they think of red meat and they shouldn't because red meat has nothing to do with gout. Let me prove it to you. Meat consumption, red meat consumption down 30%. Gout is up 300%. Did you know that?
Hear it on the episode: YouTube, The Doctor Is In episode 1544
The two numbers he puts side by side
His argument is one sentence long and it is a comparison, not a theory. If red meat were driving gout, gout would be falling with it. It is not, and he says that on its own is enough to send doctors looking somewhere other than the steak.
The same move he makes on every red meat study
He treats a correlation as a correlation. On episode 821 he takes the studies apart the same way, with the motorcycle gang example, and that argument is set out on the pillar page.
Dr. Martin, The Doctor Is In, Episode 821Do you know that guys that go in a motorcycle gang, they die young, generally. They die young and it's probably true. If you are riding in a motorcycle gang, you probably love red meat. You're a real carnivore, okay? And, therefore, when you die young and you drive a motorcycle, in a motorcycle gang, red meat will kill you. See that's an observational study, okay? We're observing. Motorcycle gang members die young and they like red meat. Therefore, our observation is it's the red meat.
This page is one part of Dr. Martin's guide to red meat, which collects every answer he has given on it.