What is Gout?
Today we will discuss a health condition that more and more Americans are dealing with that affects a daily standard of living. This condition is known as "gout". Commonly referred to as the King or Rich Man disease because it is usually caused by high intakes of alcohol, red meat and seafood. We will discuss ways of prevention but it is important to know that Medicare Part D does cover gout prescriptions.
The only way to be sure you are experiencing an attack would be through a blood test in which can be completed at your local doctors office. Uric Acid in your blood stream should be below ".6". Anything over this typically indicates you are having a flare up.
Gout is a painful condition that is caused by uric acid in the joints. Uric acid is tiny crystals that form in your joints, tendons and the surrounding tissues that create intense pain when those joints are moved. The pain that is caused is some of the most immense pain that a human being will experience. It is compared to passing a kidney stone or having a baby.
What Causes Gout?
As mentioned above this extreme pain is caused by a high purine diet or poor extraction of purines from the body. There are different foods like red meat, seafood, fructose sugar, alcohol and other items that are higher purine foods which turn into uric acid in the blood.
Stay clear of these and follow the method below to help prevent an onset in the first place.
Ways to Prevent Gout
Roughly 80 ounces of water a day, coffee, Vitamin C, dairy products and physical fitness appear to decrease the risk of gout. I personally use tart cherry juice as a prevention method and pour roughly 4 ounces each morning in a cup of water.
Other things that are secondary measures that may help are keeping a low calorie diet, decreasing the amount of seafood eaten and staying away from high protein diets. I used to deal with gout due to high protein shakes I was drinking and I noticed the Mayo Clinic recommends getting your protein from healthy sources such as low-fat dairy, tofu, eggs and nut butters.
