What causes gout toe pain?
(Image copyright Nucleus Communications)
Gout is known to affect many joints including the knee, wrists, fingers, elbows, thumbs, ankles and even instep! However, in the majority of cases (around 75%) it affects the big toe. Often the first signs of gout disease are big toe pain or big toe inflammation and tenderness.
Interestingly, why does it target the big toe? The answer is unknown, but one prominent theory suggests the big toe is one of the fatherliest joints from the heart and therefore the blood is cooler around this joint which may contribute to uric acid crystal formation. This is further supported by anecdotal stories that a warm bath may alleviate big toe pain.
The UK Gout Society have produced a gout diet information sheet, in PDF format that can be printed out, which details important dietary facts that should help gout sufferers choose the foods that won’t, hopefully, aggravate their symptoms.
The file, which can be downloaded, includes details of the level of purines in certain foods including meats and vegetables. Also, it includes useful information on alcohol consumption and how it possibly contributes to gout.
I thoroughly recommend having a look at the gout diet health-sheet.
No gout symptoms in days... [Dramatic Gout Cure]www.raysahelian.com: This site includes dietary and nutritional tips to control and reduce gout attacks including: the role of supplements, diets, effect of alcohol consumption, and latest clinical research.
Plus an explanation of gout 'tophi'.
www.health24.com: A list of factors are detailed on this site that may cause a gout attack. A discussion of anti gout drugs. Importance of weight-loss for overweight people.
Alcohol intake is also mentioned.
Learn about a natural way to eliminate gout [Natural Remedy]www.bupa.co.uk: This article on the UK's Bupa site describes an important study about the relationship between alcohol consumption and gout development. There is now strong evidence that diet - and more significantly lager/beer intake - certainly plays a role in gout disease expression.
It’s obvious from the many clinical studies that the importance of diet in gout maintenance cannot be overstated!
Whether diet can directly cause gout or not is still controversial, as there are possibly numerous factors involved, but diet can and does play a role in gout attacks, including aggravating and accelerating disease expression.
So is it possible to design a gout diet that accommodates your personal tastes while reducing the risk of painful gout attacks? I believe so.
First I would recommend reading the gout-diet factsheet from the UK Gout Society. Then sit down with a cup of tea or coffee and spend 30 minutes or so working out a daily diet plan that accommodates your personal tastes while reducing certain foods and food-type know to aggravate the condition. For example, avoiding foods very high in purines and limiting or dramatically reducing beer/lager consumption are the two main factors when considering your gout diet.
If you do include ‘high-risk’ foods in your anti-gout diet-plan, try to ensure they are consumed in small quantities, thus reducing the threat of irritating your gout.
Design a simple diet-plan like the following:
What is the best diet for people with gout? Undoubtedly, it’s a low purine diet. What kind of diet is that? Basically:
For more information about diets for people with gout go here.
Comment:
Cool weblog! During gout attacks, no medicine really works for me! It's a matter of bearing it. My gout has hits me hard - physically, mentally and emotionally! Surprisingly, the symptoms start when I drink a lot, but other than that nothing! I was thinking the other day, this disorder has got to be genetic related in most cases, I lead a healthy lifestyles – no heavy drinking or over-eating but I still developed gout. Special diet for me really helps. Surfing other websites keeps me up-to-date about gout! Organized and nicely designed. Mr Ferguson
