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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Finding a Diet to Fight Gout

                

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Gout is a condition that affects millions of Americans and as yet, there is no single cure. It can be treated, however but may occur from time to time, depending on the individual's exposure to risk factors. One of these factors affecting gout is diet.

As in most conditions, diet plays a major role in the regulation of body functions and in promoting healing. A gout diet mainly promotes the reduction of purine intake and decreasing the production of uric acid in the body. A diet designed to manage gout goes hand-in-hand with other treatments that a patient may be using to alleviate the symptoms.

The link with obesity A study in 1986 and a follow-up study in 1998 indicates that compared to those who were overweight, men who lost at least 10 lbs. had a nearly 40% chance of lowering the risk of gout. People who are considered obese are nearly 5 times more likely to develop gout than does with average weight and people with hypertension are twice as likely of developing it.

Losing weight and maintaining it within recommended range will also help ease the burden from the joints.

Water Preventing a gout attack may be as simple as drinking 8 glasses of water everyday. Water aids in flushing toxins out of the body and keeping the kidneys in top condition. With enough fluid intake, the body can excrete uric acid better through urine and prevent the formation of uric acid crystals.

Fruit juices On top of the water intake, fresh fruit juices can also help combat the increase in uric acid levels.

Eat your fruits and vegetables While some vegetables like dried beans and peas are not recommended for gout sufferers, there are others that can help improve a patient's condition. These are vegetables that are rich in flavonoids including apigenin like thyme, peppermint and parsley. Fruits like cherries, blueberries and blackberries may also help.

Go easy on the purine Foods rich in purine include red meats ? pork, beef, lamb and venison. Organ meats like liver, kidneys and tripe are also high in purine. Seafoods like mackerel, herring and anchovies and shellfish like mussels and oysters can also trigger an attack or aggravate the condition.

If purine-rich foods cannot be avoided (it is also present in poultry), best keep it to a low minimum ? not more than 6 oz. per day. As an alternative, tofu may be a better choice, since soybeans is a good source of protein and does not contain purine.

Go for the good fats Fatty acids found in fish like salmon, for example, have anti-inflammatory properties. The same benefit can also be found in nuts, flax oil and olive oil.

Drink moderately If you can, it's better to avoid alcohol and beer altogether. Alcohol is a prime promoter of purine metabolism and can induce the body to produce more uric acid. It also will block the body's ability to excrete these harmful substances. However, there's some good news. Wine has not been linked to gout and may be consumed in moderate amounts without increasing the risk.

Too much sweets and junk A diet high in simple carbohydrates and fructose or table sugar may also cause gout, along with the salts and additives found in junk food. If you have the condition, best eliminate these from your diet. A decrease in intake will also help you reduce weight.

Take supplements Maintaining a diet that is low on purine has its drawback. It may deprive the body of precious vitamins and minerals that are otherwise present in purine-rich foods. Vitamins like E and B complex help the body regulate its functions and are essential in fighting gout. In this case, taking supplements may be necessary.

B-complex vitamins and folic acid must be taken in divided doses daily to help neutralize uric acid. Vitamin E may be taken in low doses initially and increased gradually to help supplement the diet. In the first stages of a gout attack, taking a high dose of Vitamin C may also help.

Other supplements worth looking into are magnesium citrate to relieve spasms, L-glutamine and L-glycine to reduce acids, L-methionine to detoxify high-purine level foods and fish oil to bring down the swelling.

Gout patients don?t need to suffer for the rest of their lives because of gout. It will continue to exist, true, but it can be controlled as long as a sensible diet is followed. Remember that we are what we eat and while genetics can play a role in some individuals, what we do to ourselves ultimately determines our overall health.

Lee Dobbins writes for http://gout.topicgiant.com where you can learn more about gout as well as how to relieve symptoms of gout.

What Are The Symptoms Of Gout

                

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Gout is an arthritis-based condition in which the body produces high levels of uric acid that forms crystals in the blood. These crystals travel through the body and are deposited in joints throughout the body, usually settling in the big toes, causing severe pain and swelling. An attack of gout usually lasts between five and ten days and is excruciating.

Gout is almost always found in men who are over the age of forty, but it can also occur in women who are in menopause.

