If you suffer from gout, it is important to know what the root cause of your outbreak is.
If you know this valuable information then you may be able to control and avoid future outbreaks.
So, what causes gout? Gout is caused by a build up of uric acid in your bloodstream.
The uric acid reaches a level whereby the body cannot excrete enough of it, (normally in urine) and so instead forms microscopic crystals which lodge in the joints affected by gout.
These crystals being alien to the joint quickly spark a reaction from the immune system causing the associated pain and inflammation of the condition.
This begs the question as to why your body cannot excrete enough of the uric acid? Uric acid is normally a harmless waste product created when the body breaks food containing compounds known as purines.
Purines are found naturally in the body, but they are also found in some foods and in alcohol, and are converted to uric acid as they are metabolised.
In the metabolic process, two thirds of uric acid is produced by your kidneys, while the rest is produced by your digestive system.
In a normal human, the uric acid usually dissolves in their blood and passes out of the body via the kidneys in urine.
If you produce too much or remove too little uric acid by way of urination, the uric acid will build up and may cause microscopic crystals to form resulting in the gout outbreak.
There are several factors that can increase the amount of uric acid in your blood.
These risk factors fall into one of two categories: • Lifestyle factors such as diet, job, exercise levels and mental state • Medical conditions which are known to increase levels of uric acid, such as high blood pressure and poor kidney function.
These risk factors are discussed below; Lifestyle - Gender - Men are on average three to four times more likely to develop gout symptoms than women.
This is due to uric acid levels rising during puberty, staying elevated when compared to a female.
Diet - As we have already mentioned, diet high in purines can cause gout.
These foods include offal and organ meat, beef, lamb, seafood Alcohol intake - Alcohol contains high levels of purines, with beer contain and spirits containing medium to high levels.
If you are going to imbibe alcohol wine contains the lowest level.
Red wine has incorrectly suffered a poor reputation with gout sufferers, beers however are markedly worse than most other alcoholic beverages.
Medical Conditions - Certain medications can increase your uric acid levels, and therefore your risk of developing gout, these include low-dose aspirin, diuretics, niacin, chemotherapy and some antacids such as allapurinol can actually make gout worse before improving things.
There are also a small number of medical conditions which have the same affect.
Some of these are common and include conditions such as psoriasis, high blood pressure, diabetes, reduced kidney function, hyperlipidaemia and vascular disease.
Finally, recent studies have shown that gout can be hereditary and often runs in families.
Therefore it can be fairly difficult to pin down the exact causes of gout as the triggers can be many and varied.
One thing however is obvious; avoiding foods high in purines, keeping well hydrated and moderate amounts of exercising can reduce the chances of a gout attack.