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[D281]Diet For Gout Patients

by Groshan Fabiola, Gro

Gout appears because the blood has to much uric acid in it and this acid forms small crystals in the tissues found in the joints. These crystals cause inflammation and pain. The joint that gout mostly affects is the one from the left or right big toe.

The small crystals of uric acid can get bigger and cause arthritis or they can affect the kidneys where they turn into kidney stones.

Therefore it is important to know how to prevent gout, or what to do if we just found out that we suffer from it. The key to avoiding the levels of uric acid to raise is a special diet. The only reason why we have too much uric acid inside our bodies is because we eat too much food that contains a lot of purines, the substances from which uric acid is made.

Seafood, red meat, and some vegetables (peas, cauliflower, beans) are the aliments that have the highest concentration of purines. Then come fish, beef and liver, which also have a lot of purines in them, but not as many as the first ones.
It is known that if you drink a lot of alcohol the risk oh hyperuricemia is increased (hyperuricemia is a condition of the body that occurs when there's too much uric acid in it)

On the other hand, there are some types of food that can reduce the leves of uric acid, and that are highly recommended when you have gout. From these, the most important is the apple. Apples contain malic acid, an acid that neutralizes uric acid, so if you eat a lot of apples you may be cured of gout. Banannas and limes can do some good to those with gout. Vitamin C found in the limes can also dissolve uric acid.

Finally, fluids are beneficial because if you drink a lot of fluids these help the body elimminate the uric acid. Some doctors state that if you drink two glasses of milk each day you will reduce the risks of a gout attack with 50%.

Therefore, diet is crucial for those with gout. The proper diet can prevent and cure the illness and the wrong one can make it much worse, so if you have gout ask your doctor to recommend you the best diet and try to maintain it. If you do so you will be completly cured and you'll never have a gout attack again.

The problem with the Atkins diet and gout is that the Atkins Diet is based around the theory that a low carbohydrate, high protein intake allows the body to burn fat more easily. Great for losing weight, not so good for gout sufferers ? Let me explain!

One contributory factor to gout is being overweight and ?losing the extra pounds? is usually one of the first suggestions that a doctor will make. As gout is such a painful condition most sufferers are looking for a weight loss program that will take the pounds off quickly without leaving them feeling deprived. This is where diets such as Atkins fit the bill. However, there is a problem...

Your body develops gout when it is not processing uric acid effectively, because of either hereditary reasons, or an increase in production of uric acid through increased intake of purine rich food, or above normal rates of cell degeneration.

Uric acid is a natural waste product that the body produces. Uric acid is dissolved in the blood stream and is eliminated via urine. If there is elevated levels of uric acid in the bloodstream due to the body being unable to process and eliminate uric acid effectively, Hyperuricemia can develop.

Although, not dangerous in itself, hyperuricemia has the side effect of depositing excess uric acid, which then crystallizes, into the spaces between joints and the soft connective tissue which links the joints. The crystals are sharp, jagged needles that cause intense pain, swelling, redness and heat in the joint.

Excess uric acid can result from a number of factors such as: not drinking enough water to keep the levels dilute, drinking too much alcohol and eating a diet high in purine-rich foods.

Purine is found mainly in protein dense foods, and predominantly animal protein foods. However, these protein rich foods tend to form the backbone of the Atkins diet and other low carb diets.

The rationale for adopting a high-protein Atkins diet, and other similar ?low-carb? diets is to burn of fat quickly by cutting back on carbohydrates. The theory is that carbohydrates turn to sugar and the body will target sugars first when looking for fuel to burn. As you remove or heavily restrict carbohydrates in your diet, the body has no choice but the burn the reserves of fat.

This then gives the result of quick weight loss. However, this process of burning up fat produces lactic acid as a by-product, which then has to be processed by the kidneys before elimination; keeping uric acid levels in the blood stream higher and the likelihood of a gout attacks is subsequently increased.

Another risk of following a low carb diets, if you're predisposed to gout, is they can lead to a build up ketones in the blood stream, another compound which can push uric acid levels higher.

So, gout sufferers are usually better to follow a gout-friendly diet rather than a low-carb diet. Although the weight loss may be slower, your chances of suffering another gout attack is very reduced dramatically.

There is the option of adopting a tailored low carb diet that takes into account your gout risk, combined with other treatments to increases the expulsion of uric acid from the body.

For information and advice on choosing the right diet, between an Atkins diet and gout friendly diets sign up for a free newsletter on our site.

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Both Groshan Fabiola & Lisa Mcdowell are contributors for EditorialToday. The above articles have been edited for relevancy and timeliness. All write-ups, reviews, tips and guides published by EditorialToday.com and its partners or affiliates are for informational purposes only. They should not be used for any legal or any other type of advice. We do not endorse any author, contributor, writer or article posted by our team.

Groshan Fabiola has sinced written about articles on various topics from Woman Menopause, Medical Condition and Health. If you are intersted in finding more information about gout you can click on this website