A foot with gout

The Lesser-known Arthritis - Gout

Gout is a disease is known by many. The fact that gout is a form of arthritis is lesser known. For many people, gout still remains an untold tale of high uric acid. In gout, high level of uric acid does not stay limited to blood. It crystallises to form needle-like substances in a joint and causes sudden, severe episodes of pain, tenderness, redness, warmth and swelling.

The definition of Gout is ‘a form of inflammatory arthritis characterized by recurrent attacks of a red, tender, hot and swollen joint.’ The crystallization of uric acid which is mostly due to high levels of uric acid is considered to be the underlying cause of gout. This cause is dependent on several factors as listed below:

  • It may be the life you lead!
    Lifestyle has been linked to many mild and severe diseases affecting human beings.  Nearly 12% of the cases of gout are due to dietary causes. The foods rich in purines yield high amounts of uric acid. These include shrimp, meat, dried mushroom, seaweed and beer yeast. Chicken, potatoes, alcohol, fructose-sweetened drinks are also related to higher levels of uric acid.
     
  • It may be in your genes!
    60% of variability in uric acid level makes gout partly genetic. Certain genes have been linked to gout and variations in these genes have been found to predispose to gout. Some rare genetic disorders such as familial juvenile hyperuricemic nephropathy can be complicated by gout.Person holding their foot due to gout pain
     
  • It may co-exist with a medical condition!
    Gout is found to frequently occur with other medical problems. These conditions include haemolytic anaemia in which anaemia occurs due to abnormal breakdown of red blood cells, kidney failure or poor functioning of kidneys, metabolic syndrome and many more. In 75% of co-existing cases, metabolic syndrome occurs in combination with gout which is itself a combination of abdominal obesity, hypertension, insulin resistance and abnormal lipid levels.
     
  • It may be due to the medicines you eat!
    If you consume conventional diuretics i.e. the conventional medicines that result in increased production of urine, it may worsen your gout attacks.
     
  • It may be your BMI that worsens gout!
    Well, you need to be more careful if your gender is male. Obesity with body mass index equal to or greater than 35 increases the male risk of gout by three times. 

The attacks of gout or the pain in gout occur rapidly and reach maximum intensity in 12 hours or less. The joint at the base of big toe is the most commonly affected joint. The formation of tophi is characteristic for gout. It refers to the deposition of monosodium urate crystals in people with longstanding high levels of uric acid in blood. Tophi form in the joints, cartilage, bones, and other places of the body. Kidney stones and kidney damage may co-exist.
In gout, the plan of treatment should coincide with improving the quality of life. There are many self-management strategies that can be relied upon to reduce intensity and frequency of flare-ups of gout:

  • Do it with your diet
    It is a universal fact that diet can deteriorate as well as ameliorate your disease condition. Intake of Vitamin C through natural food such as lemon can decrease the aggravation of gout attacks. Cherries can also help. It is advisable that you limit the intake of high purine foods such as red meat, organ meat and also put a halt to consumption of alcohol particularly beer and hard liquor.Gout pain suffering holding foot
     
  • Get going or gout won’t spare you
    Physical activity can be a saviour. At least 150 minutes of moderate physical activity a week is required by adults to fight with gout. Each minute is important and housewives are not allowed to include the household work they do in their physical activity. Take proper time out and go walking, swimming, cycling or any other low impact activity. Such forms of exercises are advised as they do not harm your joints. Joint injuries can also be a cause as well as reason for worsening arthritis.
     
  • Don’t lose pennies, lose pounds
    Losing money is bad but losing weight is advised and healthy. Lose weight so that pressure on your joint-bearing joints like hips and knees can be minimized and flare-ups of gout can also reduce.
     
  • Heal pain and swelling with herbs in Arthroblast Juice
    The most active ingredient of turmeric i.e. curcumin is present in Arthroblast Juice. Curcumin has potent anti-inflammatory and antioxidant properties that help in easing gout related inflammation and pain. Curcumin also reduces serum lipids and uric acid which further prevents aggravation of gout. Another ingredient which makes Arthroblast Juice a must-use in gout is ginger. Ginger reduces uric acid and pain and swelling in gout. Aloe Vera in Arthroblast Juice. Aloe Vera in Arthroblast Juice provides several nutrients, cleanses the body and reduces the need for conventional pain killers.
     
  • Kick your kidneys to function better!
    You can’t afford your kidneys to not function properly. They have to be assisted and kicked with herbs to keep functioning properly so that serum uric acid can be reduced and kidney stones and kidney damage can be prevented. Crystals of uric acid can also damage kidneys as they pass through them and cause injury and scars. To limit damage to kidneys, consume herbs such as punarnava, gokhru, varun, curcumin as present in Nephrogold Tablets. 

It is POSSIBLE to defeat gout. Start immediately and naturally!

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