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Do You Suffer From Gout? (Hyperuricemia)
Gout (hyperuricemia) is a nasty illness. It's not contagious. But can be crippling. It's extremely painful. I have it. Many folks have it. It's very common among the peoples of southeast Asia and the Pacific Islands that like to eat a lot of meat--particularly the Maori of New Zealand, the Filipinos, and the Southern Chinese. It has some relationship to genetics. You may have a genetic tendency to suffer from gout. Unlike other mammals, our human metabolism does not effectively break down proteins from our diet (or from the cells that naturally die off in our bodies as they age). That being the case, the partially broken down proteins, if not washed out of our system in our urine or stools can cause serious problems. Some of the by-products of broken-down proteins include purines (a type of amino acid) and uric acid (a major component of urea). If we go easy on the meat in our diet and eat a lot of fruit and vegetables along with lots of water (at least 40 to 60 ounces/1-2 liters) a day, we will eliminate the purines and uric acid through our daily eliminations (whether in our urine or stools). However, if we eat too much meat, processed foods (like pastries, raw sugar, and sodas), and don't drink much water we'll not only invite problems such as obesity, diabetes, and heart disease, but we are setting ourselves up for a pain unlike anything most folks will ever experience without dying immediately after it. Red meat and organ meats are the biggest culprits. Also, certain nuts and seeds (because they have a high protein content), mushrooms, seafood, and chocolate also can be nasty (because they contain high purine, protein, or theobromine ratios). If we do not exercise (and most of us who play on a computer like this at night after we've sat on our butt all day at work in front of a computer *sigh* fit this description), we add to the problem of being overweight. We may trigger gout because we're trying to lose weight. As we diet, our fat cells will shrink and die, our diet changes and exercise cause our muscle cells to stretch and sometimes release toxins into our blood. Although for folks who drink a lot of water and eat low levels of meat compared to their intake of vegetables this is not that bad of a deal, for folks who don't do this, they are setting up the triggers for a gout attack. Why is gout so painful? Because the uric acid usually is free and liquid in your blood. If you drink a lot of water and flush it out of your system, there won't be a problem. If you have kidney problems, you may have more tendency for gout. (Gout can also cause uric-acid kidney stones--another nasty and painful ailment!) But if a sufficient level of uric acid concentration builds up, it starts to accumulate in the cartilage and tissues mostly in your extremity joints--your toes and feet, your knees, your fingers and wrists. As this buildup reaches a "critical level", you may notice strange bumps forming on your knee cap or ball of your foot. You'll notice that your shoes start to be uncomfortable. Then you notice that your foot is sore. Like perhaps you stubbed your toe or accidentally kicked something, or banged your knee on a table leg or something. This is the WARNING SIGN. If this happens, start drinking a LOT of water immediately -- 8 ounces here, 8 ounces there. Be careful not to "over do it" ... make sure you go to the bathroom frequently to flush your urine (to keep your urine CLEAR, not yellow or amber, --in other words, DILUTED). Eat celery (an alkalinizing vegetable)--lots of it. Eat black cherries, black grapes, blueberries, and raspberries. Drink lemon juice frequently (no sugar added--if you must have "sweetener", use honey instead). Although the lemon juice and previously mentioned fruits are "acidic", they become "alkalinizers" when they are processed by your saliva and your digestive enzymes in your stomach. Avoid meat (of all kinds) for a while until the soreness subsides. If you don't do the above recommended process, you may experience more pain than you've ever had before! I thought I accidentally kicked something. I thought I bumped my knee against a table leg. But the soreness didn't go away and I didn't recognize the warning signals. A few days later, when I woke up from a night's sleep, I went to get out of bed and bent my knee. The pain sent me screaming to the floor. It was like someone pulling my knee out of the socket and jamming a knife in there at the same time. You see, when the uric acid has had a chance to accumulate enough in your joints, they reach something called a "critical mass"--very similar to a nuclear reaction... when the uric acid reaches that stage, it crystalizes! Uric acid crystals are thin, needle-shaped... and when you MOVE, they rip into your flesh and cartilage. This stimulates your immune system to send white blood cells (antibodies) to the location of the crystals... but because the antibodies can't recognize the uric acid crystals as the culprit for the pain, the antibodies attack your tissue--your cartilage and muscle tissue. Thus, the extreme pain and swelling that accompany the pain of the crystals. Also, those bumps you were seeing on your toe joints and your kneecap? Those are called "Tophi" and are deposits of uric acid crystals. Now, there is a similar ailment called calcium pseudogout... which is a build up of calcium "spurs" on your bones and joints--also painful, but not as nasty as the uric acid gout .... or what is called hyperuricemia. If you have gout, you will always have it. There is no cure. However, there are eating and diet and exercise and water drinking habits you can change to prevent it from attacking so often. If you have severe pain in your joints making it impossible to move around without wanting to scream... check with a doctor. There are medications out there that can keep it from taking over your life (it will anyway, but at least the medications and therapies can make it less intrusive). I hope this information has been helpful and keeps you from experiencing the pain of gout (hyperuricemia). It's not a laughing matter (and nowadays, it's not the "disease of the rich" the way it used to be described).
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Contributor's Note
I wrote this while having a mild gout attack. I'm drinking a lot of water and eating cherries while keyboarding this.
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Thanks for the article. I had no idea what gout was. Hope your illness gets better.
 |  | Nick Mar 28, 2008 12:17 | |
Thank you for the information and your ideas for relief. I'll be passing this on to gout sufferers I know. All the best, and I hope you manage to keep it under control.
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