question about gout

[lwheelr]

The root problem in gout is an inability of the kidneys to remove the uric acid from the blood and excrete it as it normally would. You can adjust your diet to reduce foods that contribute to it, but the best thing long term, is to treat the kidneys and increase their function.

So, some simple additions to the diet to help the kidneys function better will help not just alleviate the symptoms, but to eliminate the cause.

1. Water to keep the kidneys functioning well. It is important to get ENOUGH water, but not too much. That does not mean soda or other chemical based liquids, or flavored water, or vitamin enhanced water (which will do more harm than good), it means just plain pure water. All that other stuff should be eliminated (no pun intended). Milk, juice, herbal tea, and other healthy drinks can offset the water need some, but should not completely replace it. Best to use unchlorinated water (boil city water for 10 minutes to remove most of it - filters don't usually remove chlorine).

2. Kale and Lettuce to repair damage. 1-2 leafs of Kale per day, cooked (raw veggies are usually best, but with Kale, cooking it helps make the compounds that are needed more bioavailable). Kale contains several elements which help actually repair damaged kidneys. Buttercrunch lettuce is best, Romaine second best. Lettuce contains compounds that help restore kidney function when it has been compromised. 1 small serving of salad a day is all that is needed. Kale and lettuce work best in combination - you don't have to eat them at the same time, but they should be consumed in the same day.

3. Cranberries help with kidney function in general, and can help to dissolve the uric acid in the blood.

Cleaning up the diet, eliminating chemicals, etc, goes a long way in both treating the symptoms, and eliminating the cause.

I had gout before I started treating Crohn's with a natural diet. I also have kidney disease, secondary to two genetic disorders (an inability to excrete excess vitamin C, and Alport's Syndrome). I can't use cranberries in therapeutic amounts, because of the vitamin C sensitivity, but I do use Kale and Lettuce and my kidney function has improved just since starting to eat them regularly.

There are other things that can affect kidney function and bring on something like this - damage caused by any number of chemical or drug exposures, infections from salmonella or shigella can damage kidneys, and so can some viruses.

 

[Dunkopf]

thanks for all your help guys, i guess gout in a young adult is not all that uncommon.
he is resting now with pain meds that barely have an effect. will take all this advice and work with it too see what works best for him.

again thanks for the help.

If he wants to get rid of the pain. I have had gout attacks in the past and they are horrible. The best thing to wipe it out for now is a round of steroids. They come in a 7 day pack that starts with 8 little pills and go down one every day until they are gone. The pain will be gone by day two. Like antibiotics they all have to be taken. Once again like Allopurinol it has been around for decades and is cheap. I know everyone gasp at the word steroids but they really help with gout. Obviously it's not something you want to do all the time. The pain killer are good for a buzz with gout but don't do squat for the pain.

If he's having the pain in his feet go to a podiatrist. My GP took x-rays and all sorts of other stuff then sent me to a podiatrist. He knew what it was right off but tried to get me to get sole inserts for my shoes. He then said he thought it was gout and had some blood test done. Then he got rid of the pain with the steroid treatment. Then he put me on Allopurinol. I see they have some new fancy 350.00 a month prescription for gout reduction now. has some guy carrying around a beaker full of uric acid.

Trying to follow a diet for gout isn't easy. Let your son decide what he wants. It will be a life long problem. So he needs to do something that works for him.

 

[Bubblingbrooks]

Kombucha flushes the Uric acid out very fast.
My mother saw her gout disappear in less then a week, when she started drinking it.
You could make it at home, and flavor it after brewing with cherry juice, for a one two punch.

 

[Shiloh Acres]

Interesting on the kombucha.

We always had folks drink black cherry juice. Lots of REAL black cherry juice, not that junk with HFCS added. Some took ACV along with it (not mixed in, just along in the diet).

For those that wanted, there are pills, though less effective. There are also combinations with celery that worked well for some ( black cherry and celery pills).

But most folks swore by the black cherry.

Whatever you decide, I hope he feels better soon. Prevention is a lot better, of course!

 

[Homemaker]

My dad use to take consentrated black cherry juice for his gout. We would buy it at the healthfood store. I use to steal sips of it as it is very tasty.