No one knows for certain what causes gout, although some studies suggest that there are a number of different causes. There may be a defect in the person's metabolism that causes the body to create and retain too much uric acid. Another cause may be that the kidney is damaged to the point of preventing the disposal of uric acid.

If a person is being treated for high blood pressure, Thiazide diuretic medications may cause an onset of gout. There are certain blood diseases and cancers that may also get it started.

There are four stages in diagnosing gout.

Asymptomatic stage is when the uric acid in the blood is extremely high, but there are no symptoms of gout. No swelling and no pain.

The acute stage is when it is gout is most painful. The pain starts in the joints as a dull ache and quickly becomes excruciating. Swelling soon follows and the affected area will be very hot. Your joints will turn red and look as though you are bruised.

The intercritical stage is when the patient does not have gout attacks on a regular basis. The attack can be spread out between six months to two years of each other. There are reported cases when an attack has not re-occurred for ten years.

The chronic stage is perhaps the worse stage of all. This is when joints are extremely painful because of large crystals that are not only deposited in the joints, but also in between the bones, in membranes and soft tissue.

It is easy to recognize gout because the skin that is covering the crystal deposits develops ulcers that leak. A lesser, but equally painful, symptom is stiffness, leaving the patient unable to move the areas that are affected.

When diagnosing gout, your doctor will order blood tests and x-rays.

The blood tests are to determine the level of uric acid that is in your blood and the x-rays are to find where the crystal deposits are and to determine what the extent of the damage is.

The treatment for Gout is different for each person. Usually it is treated through medication and dietary changes. By following your doctor's instructions, you can lessen the severity of each attack.The above information about Gout is submitted to us from Heather Colman at: gout-talk.info.

Factors of Risk in Common Forms of Gout

                

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Gout is known to be a rheumatoid form of arthritis that causes inflammation, intense pain, discomfort and swelling of the affected regions. Gout mainly tends to affect the joints, especially those of the lower body limbs, such as toes, heels, ankles, knees. In some cases, gout may cause inflammation of the elbows and hand wrists. Skin and soft tissue such as tendons and muscles can also be affected by the disease, losing their flexibility and elasticity.

The main cause of gout is the clustering of uric acid crystals in the arteries, obstructing normal blood flow and causing inflammation. Due to either excessive production of uric acid in the body or renal insufficiency (sometimes the kidneys are unable to eliminate the surplus of uric acid), uric acid accumulates, crystallizes and deposits in different body regions. Food intake plays a major role in the development of gout. Some foods are rich in fat and purine, a substance that is synthesized by the organism into uric acid and therefore may aggravate the symptoms of gout. Smoking and the consumption of alcohol should be considerably reduced when suffering from gout, as these factors affect the secretion of uric acid, contributing to its accumulation within the body.

People who suffer from gout may experience sudden, unexpected pain episodes that tend to reoccur periodically. This may be a first sign of chronic gout. The pain is sometimes more intense during the night in the case of some people who suffer from gout. Another form of gout, referred to as pseudogout, occurs due to the accumulation of crystallized calcium in the joints, instead of uric acid.

Gout is more likely to be developed by men (almost 90 percent of people diagnosed with gout are male), usually after the age of 40. In some cases, women at menopause can be affected by the disease too. Gout rarely occurs to children and young adults.

Gout is considered to have a pronounced hereditary character. Research results indicate that some people who suffer from gout have a family history of the disease.

Obesity is another important factor that leads to the development of gout. The organisms of overweight people tend to produce more uric acid. Obesity also increases the risks of injury at the level of the joints.

Other factors that may facilitate the development of gout are prolonged treatments with diuretics, previous surgeries, the presence of certain diseases that affect blood circulation or extreme medical treatments such as chemotherapy.

It is very important to control gout through the means of an appropriate diet. It is best to keep away from cigarettes and alcohol, as these factors are known to aggravate the disease. Drink plenty of water to facilitate the elimination of excessive uric acid (you should drink around 2 liters of water a day). Lastly, try to avoid a sedentary lifestyle; exercise regularly to keep your body in good shape.

More information about gout you can find here. This is one of the best gout information websites. You can find here most of the answer of your gout related questions.