Nutritional Therapy A Natural Cure For Gout

                

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Acupressure can provide wonderful relief for gout attacks and it can be used as a complimentary treatment with medication or with other natural remedies like nutritional therapy. Nutritional therapy is type of natural cure for gout that is based on the belief that food contains the natural medicines our body requires in order to obtain and sustain health.

How can nutritional therapy help gout? Although it is often used as a complimentary treatment with medication, nutritional therapy can help gout sufferers find relief from gout attacks by reducing inflammation. It can also prevent gout from recurring by lowering and controlling uric acid levels in the blood. In addition, proper nutritional therapy is safe to use for most people.

What is proper nutritional therapy? The term ?proper? has been used to clarify that like any other treatment; nutritional therapy can produce negative effects or be ineffective if used incorrectly, such as ?
- Ingesting too little or too much of one substance
- Ingesting something with ingredients you are allergic too
- Combining different products that may not be compatible

How is nutritional therapy taken? Nutritional therapy primarily includes vitamins and minerals and is usually taken in the form of a supplement.

What is the nutritional therapy prescribed for gout relief and prevention? The following is a list of some nutritional therapy recommended for gout sufferers, and includes the benefits and precautions associated with each ?

Folic Acid ? This is the synthetic version of Folate (a water-soluble B vitamin that is naturally found in dark leafy green vegetables and citrus fruits) that is used in supplements.
Benefits ? Studies have found that high doses of folic acid may help reduce uric acid levels.
Caution ? Extremely high doses of folic acid can lead to digestive stress and may not be safe for pregnant or nursing women, or those who suffer from seizures, kidney or liver disease.

Vitamin C ? This is an essential antioxidant water-soluble vitamin (found in citrus fruits and green leafy vegetables, etc.)
Benefits ? Studies have found that high doses of vitamin C can increase urinary excretion of uric acid, and lower uric acid in the blood.
Caution ? Taking extremely high amounts of vitamin C may change uric acid levels in the body which can result in an acute gout attack. High doses can also cause other side effects.

Bromelain ? A proteolytic enzyme (found in pineapple)
Benefit ? Studies have found Bromelain to be effective in reducing inflammation. It appears to be a more suitable choice over other prescription anti-inflammatory meds used to treat gout.
Caution ? Not recommended for those allergic to pineapples, pregnant women, those with high blood pressure, kidney or liver disease. This nutritional therapy may not be compatible with other medications and can cause side effects such as nausea, vomiting and diarrhea. It is designed for short-term use.

Quercetin ? A bioflavonoid that acts as an antioxidant (found in onions)
Benefit ? Restrains xanthine oxidase, the enzyme that creates uric acid. Studies have found it to have anti-inflammatory affects.
Caution ? More studies need to be conducted to find out the true benefits and side effects of this nutritional therapy.

Other nutritional therapy that is recommended which may prove effective in relieving and preventing gout include:

- Vitamin A
- Vitamin E
- Pantothenic acid (vitamin B5)
- Selenium
- Evening primrose oil
- Fish oil
- Aspartic acid

Keep in mind that you can obtain the above nutritional therapy by naturally incorporating them into your diet, as they exist in many foods.

Before starting a nutritional therapy regimen for as a natural cure for gout, you should consult your doctor about your decision and ask for specific recommendations and about proper dosage. It is also a good idea to have your doctor monitor your condition when taking anti-inflammatory supplements.

By Lisa McDowell. Sign up for a free newsletter & discover how diet can be used as an effective gout home remedy. You'll also find gout recipe options

Gout And The Risk Of Kidney Stones

                

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Despite what joints may be affected by gout, this particular form of arthritis can cause another complication ? kidney stones.

What are kidney stones and what causes them? Kidney stones are small masses that are rock-like in substance. They can be small enough to be passed through urination, or large enough to block the flow of urine. Passing kidney stones is often an extremely painful experience that most people don?t soon forget. Kidney stones can occur for different reasons. However, in the case of gout, kidney stones form as a result of too much uric acid in the urine.

