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 vs Cherries?

                

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Every disease that is faced by man has a colourful history behind it. Stories such as ?Your brother?s best friend?s cousin beat leukemia by eating a dozen raw eggs a day? or ?A guy in Kentucky woke from a 30-year coma after listening to nothing but William Shatner records for 2 days? litter the rich, social fabric of human history. Is it true or is it all an old wives tale? And if it is true, was this miracle cure just a coincidence or was it actually due to the unorthodox treatment?

One such tale that has been around for decades is the ?connection? between cherries and gout. It is believed that if you dine on these ruby red orbs as soon as you begin to show the painful signs of gout, it will speed healing.

The tale goes as far as to say that if you incorporate cherries as part of your daily fruit intake, you may never even get gout to begin with.

While this medical rumour sounds like it was started by the Worldwide Cherry Federation in an attempt to boost sales, the connection between gout and the cherry can be traced back to 1950 and a doctor who cured himself of gout.

Dr. Ludwig Blau discovered that by eating between six to eight cherries a day, you could stave off the return of gout indefinitely, but was the doctor a quack or was he on to something?

As it turns out, cherries do help battle gout on two different fronts. The first is based on what cherries keep together. The collagen in the body is used to create connective tissue and it?s this tissue that gout damages. Cherries help keep collagen strong and less susceptible to attacks of gout.

Cherries also contain a natural enzyme that helps the body to lower the uric acid levels in the blood. High levels of uric acid cause outbreaks of gout.

If that wasn?t enough, cherries also have unique antioxidant properties that can assist in the body expelling larger amounts of uric acid than normal.

A recent study at the University of California ? Davis bears out Dr. Blau?s findings. The ten women who took part in the study enjoyed a breakfast of 45 cherries and then the testing began.

The study, performed by the Agriculture Research Service with the United States Department of Agriculture showed that the amount of uric acid that was expelled from the body after a breakfast of cherries was significantly higher. Scientists were able to measure the amount of uric acid present in the body before the subjects dined on their cherry-only meal, and then measured it a second time. The findings were matched by blood samples that were also taken.

While not all myths and legends about diseases and cures are accurate, you do find an occasional truth among the old wives tales, and in this case, cherries might not only be the most effective way to treat gout, but they are certainly one of the tastiest!

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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 http://www.arthritissage.com/blog

Foods to Avoid When Suffering From Gout

                

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If you are suffering from gout, there are certain foods that you should be avoiding. Of course, you might not agree with or even like the recommendations. However, it is in the best interest of any person suffering from gout to know which foods are good for them and which foods they should avoid. One thing that you should avoid, which is not so much a food, but it is ingested none the less is alcohol. Alcohol consumption could be the direct cause of gout in the first place. However, when you do have gout, regardless of the reason of onset, alcohol should be avoided.

The typical diet for a person suffering from gout, as recommended by physicians is foods that are low in protein and purines. These have been proven to increase a person?s risk of developing gout. In other words, your physician will likely put you on a diet that requires you to consume less meat and less seafood. In some cases, those who suffer from gout and kidney stones will likely have to completely eliminate foods that are purine rich. Foods high in purines actually cause levels of uric acid in the body to rise.

What foods should you avoid? You want to avoid foods such as sweetbreads, sardines, smelt, yeast, mussels, herring, and heart. You will also want to limit your consumption of foods such as scallops, pheasant, haddock, goose, trout, partridge, kidneys, turkey, salmon, liver, bacon, veal, and anchovies, among others.

You will also want to avoid high amounts of fats in your diet. Some researchers and experts will argue that you should also avoid foods such as mushrooms, cauliflower, asparagus, oatmeal, spinach, peas, and beans. Others will argue that these foods have no affects on gout or in increasing the risk of developing the condition.

The best advice is to consult with your physician and nutritionist. If you do have gout, they can guide you in the right direction in regards to both diet and medical treatment. Having gout does not mean you have to suffer, if you know exactly what you should do to make your life with gout a little easier.

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Gout Treatment

                

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Gout is a condition that is more popular in men than in women. Of all the people suffering from Gout, men make up 95% compared to 5% women. It is a an affliction that seems to attack the big toe first in men, and can be excruciating as the joint is inflamed and the uric acid crystals begin to settle and form large clusters. Gout treatment and management is essential to keep uric acid from debilitating joints permanently.