 

[Icu4dzs]

Much of what has been written here has some merit. No one though has actually zero'd in on the cause although some have come close. Lwheeler told you that it comes from the kidney not being able to clear uric acid. There is merit to this but the actual pathology is what Dunkopf told you (almost). The truth is that the problem comes from consuming purines in the diet.

Purines (and not carbohydrates) are the cause of gout. The body processes protein in the kidney. Purines are a component in this. When the body can not clear the purines that are converted to uric acid, the uric acid crystals are deposited in the joints (like what was mentioned above). Those crystals are like little sharp shards of broken glass and are extremely painful. Until they are cleared from the joint they continue to cause the pain often referred to as podogra.

There are a number of medications that will help with this and some of them have been mentioned by others. The REAL issue is DIET. Lots of folks here have all kinds of advice about how to make it better but I am here to tell you how to AVOID IT. That is the key.

Dunkopf said that the avoidance diet is difficult to maintain and mentions a very expensive drug that costs $350. What is interesting to know is that the drug he mentions is colchicine. It was taken OFF THE MARKET and only one company was allowed to re-introduce it to the market...hence the outrageous cost. But the TRUTH is that AVOIDANCE IS CHEAPER AND MORE EFFECTIVE THAN DRUGS. You can do the math and study all the side effects of the drugs needed to calm down an attack...yes, the ones that "even the cat stomping accross the floor makes enough vibration to cause your right great toe to scream in agony"

The "workaround" is a drug called col-benemid which has the drug colchicine in it as well as the drug Benemid (probenecid). The two together seem to work rather well. They do NOT flush the uric acid out of the body but they help. As mentioned allopurinal does help as does a drug (newer) called Uloric. In fact the computer is so smart that it sees what we are taling about here and the advertisement for Uloric was at the bottom of the page when I hit the "reply" button.

Don't be fooled by any of the things you are told. Go do the research. Colchicine is by NO MEANS a benign drug and your doctor should be VERY INVOLVED if you decide to use it, but it DOES WORK.
It has some serious side efficts but as I said, it does work. It only takes a very few doses to get control of the situation and then you can switch to other things...BUT REMEMBER WHAT I SAID...AVOIDANCE IS THE KEY...NOT DRUGS.

You were told about beer. It is a very big offender in the cause of gout attack. Gout is a familial disease and your family members will admit it from generation to generation. You just got UNLUCKY in the lottery of life on this one.

As for all the recommended remedies listed here, you can try them if you like and it frankly depends on how much pain you can tolerate before you submit to the care of a physician but in the mean time LEARN ALL YOU CAN ABOUT WHAT TO AVOID. That is your best friend. Drugs are a close but useful second.

 

[dragonlaurel]

Cherries - fresh or frozen.
A low purine diet helps prevent it and can gradually bring it back under control.

 

[Dunkopf]

Much of what has been written here has some merit. No one though has actually zero'd in on the cause although some have come close. Lwheeler told you that it comes from the kidney not being able to clear uric acid. There is merit to this but the actual pathology is what Dunkopf told you (almost). The truth is that the problem comes from consuming purines in the diet.

Purines (and not carbohydrates) are the cause of gout. The body processes protein in the kidney. Purines are a component in this. When the body can not clear the purines that are converted to uric acid, the uric acid crystals are deposited in the joints (like what was mentioned above). Those crystals are like little sharp shards of broken glass and are extremely painful. Until they are cleared from the joint they continue to cause the pain often referred to as podogra.

There are a number of medications that will help with this and some of them have been mentioned by others. The REAL issue is DIET. Lots of folks here have all kinds of advice about how to make it better but I am here to tell you how to AVOID IT. That is the key.

Dunkopf said that the avoidance diet is difficult to maintain and mentions a very expensive drug that costs $350. What is interesting to know is that the drug he mentions is colchicine. It was taken OFF THE MARKET and only one company was allowed to re-introduce it to the market...hence the outrageous cost. But the TRUTH is that AVOIDANCE IS CHEAPER AND MORE EFFECTIVE THAN DRUGS. You can do the math and study all the side effects of the drugs needed to calm down an attack...yes, the ones that "even the cat stomping accross the floor makes enough vibration to cause your right great toe to scream in agony"

The "workaround" is a drug called col-benemid which has the drug colchicine in it as well as the drug Benemid (probenecid). The two together seem to work rather well. They do NOT flush the uric acid out of the body but they help. As mentioned allopurinal does help as does a drug (newer) called Uloric. In fact the computer is so smart that it sees what we are taling about here and the advertisement for Uloric was at the bottom of the page when I hit the "reply" button.