Who is most at risk for developing kidney stones? Essentially, anyone who has recurring cases of gout is at risk for developing kidney stones. However, middle aged men, and the elderly (both women and men) are more likely to develop kidney stones, due to the fact that they are the primary gout sufferers, and have higher levels of uric acid.

Furthermore, kidney stones are most likely to occur in those who suffer from secondary gout and primary gout. Approximately 42% of those diagnosed with secondary gout will experience kidney stones. However, only 10 ? 25% of primary gout sufferers will develop stones.

Why is the risk so much higher for secondary gout sufferers? The reason is because unlike those who have primary gout - high levels of uric acid without a known cause, those with secondary gout have high levels of uric acid because of their long-term medication (IE. diuretics, aspirin, levodopa, etc.) or health condition (IE. alcoholism, obesity, diabetes, kidney dysfunction, etc.)

Additionally, people who have experienced kidney stones are more likely to develop stones again in the future.

What are the signs and symptoms of kidney stones? Although in some cases there may be no symptoms at all, most people who suffer kidney stones report the following:
- Sudden extreme painful cramping that occurs in the lower back, side, groin or abdomen.
- Nausea or vomiting caused by severe pain
- Blood in urine
- Fever and chills may occur if there is an infection in the urinary tract

If you have any of the above symptoms, you should visit your doctor or the emergency room to make sure that what you are experiencing is indeed kidney stones.

How are kidney stones treated? Although the sudden onset of pain may compel you to take a trip to the emergency room, the chances are after you?ve been x-rayed and diagnosed, a doctor will likely prescribe you pain medication and tell you to drink plenty of water and wait for the kidney stone to pass naturally. Most stones pass within 48 hours when significant fluid is ingested. Symptoms should stop as soon as stones pass.

If the stone will not pass naturally due to its size, a doctor may perform:
- Lithotripsy ? A common procedure that uses a shock wave to break up the large stone into small pieces so they can be passed.
- Surgery ? there are a few techniques used to surgically remove the stones. These surgeries are often uncomplicated.

How to prevent uric acid kidney stones ? The following are ways a gout sufferer can reduce their risk of developing stones:

- Avoid or limit alcohol intake
- Eliminate or limit foods in your diet that raise uric acid levels such as: organ meat, red meat, shellfish, mushrooms, asparagus, dried peas and beans, etc.
- Drink plenty of water and stay well hydrated all the time
- Exercise regularly
- Loose weight realistically ? If you are overweight or obese avoid crash diets to lose weight quickly. Losing weight too fast can cause a rise in uric acid levels and increase the risk of stones.
- Medication ? Talk to your doctor about medication that can help lower and control uric acid levels.

By Lisa McDowell. Sign up for a free newsletter & discover whether you are experiencing a gout symptom. On the site you'll also find more on proven gout remedy options

Is Your Grocery List Promoting Gout? What Foods to Eat and Which Ones to Avoid

                

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If you have a condition like gout, one of the last things you want to think about is what's on your grocery list. After all, gout is painful and uncomfortable and the swelling is not only a nuisance, it can also be quite embarrassing. However, you don?t have much choice. Gout does require that you will have to avoid certain foods that will aggravate your condition.

How food is linked to gout

Gout is a condition caused by elevated levels of uric acid in the blood. In some cases, genetics could be the culprit. However, some people pre-disposed to gout may be asymptomatic, meaning they do not suffer from any symptom at all and will not require treatment.

There are some, however, whose lifestyles directly cause the occurrence of gout. Food and drink may contribute to the development of this condition and cause unnecessary discomfort and pain.

Certain foods promote the production of uric acid in the body. In normal levels, it is easily dissolved in the blood and excreted through the urine and therefore do not cause any harm. However, when too much food high in substances that produce uric acid is taken, the body may not have enough time or resources to properly process uric acid and dispose of it. This is where trouble begins.

How uric acid harms the body Uric acid is the end product of the bodys effort to metabolize purine and is obtained from guanine and adenine. These are purines that are necessary components of our DNA and RNA. It's not entirely useless because uric acid serves to rid our bodies with excess nitrogen.