There are several medications for gout treatment although none of them are a cure. Often the first medication prescribed to the patient is a NSAID, usually Indomethacin. In the beginning the patient is given high dosages, and then gradually less as the uric acid crystals dissolve. Another medication used may be Colchinicine, as it is generally used for severe attacks of arthritis caused by gout, and helps to prevent many more acute attacks. This gout treatment medication may be used in two different ways, as a daily dose, or in some cases as an intense treatment over a few hours. There are also Corticosteroids available for patients unable to take NSAIDs or Cholchicine. This gout treatment is once again given in larger doses, and then gradually less over the next several weeks.

One of the medications that may be prescribed for gout treatment is Allopurinol, which is also known as Zyloprim. This medication is for chronic gout and is actually helpful for the system, by reducing the overall retention of uric acid. This is a prevention tool, and not meant to be used during an acute attack. One of the uricosuric agents that may be prescribed to help reduce uric acid retention is called Probenecid. This gout treatment is meant to prevent, and not necessarily to treat an acute attack. ColBenemid is a combination gout treatment that contains Cholchicine and Probenecid. This medication may not only treat current attacks, but it may also help to prevent future attacks. There are many gout treatments available on the market, so your best bet is to discuss your gout treatment options with your doctor.

There are several lifestyle changes that can be made to implement your own personal gout treatment. Obesity has been viewed as a precursor to gout, so maintaining proper weight is a great preventative for gout. Also, there are known facts that a diet heavy in purine can bring about the symptoms of gout. Reducing your consumption of meats can help you keep gout at bay. Alcohol is also a known irritant for gout sufferers. Discuss your habits with your doctor to find out what you can do to keep from developing this problem. You should also consider always keeping yourself properly hydrated, as proper fluids will help to flush the excess uric acid out of your system.

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Foods To Avoid With Gout

                

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People always have the mentality that as long as one does not eat junk food, one can be considered to have a healthy diet. Actually a diet that is considered healthy to one might be unhealthy to another person, it can be quite subjective in this context. Gout patients are usually advice to go on a special diet, which will help to alleviate the pain cause by gout attacks. This diet will require one to avoid food that will increase the uric acid in the body. The list of food to avoid will also include certain food, which are considered healthy by most standards and definitions.

Gout, which is a common form of arthritis especially among man of age 40 to 50, is caused by the deposits of excess uric acid in the bloodstream on the joint connections area. By avoiding food that will cause the body to generate more uric acid than necessary in the body is very critical. Food items containing high purine level is found to increase the production of uric acid in the human body. It is essential for people with gout to avoid such food completely.

The list of high purine food is actually quite long thus it is very important for gout patients to be wary of the food they consume daily. Some of the common beverages, which gout patients should avoid, include coffee, tea, cocoa and even chocolate. Some of these beverages are already part and parcel of ones daily life that it is seriously a bit different to imagine having to abstain drinking them. If you think it is really no big deal to indulge in it once in awhile, you will really have to think twice. Is the pain from a possible gout attack really going to be worth it from your indulgence?

The second list of food gout patients should avoid includes gizzard, kidney, seafood, heart, gravy and red meats. Alcohol should also be place in the list of food to be avoided. Any form of alcohol including wine or beer can trigger attacks of gout. It is significant to memorize the list of food to avoid as it can help to reduce the amount of gout attacks controlling drugs one will have to take.

The third and somehow the list which most people consider as the most healthy choice is simply a bit hard to comprehend why it should be avoided by gout patients. Peas, spinach, lentils and beans are vegetables that should be avoided if one is diagnosed with gout.

It is seriously important for people with gout to bear in mind the types of food items that are harmful and beneficial to their gout conditions. Since you now have a better knowledge of the food types that should be consumed, it might be a good habit of what to buy and what not to buy when you do your grocery shopping the next time. Even though choosing the correct food to consume is important for people with gout, drinking plenty of water is also essential. Drinking lots of water will help the body to remove the excessive uric acid in the body through the urinal system. Exercising regularly will also help gout patients to improve their overall gout conditions.

By restricting your diet and only sticking to food that are low in purine levels will definitely help to reduce complications associated with gout and the need for medication to help control the pain due to an gout attack. To completely be free of the tortures of gout, one will have to bear in mind all the above mention method and pointers.

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