I have a question about gout. My husband had, a severe case of it four years ago. At that time he was consuming wild game meat daily. If he resumes eating game meat, say twice weekly, would his gout return? Your question brings to mind the classic picture of the gout patient from merry old England, overweight, a glass of wine in one hand and a haunch of wild game in the other. Early in the history of medicine gout was believed to be caused by overindulgent.

The real cause of gout is excess uric acid. Normally a small amount of uric acid is present in the blood and eliminated through the kidneys. Uric acid is formed from purines. These are important compounds in the formation of DNA and RNA. which are essential to forming new cells and related to our genetic material. The origin of uric acid from purines is really the basis for the gout diet. It was believed that by eliminating purines from the diet there would be less uric acid and hence fewer or no gout attacks. Wild game is a rich source of purines, and a steady diet of wild game will definitely increase the purine intake.

That in turn means that it could elevate the uric acid level somewhat, and that may be just enough to precipitate an acute attack of gout. An attack does not occur until the uric acid in the blood reaches a critical level. Other foods that are rich in purines include organ meats such as liver, kidneys and sweetbreads. In the seafood group, anchovies, herring, sardines, mackerel and scallops arc high in purines. Meat broth, boullion cubes and goose are also high in purine items. It follows that gravies made from meat broth are also rich in purines. If a person wants to follow a dit to prevent gout, all of these should be avoided.

There are other foods that are moderately rich in purines. These include the meats, fish, shellfish, fowl, dried beans, peas, spinach and asparagus. These may be tolerated in small amounts in between acute attacks of gout. Finally, there are basic foods that are essentially purine-free. These include cheese, eggs, milk, bread, vegetables except those already mentioned, fruit and sugar. Some diets to prevent gout also recommend avoiding pies and pastries rich in fat, cauliflower, mushrooms and oatmeal. It has been thought that alcohol alone does not cause acute attacks of gout but that beer, ale and wine do. More recently, there is some evidence that alcohol may interfere with the elimination of uric acid through the kidneys, and in that way elevate the uric acid level, contributing to gout.

In a society that is body-weight conscious it is important to know that excessive weight loss can cause an acute attack of gout. As the body tissues are metabolized during weight reduction, uric acid is released in increased amounts. It is good for anyone who has gout to lose excess body fat, but it is important to do it with a diet that permits a very gradual loss of body fat. Crash diets are a no-no. Before modern medicines were available, diet treatment was all a doctor had to offer to prevent gout. His only medicine available was colchicine. which was useful and still is in the treatment of an acute attack, but did little to prevent a subsequent attack. But it is now know that the diet is not the most important factor in causing gout. In fact, the vast majority of uric acid is produced by your own body cells. Some people inherit a greater tendency to produce excess uric acid than others.

By following a strict gout diet a person may decrease his uric acid level by 1 to 2 mg. In some cases that is just enough to avoid acute attacks. The only way to tell if a diet is effective or not is by blood tests to measure the uric acid levels. Such tests are really the best guide as to the effectiveness of any type of treatment or management of gout. It has been illustrated, by putting animals on a milk diet, that the diet is not the main source of uric acid. Since milk is purine-free that should mean there would be no uric acid if the diet controlled it.

But even on a milk diet the body still produces uric acid. The answer, then, as to what eating wild game will do to your husband, can be assessed by measuring his uric acid level if he does. I am certain that some gout patients, or those with borderline elevations of uric acid, can be pushed into acute attacks by consuming a high purine diet. But despite that, dietary therapy is not usually adequate therapy to prevent future attacks.

Lawrence E Lamb - Wednesday, August 7, 1985 THE DAILY HERALD

Consuming which foods will help maintain and reduce uric acid levels? The simple answer to this question is low purine foods!

Our bodies digest purines and convert them into uric acic. Gout sufferers cannot eliminate enough uric acid so it builds up in the blood stream leading to joint inflammation and pain.

Consuming foods low in purines may help reduce uric levels. Here’s a list here.

Comment:

Thanks for all your good info. Never experienced any finger pain or swelling, but definitely toe problems. My gout was initially diagnosed as turf-toe, which is different from traditional gout. Personally, I get shooting pains throughout my leg, but they do ease with rest. I looked up a few studies about gout a while ago, I’m sure definitely related to food and high uric levels. Studying info from forums and websites helps me cope better. Good piece of writing, very nicely done too. Mr Baker

Research has shown that gout mainly affects men, although high uric acid levels have been known to affect women – especially post-menopausal!

Why post-menopausal? The answer is simply unknown! But, it’s suspected to be related to hormonal changes that leads to increased uric acid in women’s bodies. Although overall, according to stats, it’s still uncommon.

