Arthritis's metabolic brother has an old-fashioned name, and an old fashioned symptom: pain! Gout (also called metabolic arthritis) is a disorder of uric acid metabolism. In this form of arthritis, uric acid crystals are deposited on joint cartilage, tendons and the surrounding tissues due to elevated concentrations of uric acid in the blood stream. Affecting mainly men between the age of 40 and 50, gout is a form of arthritis that provokes an inflammatory reaction in these tissues. Nasty deposits often increase in size and burst through the skin to form sinuses discharging a chalky white material.



Arthritis pain

Metabolic arthritis or gout causes excruciating burning pain, swelling, redness and stiffness in the joint. The patient usually suffers from two sources of arthritis pain. The crystals inside the joint cause intense arthritis pain whenever the affected area is moved. The inflammation of the arthritic tissues around the joint also causes the skin to be swollen, tender and sore if it is even slightly touched. For example, a blanket or even the lightest sheet draping over the affected area could cause extreme arthritis pain.

Where is the arthritis pain?

Gout usually attacks the big toe but can also cause havock to the ankle, heel, instep, knee, wrist, elbow, fingers or spine. In some cases this arthritis condition may appear in the joints of the small toes which have become immobile due to impact injury earlier in life, causing poor blood circulation that leads to gout arthritis.

Treatment of arthritis

What causes this pesky disorder and how can gout arthritis be treated. Well, generally speaking, high levels of uric acid in the blood are caused by prote in-rich foods. Alcohol intake often causes acute attacks of gout. And then there's a correlation with hereditary factors that contribute to the elevation of uric acid. Typically persons with gout are: obese, predisposed to diabetes and hypertension, and at higher risk of heart disease. Gout is more common in affluent societies due to a diet rich in proteins, fat, and alcohol. It is known that lead sugar was used to sweeten wine, and that chronic lead poisoning is a cause of gout, which condition is then known as saturnine gout, because of its association with alcohol and excess. Gout avoidance is in how you live your life as you enter gout's favorite age group, the middle-aged male.

Foods to avoid for treatment of metabolic arthritis

Foods that are high in compounds called purines raise uric acid levels in the body and increase the risk of gout and therefore should be avoided when treating this form of arthritis. One possible treatment of arthritis involves restricting purine intake, thus reducing the risk of an attack in people susceptible to gout. Foods high in purines to be avoided in the treatment of arthritis include anchovies, bouillon, brains, broth, consomm?, dried legumes, goose, gravy, heart, herring, kidneys, liver, mackerel, meat extracts, mincemeat, mussels, partridge, fish roe, sardines, scallops, shrimp, sweetbreads, baker's yeast, brewer's yeast, and yeast extracts. Avoiding alcohol, particularly beer, or limiting alcohol intake to one drink per day or less may reduce arthritis attacks. Refined sugars, including white table sugar and the sugar found in fruit juice, should also be restricted, because they have been reported to raise uric acid levels.

Foods to stuff your face in metabolic arthritis treatment

According to a 1950 study of 12 people with gout, eating one-half pound of cherries or drinking an equivalent amount of cherry juice prevented attacks of gout. Black, sweet yellow, and red sour cherries were all effective. Treat your arthritic gout to a bundle of sweet and sour cherries next time you feel that tingling feeling!