Uric acid is not completely soluble and when increased to intolerable levels, can cause gout. This is the same uric acid that promotes the formation of kidney stones. It forms sharp, needle-like crystals that deposit themselves in the joints, causing inflammation, redness and pain.

There are two main reasons why uric acid levels increase in the body: either the kidneys are impaired and not functioning properly, or there's too much intake of substances (i.e., food) that promote the production of uric acid.

Foods that promote gout

Most foods are actually nutritious and are harmless by themselves. However, when taken in excess or in situations where gout is already pre-existing, they can produce unpleasant effects.

The foods that are most likely to aggravate gout are those that are rich in purine. These include sources of animal protein like red meat, organ meats or offal like kidneys, tripe, sweetbreads, heart and liver and some shellfish and seafood ? oysters, mussels, anchovies, mackerel and herring. Foods that are moderately high in purines are mutton, bacon, salmon, scallops, trout, goose, pheasant, turkey and other game meats.

Other foods that need to be either avoided or taken in moderation are dried peas, beans, spinach, mushrooms, cauliflowers, asparagus, oatmeal, wheat germ and wheat bran.

Purine may also be found in other kinds of meat, poultry and fish, although in small amounts. Therefore, their intake should be limited, preferably to 6 oz. per day at most.

Other foods that need to be avoided are junk food and sweets, including ice cream, pastries, rich desserts and those made with simple carbohydrates. Fructose is a main contributor to weight gain and people suffering from gout need to watch their weights more carefully. Overweight and obese people have high levels of uric acids in their blood.

If going on a diet, avoid crash diets or fasting, since these can raise the blood's uric acid level. It would also be wise to stay away from diets that use high protein and low carbohydrates to promote weight loss.

Drinking too much alcohol can also aggravate a gout attack and can contribute to its occurrence. Alcohol and beer interferes with the body's ability to excrete uric acid which may lead to hyperuricemia, a condition where there is increased levels of uric acid in the blood. However, there is no proof that wine can increase the risk of gout occurrence and may be taken in moderation.

Managing gout does not necessarily mean completely eliminating the abovementioned foods from your diet just to avoid an attack. The trick is to take them in moderate amounts and if it can be done, to eat alternative foods like tofu, low-fat dairy products and eggs instead, which are low in proteins. Meats don?t have to be avoided completely either, as long as portions are smaller and leaner and prepared with little or no oil.

Lee Dobbins writes for http://gout.topicgiant.com where you can learn more about how to combat symptoms of gout and which gout foods to avoid.

What Makes A Balanced Food Diet For Gout

                

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To help improve the conditions of gout, one can consider trying out a low purine diet. Low purine gout diet place special emphasis on vegetable protein, dairy products, and water intake and completely abstaining from including high purine foods in the diet. Food items such as anchovies, bouillon, brains, broth, consume, dried legumes, goose, gravy, heart, herring, kidneys, liver, mackerel, meat extracts, mincemeat, mussels, partridge, roe, sardines, scallops, shrimp, sweetbreads, yeast (bakers and brewers), and yeast extracts (maramite, vegemite) need to be eliminated completely no matter how tempting and tasty these food might be from one's diet in order to prevent and treat gout.

Studies have shown that with the adoption of a low purine diet, the symptoms associated with gout decreases preventing the sudden and painful attacks of gout from occurring. Foods high in purines such as anchovies, brains, organ meats, sweetbreads, kidney, meat gravies, meat extracts, wild game, mackerel, scallops, herring, and sardines such be avoided when one is thinking of planning to have a low purine diet.

For a low purine or modified-purine diet, foods that contain only moderate amounts of purine and are allowed. Asparagus, cauliflower, legumes, lentils, mushrooms, oatmeal, peas (dried), soy, spinach, tripe, best bets, beverages (carbonated), butter, cereals and cereal products, cheese (all types), cocoa, corn, cornbread, eggs, fruit juices, fruits, gelatin, ice cream, milk, noodles, nuts, refined white flour, tapioca, vegetables (except those high in purine), white bread and crackers, and white rice are examples of food with a moderate amount of purine.

