Gout vs Gender

                

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Gout is an acute form of arthritis that results in sudden and chronic attacks of severe pain and inflammation in the joints; primarily the big toe, feet and legs. Although anyone can develop this condition, gout is more common among men than women. In fact, compared to women, men are four times more likely to develop gout. It is estimated that of the one million Americans who have gout, more than 80% are men.

Why are men so much more susceptible to gout than women? Gout is linked to hyperuricemia (abnormally high uric acid levels). Men have a substantially higher amount of uric acid in their system than women. During puberty, uric acid production increases in males and continues to climb. Therefore, by the time men reach their 40?s, their uric acid levels have been high for a prolonged period of time and can result in gout.

Women, on the other hand, tend to only become more susceptible to gout after they experience menopause, and are more likely to develop the arthritic condition in their 60?s. This is because after menopause, uric acid levels in women reach the levels of men, due to the fact that their estrogen levels have dropped. Estrogen helps to keep uric acid production under control.

What is uric acid? It is a waste product your body forms after it has broken down purines, which are natural substances, found in every cell within our body and are in virtually all the foods we eat. Purines are essential to the body because they provide the chemical structure that creates genes. In addition, uric acid functions as an antioxidant in the body, as it protects blood vessels and prevents their linings from becoming damaged. Therefore, a certain amount of purines and uric acid are essential to maintain the health and wellbeing of our bodies.

However, if uric acid levels become too high within the blood or in other parts of the body, it can build up and accumulate and form uric acid crystals. These crystals can be deposited into the joints, and organs.

What causes high uric acid levels? There are different causes for high uric acid levels including:

? Overproduction of uric acid ? The kidneys are in charge of filtering uric acid and releasing it through urine. However, if the body is producing too much uric acid the kidneys cannot expel enough of it. On the other hand, uric acid build up can also result if the kidneys are diseased and don?t function properly; if the person has an inherited enzyme abnormality; or blood cancer.

? Over consuming foods high in protein ? Foods high in protein are also high in purines and include organ meats (IE kidney, liver etc.) fish (IE sardines, mackerel, herring, muscles and anchovies), and food containing yeast.

? Medication ? Certain medications, especially diuretics, have been known to cause high levels of uric acid.

Obesity, eating lots of salty foods and consuming excessive amounts of alcohol can also contribute to high uric acid levels. Therefore, as you can see, due to the fact that men already have high levels of uric acid in their system, it doesn?t take much for a build up of uric acid to develop over time and progress into gout.

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Gout - A Disease Of Indulgence

                

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Gout develops when the level of uric acid in the blood is too high. In the past it was known as the patrician's malady because it was considered a diseased of over indulgence amongst the wealthy. High purine diet can affect gout and red meat is high in purine. The rich ate red meat while the poor could only afford grain.

Gout is predominantly a male disease up to the age of 50. It starts around 30 and the peak is between 40 and 50 years. It is rare in pre-menopausal women. Hippocrates wrote about gout as a disease of males and post-menopausal women and urate crystals were found in the big toe of an Egyptian mummy.

Gout can be classified as primary and secondary. In primary gout the body either produces too much uric acid or it cannot excrete it effectively to maintain a normal blood level. These patients benefit significantly from dietary changes. Secondary gout develops as a result of other factors. Some medical conditions can raise uric acid level and trigger gout. These include renal disease and myeloproliferative disorders. In leukaemia, the imbalance is due to excessive production of uric acid, and in renal disease the excretion of uric acid is impeded. Drugs can affect blood uric acid levels. These include diuretics especially thiazide diuretics, aspirin and cytotoxic drugs. Gout is also linked to obesity and alcohol.

Acute gout usually develops during the night. 70-90% of acute gout develops in the big toe and typically affects the first metatarso-phalangeal joint. This is called podagra. Within hours the pain becomes severe and throbbing. The big toe swells up and can feel hot. It is extremely painful to the touch and even the touch of the bed sheath can induce excruciating pain. The acute episode resolves on its own but can take over a week. Medication can shorten this time.

Since the introduction in 1951 of probenacid and allopurinol in 1963, chronic gout is rare apart from non-compliant sufferers. Before these drugs were introduced chronic gout caused severe distress amongst sufferers. Acute gout was frequent and severe. In addition urate crystals separated out into other joints, kidneys and other organs leading to polyarthritis, kidney stones, heart disease and tophi.

