Gout is one of the most common forms of arthritis that can cause extreme pain due to too much uric acid in the blood. This occurs if the body either makes too much uric acid or cannot excrete it in large enough quantities.
Uric acid is a by-product of purines broken down by the body’s digestive and waste system, which in turn breaks down and builds up body and food tissues through food intake. Uric acid is dissolved in the blood and flushed out through kidneys.
Increased uric acid levels is known as Hyperuricaemia. Uric acid deposits move to extremities of the body causing inflammation in and around tendon area which is due to the body producing white blood cells to combat the uric acid intruder.
The inflamed area also produces heat. Uric acid can produce needle like crystals which tear into the synovial sacks and cartilage between joints.
All the above should not be left untreated since serious health issues can arise. Levels of pain will vary in intensity from discomfort to extreme pain and complete body immobility. Do not take these symptoms lightly. Please note that this is a serious condition.
This disease has long term effects on the joints and tendons and if not treated can lead to Heart and Kidney disease and other major problems.
Gout has been described as occurring predominately in men, yet more incidences among women are now being observed and even in people who do not consume alcohol.
Who Could Develop Gout?
• Up to 18% of people with gout have a family history of the disease
• Gender gout is more common in men than in women
• Age gout is more common in adults than in children
• Being overweight leads to excess uric acid production
• Excessive alcohol intake can lead to hyperuricaemia
• Enzyme defects can interfere with how the body breaks down purines
• Exposure to lead can cause gout
• Poor digestion
Other Contributors:
People who take certain medicines/have certain health conditions can have high levels of uric acid. Some drugs can lead to hyperuricaemia since they reduce the body’s ability to remove uric acid, such as:
• Diuretics – increase the rate of urine excretion
• Salicylates – anti-inflammatory medicines made from salicylic acid i.e. aspirin
• Niacin – also called nicotinic acid – B3
• Cyclosporine – immunosuppressant
• Levodopa – treats Parkinson’s Disease
If you taking these medications, consult your doctor/practitioner.
Avoid High Purine Foods:
• hearts • turkey • herring • kidneys • mussels • partridge • yeast • trout • sardines • goose • sweetbreads • haddock • anchovies • pheasant • grouse • scallops • mutton • fatty red meats • veal • bacon • salmon • liver
Common issue’s often overlooked in conventional medicine are inadequate digestive enzyme/hormone function and leaky gut syndrome.
If you have experienced any illness affecting the function of your digestion, liver, pancreas, duodenum then usually there is malabsorption present where nutrients are not being assimilated and processed efficiently.
This results in other gut based symptoms and health disorders. Long term stress can also have impact on your digestion.
If is paramount that you have the ability to digest, absorb and assimilate all foods especially protein sources efficiently. If not, then one of the many symptoms and health issues you may experience could be gout.
How To Resolve?
Change the diet. See a professional practitioner to assess your digestive function, dietary requirements. Drink 1.5/2 litres water daily plus vegetable juices.
Eliminate sugar, processed/packaged foods with additives, fatty foods and alcohol, eat plenty salads, green vegetables.
Herbal/homeopathic remedies have been proven to clear up gout symptoms and free up uric acid in the blood. Do not self diagnose here – takes more than celery and parsley to clear up! This is a deep systemic problem.
You would be on these remedies for a few months before symptoms clear up. It could be recommended (since each case is different), that you take the remedy again within a couple of months for 1-2 months then take a break again.
Other people may find they don’t need to take the remedies again unless any slight symptoms occurred.
Patience and consistency is required for optimum results – depending on chronicity.
Experts at Mayo Clinic suggest medications for gout have reduced the need for dietary restrictions. Taking drugs to combat symptoms and continuing to eat the offending foods is not the ideal solution for good health.
People who cannot tolerate gout medications need to change their diet. Taking medications does not give one a “licence” to eat anything, anytime, yet you do meet people with this perspective and this is how they may choose to live.
All drugs do create some side effects – usually interfering with digestive function!
You can find much more information on living a holistic lifestyle in these free magazines and on our YouTube channel.
Lyn Craven
If have been struggling from sudden gout flare ups in past. The pain was so intense that i started to give me hard times living a normal life. Then my doctor suggested me to make some diet modifications which includes eating fresh fruits and vegetables. My diet mostly includes low GI carbohydrates like oats and mostly beans. I limit my protein intake and cover most of them from low fat dairy sources. Following this diet, i started to feel better and with in 6 months, my gout attacks got less severe and now hardly got them.
Great advise. Diet plays a huge role in healing gout. Thanks for reminding our readers.
I’m having a gout attack as we speak. I went to a Primacare doctor and he gave me a shot and it made my foot feel much better within a couple of hours. He gave me a prescription for 28 pills to take for fourteen days. I looked up the side effects as well as the ones included in the prescription info with the pills and decided if I didn’t want to die I shouldn’t take them. I haven’t taken them so now my symptoms are back on my big toe and under my foot ( bottom of it). I have these about every three years or so and it goes away in a few days. This time it’s on the left foot instead of the right one and I can bearly walk and put weight on it because of the pain. I’m also out of breath when walking because of the overcompensations I have to take to my gait. (Way I have to walk.) Thanks
So glad you found this article and I hope you recover soon.