For most people who have experienced gout will usually use a purine-modified diet and avoid high purine foods in their daily diet to reduce the possibility of having more attacks of the gout. This low purine diet consists of eliminating extremely high purine foods such as liver, brains, kidney and other organ meats as well as sweetbreads.

In addition, only one serving of the following foods are allowed per day in order to avoid consuming too much purines: dried beans and peas, asparagus, cauliflower, spinach, mushrooms, poultry, meat or fish. In most of the prescribed treatment used today, a purine-modified diet is introduced for the treatment of gout. In a purine-modified diet, the doctor will only encourage the patients to consume some protein foods. However the patients will have to bear in mind not to exceed 100 grams of protein per day. As a rough guide, there are about 7 grams of protein in one ounce of meat and 3 grams of protein per serving of bread and grains. Studies have shown that dairy products such as milk, egg and cheese are good food choices for gout patients since they are low in purine but rice in protein. Consuming large amounts of these dairy products was found to reduce the risk of developing gout by 50%.

On top of having a correct and healthy diet, medications such as non-steroidal anti-inflammatory drugs, corticosteroids and allopurinol are often prescribed by doctors together with the recommended diet to treat gout. There is no better form of treatment or prevention for gout other than drinking lots of water, eating lots of dairy products and vegetable proteins and abstaining from high purine food items.

For more information on the different kinds of Gout Causes, Natural Remedy For Gout or Gout Diet, you may wish to check out this website: http://www.gout.mygeneralknowledge.com.

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

The Signs of Gout and Gout Symptoms

                

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 Gout is a type of arthritis that causes the inflammation of the joints. Gout mostly affects the joints of the lower body (toes, heels, ankles, knees), but it can also affect other joints (elbows, spine, shoulders and hand wrists). The disease can sometimes cause damage to skin and soft tissue (tendons and muscles), which have decreased flexibility and integrity.

The most common gout symptoms are discomfort, sourness, swelling and intense pain of the affected area. In most patients with the disease, the first gout symptoms appear at the level of the big toe. The skin around the affected regions turns yellow, appears to be stretched and bruised. People who suffer from gout usually experience pain attacks that may last anywhere from a few minutes to a few hours and in some cases, even days. In most cases, the pain attacks seem to amplify at night and many people with gout have trouble sleeping. The regions affected by gout become very sensitive and people with the disease can?t tolerate clothing or shoes.

Gout is mainly caused by the accumulation of uric acid (waste product that is collected and eliminated by the kidneys through urine) inside the body. The surplus of uric acid tends to crystallize and deposit in different parts of the body. One of the most disturbing gout symptoms is the inflammation of soft tissue. Sometimes, the crystallized uric acid forms tophi, painful lumps under the skin. Sometimes, tophi may even tare up the skin, causing infections.

Gout symptoms can be ameliorated by diet and lifestyle. Keeping a proper diet is a good way of handling the effects of the disease. In some cases, good diets are even more effective in overcoming gout than the actual treatment prescribed for the disease. The treatment of gout usually deals only with local inflammation and pain, and its effects are temporary. Pain episodes and inflammation are known to reoccur even under intense medication. A good diet, however, eases gout symptoms and also minimizes their chances of reappearing. Gout diets consist mainly of low-purine foods that don?t add to the amount of uric acid in the body. By drinking plenty of water you help the kidneys excrete the surplus of uric acid (around two liters of water each day are required).

Gout symptoms also tend to amplify in the case of people who are overweight. Obesity is known to facilitate the accumulation of uric acid inside the body. Also, overweight people that suffer from gout are more exposed to injuries of the joints. It is very important to try losing the extra weight when suffering from gout.

Smoking and the consumption of alcohol are considered to be factors that support and aggravate gout symptoms. Alcohol interferes with the normal renal activity, causing the kidneys to release less uric acid through urine, while smoking seriously damages arteries, affects blood circulation and slows down the process of healing. When suffering from gout, it is very important to reduce these factors of risk, as they only cause damage to the body.
So, if you want to find out more information about gout and especially about gout symptoms, please visit these links, you'll find one of the best gout information websites.