Diet and weight loss has an important role in gout management. A low intake of purine can reduce blood urate level by up to 20%. Foods high in purine are meat especially liver and other organ meat, sausages and other processed meat, seafood, milk, eggs and certain beans. Alcohol increases the possibility of gout. Beer is the worse culprit. It contains guanosine. This chemical is converted by the gut flora into uric acid.

Today, with screening and tests done for insurance purpose, we are seeing a group of individuals with high uric acid without any signs of gout. These people need to be monitored. Once all potential factors that can influence gout are eliminated or reduced and diet and weight loss in place, if the uric acid level remains high, then maintenance therapy in the form of allopurinol is recommended to keep the blood uric acid level within the normal range. This stops urate crystals separating out into important parts of the body.

Dr.Phil Hariram is retired General Practitioner. He has treated gout and arthritis for 27 years. http://www.arthritissage.com

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Natural Ways Of Gout Cure

                

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Gout is a condition characterized by severe attacks of inflammation in single joints, which come on suddenly (acutely) and rapidly reach a peak of extremely severe pain and then subside. Characteristically, a further attack occurs after a variable period, usually of months or years, usually affecting a different joint, particularly of the lower limb. If gout is not treated, the periods between the attacks become shorter and last longer as the years go by. This will cause the condition to worsen and affect other joints of your body. There are a lot of methods that you can use to cure gout, including using natural remedies.

One of the effective ways to cure gout is by using cherries or cheery juice. Cherries are known for their anti-inflammatory properties may help reduce the amount of uric acid in the body and keep it from settling into joints which will cause the pain of gout. You can use canned cherries or fresh cherries and it does not matter if you use sour or sweet cherries. All cherries have been reported to be a natural gout cure. The recommended amount of cherries to consume a day is between ten cherries and up to one half pound. There are others who prefer to use cherry juice concentrate (1 tablespoon per day) and it is also effective in curing gout.

Diet is important and can be used as a natural gout cure as well. Purines consumed in the diet account for about 50% of the uric acid produced in the body. Therefore, a low purine or modified purine diet may help gout improve and prevent future gout attacks. A low purine diet consists of eliminating the following high purine foods from the diet: organ meats, sweetbreads, brains, kidney, meat gravies, meat extracts, scallops, wild game, mackerel, herring, anchovies and sardines. In addition, only one serving of the following foods are allowed per day in a low purine diet: dried beans and peas, asparagus, cauliflower, spinach, mushrooms, poultry, meat or fish.

Apart from this, you can also consider a purine-modified diet, which consists of eliminating extremely high-purine foods such as liver, brains, kidney and other organ meats as well as sweetbreads. However, in a purine-modified diet, it is alright for some protein foods not to exceed 100 grams per day. In one ounce of meat, there are 7 grams of protein Bread and grains have about 3 grams of protein per serving. One serving is one slice of bread or ? cup of grain. Protein can be obtained by eating milk, eggs and cheese because these foods are high in protein and low in purines.

Another natural gout cure is increasing the intake of water, which can help to flush out excess uric acid and help prevent kidney stones. As a guideline, it is recommended that you drink at least eight glasses of water or three litres a day. Gout sufferers should also avoid alcohol because it increases uric acid production and inhibits its secretion.

Although it is important to reduce your weight to prevent gout, you should avoid fad diets such as fasting because quick weight loss causes a release of uric acid by the cells as they break down. Instead, you should try a diet that encourages slow and steady weight loss.

Another natural gout cure is charcoal poultice. To make charcoal poultice, mix one half cup activated powdered charcoal with a few tablespoons flaxseed that has been ground in a blender until it becomes meal. Then add enough warm water to create a paste. Put paste on affected joint and cover with cloth or plastic. The dressing should be changed every four hours or it may be left on over night. Be sure to avoid getting the charcoal poultice on clothing or bed linens because it will stain.

A charcoal bath can also be used as a natural gout cure. Using an old basin that you don't mind staining, mix one half cup of charcoal powder with water until a paste is made. Place affected foot into the basin and add water until the foot is covered. You should soak your foot in the charcoal bath for thirty to sixty minutes.

For more information on the different kinds of Gout Causes, Gout Natural Remedy or Gout Natural Cure, please visit the following website: Gout Natural Remedies & Treatment

Skyjoe is a well-known author, website publisher and owner of www.mygeneralknowledge.com. ?Skyjoe. All rights reserved. This article may be freely distributed as long as it remains unaltered inclusive of the active links and the copyright notice. No alteration is allowed without express written permission from the author.

