Some Basic Gout And Uric Acid Information
My mother in law had gout and uric acid problems, and she always told me what foods she would avoid to lessen her chances of a bad episode of gout. These were foods rich in purine and alcohol. Now that I have older children, the concern for health problems being passed on to them has arisen.
My husbands mother had many conditions as she aged and gout was one of them. With the world at our fingertips it was easy for me to do a quick bit of research to get a grasp of what this is caused from in case my family doctor wants to know.
What the experts say is that there are normal amounts of uric acid in people normally. Uric acid is a waste which comes from cells dying and then releasing purines, which also comes from food. If you have an excessive amount of uric acid flowing in your blood then you can get hyperuricemia.
If your body has a lot of uric acid being stored through your body, for more than twenty years, then there is a risk of uric acid turning into crystals as sodium urate and then those crystals lodge into your joints, knees, knuckles, feet,etc, and it becomes what is known as a gout attack which is very painful.
It becomes necessary for the person to lower their uric acid levels which will help to prevent getting sick from the symptoms of hyperuricemia and gout. Your doctor will work with you to help It is important to work with your physician to monitor your gout and your uric acid level.
A doctor will know that a blood test will be needed to find out the amount of serum uric acid that is present in the persons body.
Sometimes medication will be needed to lower your uric acid level. It is also important to change bad lifestyle habits that may be causing gout episodes.
Being overweight is a contributing factor in getting gout, for example if you are considered obese, then your body fat ratio is off balance with your height. This means that you could be increasing your risk for getting gout by four times. Maintaining a healthy weight is a major factor to keep from getting sick with gout.
A healthy weight keeps people from getting heart disease and high blood pressure as well, and there is research suggesting that hypertension and cardiovascular disease and even kidney related diseases may come from uric acid being too high.
