Originally published September 14 2005
Gout sufferers can relieve symptoms with nutritional therapy
by Mike Adams, the Health Ranger, NaturalNews Editor
Gout, a rheumatic arthritic disease, is caused by the inability to properly digest purines. Decreasing the amount of purines in your body (found in foods like anchovies, bouillon, gravy, mussels and sweetbreads) can relieve symptoms of gout.
A. Gout is sometimes referred to as the disease of kings because it has long been associated with the overindulgences of foods that only the rich could afford.
Gout is a painful rheumatic arthritic disease.
Uric acid, which is a substance that results from the breakdown of purines in the body, creates needle-like crystals.
These crystals are deposited in the connective tissue of the joint spaces between two bones.
These deposits then lead to inflammatory arthritis, which causes extreme pain, swelling, redness, heat, and stiffness of the joints.
Hyperuricemia is a condition where the uric acid builds up in the blood because the body has increased the production of it or the kidneys are not able to eliminate enough of it from the body.
A number of risk factors are related to the development of gout, including a family history and being a male over the age of 50.
Being overweight, drinking too much alcohol, and eating too many foods rich in purines are also risk factors.
To confirm a diagnosis of gout, your doctor may insert a needle into an inflamed joint and draw a sample of fluid from in between the bones.
If gout is suspected, a medication called probenecid (Benemid) may be prescribed as the treatment to help reduce the levels of uric acid through the kidneys.
While this medicine is the primary treatment for gout, it is a good idea to cut down on eating foods high in purines on a daily basis to reduce the risk of an attack.
The recommended low purine diet should contain approximately 100 to 150 milligrams of purine per day.
In the presence of an acute attack of gout, it is strongly recommended that you use a medication to reduce the uric acid production.
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