WHAT IS GOUT?
Gout is caused by the buildup of too much uric acid in the body. Uric acid comes from the breakdown of substances called purines. Purines are found in all of your body’s tissues. They are also in many foods, such as liver, dried beans and peas, and anchovies.
In the normal flow of life your body dissolves the uric acid that you intake via food and drink, your kidneys work to filter uric acids out of your body. Now if you have a kidney disease, have had one removed or maybe have had a kidney transplanted then you may well be suffering with gout as a side effect.
Gout is associated with uric acid , to be totally honest it is only when the level of uric acid reaches levels that your kidneys can’t clean that you will have problems. This is one of the reasons why people will any sort of kidney problems should be careful as to what they eat, the more foods you eat with purines in the more likely it is you will have gout.
As with most things eating a few foods which are high in purine is fine, but when you start to overdo it your body will let you know it. The medical term for high levels of uric acid is hyperuricemia, but that doesn’t automatically mean that you have gout, it does mean however that you should be taking even more notice of what you are eating.
Men usually eat more red meat than the women in their lives and that is part of the reason why the incidences of gout are much higher in men than they are in women. If a man has a relative who has gout then he should take extra precautions as family history is another contributing factor.
You may notice that your big toe feels really hot at first and then the toe may look swollen and red. Then when you are in bed that night you will be woken up with an excruciating pain in your big toe, it will usually hurt just to have the bed sheet touching your toe. Gout attacks are painful and yet it is all caused by tiny uric acid crystals.
Gout is generally a controllable disease with application of proper treatment and dietary care. No matter how much you love the foods that are high in purines, such as shellfish and game, the pain of a gout attack should be enough to remind you why you have to give them up. Change your diet, get some exercise and reduce your weight and your gout attacks should become few and far between.
Related Posts
Click here for a Natural Gout Remedy!Tagged With gout causes of, gout swelling, how to treat gout, relief for gout pain, signs and symptoms of gout, treatment for gout, what causes gout
Comments
Leave a Reply