There's a lot of information here for the gout sufferers, well done. I take colchicine during gout flare ups, but other times it don't work. I think you have to experiment. Sometimes I feel jaded; it’s unbelievable. Drug advice from the experts worked for my symptoms, greatly! Early diagnosis also has helped me control and even totally alleviate most of my gout symptoms but it seems gout runs in our family in women. Yours and a few other sites are very interesting! You really helped me understand my gout more. Cheers. M Parker

Gout is all about uric acid levels! If you have above normal levels you may develop gout or it may precipitate an attack. High levels lead to crystal formation around joints including knees, fingers, toes, elbows, wrists, etc.

But not every one who has high levels of uric acid develops gout. So this does suggest, for some at least, other factors may be involved.

Comment.

Hi, you have an informative and accurate gout resource, very well done! For me, gout mainly attacks my big toe, but sometimes I get pain in the knees too. Life sucks when an attack starts. I was diagnosed with gout after excruciating foot pain and tests showed high uric acid levels! Physical symptoms really hit me hard. I’m gonna recommend your interesting website to some friends. I’m going to add this to my RSS reader, many thanks. Mr Watkins

Gout is a common disease caused by uric-acid crystal deposits around body joints, like toes, ankles, knees, elbows etc. Hyperuricemia is, simply, elevated levels of uric acid in the bloodstream.

But, what causes hyperuricemia? There’s likely to be numerous factors that may play a role, specifically:

• Disease of the kidneys including kidney stones.
• Predispositions – genetics.
• Age – organ deteriation.
• Diet – specific food and drink consumption.
• Deteriorated digestion and enzyme metabolism.
• The effect of certain drugs on the body.

No single cause of hyperuricemia has been identified! As mentioned, there’s likely to be multiple factors that may a role by increasing uric acid levels in the blood-stream.

Dietary intervention and drugs are often used to control the disorder.

For people who don’t understand what gout is, it’s simple: it caused by excess levels of uric acid in the blood which may form crystals around various bodily joints leading to joint inflammation, pain, swelling, redness, and in extreme cases joint deformity!

What can be done to reduce uric acid levels and prevent crystal formation? There are drugs, dietary advice and supplements available. For many, it seems it’s a matter of experimentation – find out what works for you!

Comment:

Greetings, great site here. Interesting comments about symptoms; mine are not typical! Everyone is different but I seem to get atypical symptoms - especially swelling and pain in non-joints which is down to excess uric acid and crystal formation I’ve been told. During working hours, if my gout plays up I go home – lol! I stopped using gout drugs because of dangerous side effects. I believe understanding gout disease is essential to coping with it in my opinion. I will pass on your site address to my friend who has gout. Thanks. M ‘Ron’ Stanley

Can high bodily uric acid contribute to other diseases and disorders? Perhaps gout is not the only disease it may cause?

Evaluation of allantoin levels as a new marker of oxidative stress in Behcet's disease.

Authors: Yardim-Akaydin S, Sepici A, Ozkan Y, Simsek B, Sepici V.

Institutiom: Department of Biochemistry, Faculty of Pharmacy, Gazi University, Etiler.

The increased production of reactive oxygen species (ROS) from activated neutrophils in Behcet's disease (BD) and recurrent aphthous stomatitis (RAS) may result in increased oxidative stress. Uric acid can react rapidly with neutrophil-derived ROS to form allantoin. The purpose of the study was to evaluate the serum levels of allantoin as a new marker of oxidative stress in BD compared with malondialdehyde (MDA) levels as a well-known marker. Blood samples were obtained from 23 BD patients, 22 RAS patients as positive controls, and 21 healthy controls. When compared to the healthy controls, we found higher allantoin and MDA levels in the BD patients and higher MDA levels in the RAS patients. Serum ascorbic acid levels in the BD patients were significantly lower than in the controls. Increased allantoin and MDA levels suggest the possible involvement of free radicals in BD. As allantoin is only a product of uric acid oxidation by reactive oxygen and nitrogen species, it may also be used as a marker of oxidative stress in BD.

Study link:
uric acid and other diseases.

Gout is caused by uric acid crystal formation around body joints. For the crystals to form there must be excess levels of uric acid in the blood stream. Therefore, a uric acid test identifies the levels of the acid in the blood.

This test can be ordered by your doctor, GP, or even health-care profession. Symptoms of excessive serum uric acid are inflammation, tenderness and pain in toes, knees or other joints. This may occur naturally, through genetic predisposition, because of diet or medication, or perhaps after chemotherapy/radiation treatment.

Treatment for too much uric acid in the blood-stream typically involves drug and dietary therapies, dependent the suspected underlying cause of the disorder.