Gout affects more than 1% of adults in America, and it is the most common form of inflammatory arthritis among men. This illness has been around for thousands of years. The Egyptians wrote about it in 2640 BC, and Hippocrates later referred to it as the “unwalkable disease.” Today we know that gout is associated with rich foods and alcohol consumption, and in the more recent centuries, it has even been called the “disease of the Kings,” since royalty eat the most of these rich foods.
Acute gouty arthritis is an accumulation of monosodium urate crystals in the joints of the body. Most often found in the big toe, we now know that uric acid will only crystallize in the cooler parts of the body. Since the big toe is the farthest joint from the heart, this is where the disorder is most often experienced.
Gout is caused by excessive intake of foods rich in Purines. Purines are a type of compound found in the proteins that make up meat. Certain foods like organ meats (liver and tongue) and red meat have the highest concentrations of purines. Many alcoholic beverages contain a lot of purines as well, most notably red wine. Other factors that can affect the aggrevation of gout include obesity, the use of certain medications, and old age. Gout has a tendency to get worse with age, and this is when women will typically suffer from Gout.
As for the treatment of gout, prevention is key! Trying to avoid purine-rich foods, drinking little to no alcohol, and increasing our water intake will all help avoid gout. If you already suffer from gout, the best natural cure is cherries. Eating Bing cherries or sour cherries on a regular basis will not only help keep the uric acid crystals broken up, but if you eat enough of them, they can help dissolve these crystals, and sometimes get the joint pain to calm down within 1-3 days. This may require eating 2-3 small bowls of cherries throughout the day, but it has been found to be quite effective. I tell my patients to stock up on cherries when they are in season, and freeze them. They make a nice little dessert after dinner, and help prevent gout.
Drinking plenty of water makes our kidneys work a little harder, but this can help them to filter out the excess uric acid, and consuming 2-3 quarts of water a day will help alleviate the gouty arthritis. Many people get temporary relief from anti-inflammatory drugs, but this just covers up the joint pain, without treating the cause of the problems.
An ounce of prevention is worth of pound of cure. We have all heard this saying, and it rings true when the topic is Gout. Many people who have suffered from severe gout get complete relief by switching over to a mostly vegetarian diet, and taking alcohol out of their diet completely, if this doesn’t sound to appealing to you, just try eating some more cherries, and drinking plenty of water. Some remedies can be easy and tasty. Gout is something we should be able to handle without too many drastic measures.