Help for Diabetes, Gout and More

                

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Overview of Gout

Gout is a systemic disease caused by the buildup of uric acid in the joints, causing inflammation, swelling, and pain. This condition can develop for two reasons. The liver may produce more uric acid than the body can excrete in the urine, or a diet of rich foods (e.g., red meat, cream sauces, red wine) puts more uric acid into the bloodstream than the kidneys can filter. In both cases, a condition called hyperuricemia results. Over time, the uric acid crystallizes and settles in the joint spaces, most commonly in the first metatarsal phalangeal joint of the big toe or in the ankle joint.

Signs and Symptoms

The most common symptoms of gout are inflammation, swelling, and tenderness in the joint of the first toe. Touching or moving it is intensely painful and patients often say it hurts to have as much as a bedsheet over the toe. Gout develops quickly and typically occurs in only one joint at a time. Symptoms may develop in two or three joints simultaneously, but this is rare. If widespread symptoms occur, the condition is probably not gout.

Diagnosis

The most reliable way to diagnose gout is to examine the joint fluid for uric acid crystals. This is done by drawing fluid from the joint with a needle and examining it under a polarized light microscope. Although the test is invasive, the results are definitive, and a positive result facilitates proper treatment and quick relief.

Treatment

Treatment for gout involves decreasing the amount of uric acid in the joint. If dietary habits are the cause, the patient's lifestyle must be changed to avoid the condition. Gout is readily corrected with patient cooperation, and it is usually not treated unless it occurs frequently. Colchicine is a common medication for treating acute gout attacks. If continuous medication is necessary, the two most common choices are probenecid and allopurinol.

Prevention

Alcohol and rich foods are primary contributors to excessive uric acid levels. Although some patients have a genetic predisposition to excessive uric acid production, most gout patients have normal kidneys and uncontrolled dietary habits. Prevention is the best defense against the disease.

Many patients who suffer from gout continue to indulge, and suffer frequent attacks as a result. Although medication makes it possible to live with gout, the continued accumulation of uric acid in the joints eventually damages them, seriously inhibiting movement.

Overview of Diabetes

New to diabetes? Learn the basics check with your local diabetes clinic or research it on the internet.

A key to diabetes management is maintaining a regular exercise program. Its never too late to start see below. Sticking to dietary goals while eating out also can be very challenging see comments below.

20 million Americans and Canadians have diabetes. Nearly 7 million don't know it. Type 2 diabetes usually develops slowly, and the symptoms often go unnoticed. Our son developed a puffiness to his face which we noticed right away because we saw him only a couple of times a year. He and his wife put it down to simple weight gain. After 2 years they finally snapped to there being something wrong and when he was finally checked out his diabetes was off the charts. Fortunately, they caught it in time, but it should have been caught over a year earlier.

Nearly 90 to 95% of all people with diabetes have type 2. Who gets it? Just about any body. Fat, skinny, regular build, it makes no difference; just about everyone can develop diabetes. Most at risk are people regardless of body build who live on a high intake of junk food. Least at risk are people who eat a regular balanced diet.

What you may not know about diabetes the truth about insulin resistance. 92% of people with type 2 diabetes have insulin resistance. Get the facts go to your local diabetes agency or research it on the internet.

Obesity is a major risk factor for diabetes. Obesity is not a guarantee you will develop diabetes and many obese persons never develop it, but persons who are obese

Diabetic meals can be healthy and savory.

A key to diabetes management is maintaining a regular exercise program. Its never too late to start and you can do it with a simple walking program. Just walk 1 kilometer a day and over a period of a month build it up to two miles (3 kilometers) a day.

Sticking to dietary goals while eating out can be very challenging. Many, even most, restaurants cater to people with special dietary needs just ask. And learn those restaurants which do not and avoid them.

When it comes to diabetic nutrition, not sure what to believe? There are many stories out there, some believable, others not. Research what you need to know from trusted resources your local diabetes support center, the internet, friends who have diabetes.

The help of friends and family can make all the difference to someone with diabetes.

Help for Diabetes, Gout and Other Disorders

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Loring Windblad has studied nutrition and exercise for more than 40 years, is a published author and freelance writer. His latest business endeavor is at http://www.organicgreens.us info@organicgreens.us