Gout is caused by the buildup of too much uric acid in the body. Uric acid comes from the breakdown of substances called purines. Purines are found in all of your body’s tissues. They are also in many foods, such as liver, dried beans and peas, and anchovies.
The body can normally dissolve uric acid in the blood. Uric acids are filtered by the kidney and eliminated in the body as through the urine. However, abnormally high levels of uric acid can occur and these are deposited in the body.
No one ever thinks about their kidneys until they start to malfunction in some way, one of the functions that your kidneys perform is to clean uric acid from your system and send it out of your body in your urine. When your kidneys stop filtering and removing uric acid you are in with a good chance of developing gout.
Hyperuricemia is the word that you need to listen for, if your Dr mentions that then you know you have elevated levels of uric acid in your body and are at an increased risk of gout. No need to panic instantly though as you are not certain to develop gout, you can change your diet and alcohol intake and get the levels of uric acid in your blood back down to safe levels.
Men usually eat more red meat than the women in their lives and that is part of the reason why the incidences of gout are much higher in men than they are in women. If a man has a relative who has gout then he should take extra precautions as family history is another contributing factor.
When you notice your toe joint swelling and turning red it may well be the start of a gout attack, they often start in one joint. Many men have said that their attacks start in their big toe and while they may progress to other joints the pain is so bad that it really doesn’t matter. Gout can be an extremely debilitating illness.
You are in charge of your gout, you can reduce the frequency and the severity of your gout attacks just by changing what you eat and drink. Keep a diary of what you eat and drink for 3 months and you will see that your attacks almost always follow a bout of eating or drinking either in excess or items that are high in purines.