Don't be fooled by any of the things you are told. Go do the research. Colchicine is by NO MEANS a benign drug and your doctor should be VERY INVOLVED if you decide to use it, but it DOES WORK.
It has some serious side efficts but as I said, it does work. It only takes a very few doses to get control of the situation and then you can switch to other things...BUT REMEMBER WHAT I SAID...AVOIDANCE IS THE KEY...NOT DRUGS.

You were told about beer. It is a very big offender in the cause of gout attack. Gout is a familial disease and your family members will admit it from generation to generation. You just got UNLUCKY in the lottery of life on this one.

As for all the recommended remedies listed here, you can try them if you like and it frankly depends on how much pain you can tolerate before you submit to the care of a physician but in the mean time LEARN ALL YOU CAN ABOUT WHAT TO AVOID. That is your best friend. Drugs are a close but useful second.

Well that explains why it used to be referred to as the rich mans disease. Only the rich used to eat meat. My Doctor explained the uric acid and the crystals. He also told me the allopurinol was a serious drug and once I started it I would be on it for life. I know that Uloric is very expensive. The allopurinol is available to anyone with a script at Walgreens for 6.00 a month. I lost 125lbs and have gone from 300mg down to 100mg. My PC would like to see me off of it. If I had a choice of living an extra 10 years by tolerating the pain from gout or taking the allopurinol I would choose the latter. I am not able to make pain my friend. Pain from muscle stress I can handle, gout pain NO WAY.

 

[Wifezilla]

It wasn't the meat, it was the refined flours, sugars and fruits the poor could not afford.

"Clues about more effective dietary strategies come from the observation that raised uric acid levels often go hand-in-hand with a condition known a metabolic syndrome itself characterised by features such as an excess of weight around the middle of the body, high blood pressure, and raised levels of blood fats such as cholesterol and triglyceride. Another common feature of metabolic syndrome is raised levels of the insulin the hormone secreted in response to carbohydrate-rich foods including Yuletide favourites such as port and Christmas pud.

Excesses of insulin have been shown to raise uric acid levels, and there is evidence that eating less carbs is effective in tempering uric acid levels in the system. In one study, a 16-week long carb-restricted diet significantly reduced uric acid levels. Other side-benefits of a lower carb diet were reduced blood fat levels and satisfying weight loss to boot. Those keen to restore health to the system in the New Year might consider a diet lower in foodstuffs likely to boost uric acid levels such as alcohol, refined sugar and starches that tend to cause considerable insulin induction (such as bread, potatoes, rice, pasta and breakfast cereals).. In practice, such a diet is often effective in neutralising the effects of uric acid in the system."
http://www.drbriffa.com/2004/12/26/uric-acid/

"In recent years, a novel dietary approach to gout has come out of the fact that the majority of sufferers have been found to have signs of a condition known as insulin resistance syndrome (IRS). Believed to be a potential precursor of both heart disease and diabetes, IRS is characterised by a constellation of bodily imbalances that include excess weight (characteristically congregated around the middle of the body) and high levels of the unhealthy blood fats cholesterol and triglyceride. IRS is likely to have a number of underlying factors, one of which seems to be the over-consumption of sugar and refined carbohydrates in the modern-day diet.

In one study, the potential benefits of a carbohydrate-restricted was tested in a group of middle-aged male gout sufferers. In addition to limiting foods such as bread, potatoes, rice and pasta, the subject were also instructed to emphasise healthy fats in the form of olive oil, nuts and fish in their diets. After 16 weeks, the men enjoyed a lowering in their levels of cholesterol and triglyceride, and lost an average of 12 lbs to boot. Although this diet did not limit purine-rich foods, it nonetheless led to a significant lowering of urate levels, and a reduction in the number of gouty attacks. It seems cutting back on the carbs not only helps combat IRS, but gout too."
http://www.drbriffa.com/2003/08/03/gout/

A guy eats a meal with a steak, a potato with butter, a wheat roll, has wine, and then eats a piece of cake with ice cream. If he develops any health problems, people blame the steak....the only thing on that plate of food that man actually evolved eating.