What causes gout? is being asked more frequently as more and more people are being afflicted by gout.
The causes are simple, yet complex.
And they affect different people in different ways.
But, aside from the actual pain, gout causes real problems in your life, e.
g.
you can't get around, you can't get to work, you can't drive, and so on.
And much more seriously, if it isn't treated properly you could end up with permanently damaged joints.
So let's look at what causes gout...
The actual causes of gout symptoms are uric acid crystals that have deposited themselves in you joints and tendons.
These crystals are very sharp in nature and cause inflammation, swelling, redness, heat and of course unbearable pain.
They are formed from excess uric acid in your bloodstream.
Now uric acid is formed from the breakdown of chemical compounds called 'purines' which exist naturally in our body's cells and in a lot of our foods.
These purines have many duties to perform in our bodies, two of which are to convert our food to energy and genes to protein.
So you can see that they are vital to us.
Now normally, when purines breakdown as a natural result of carrying out their duties, the uric acid that is formed is managed at normal healthy levels by our kidneys, excess being flushed out of our bodies via urine.
Unfortunately, for a number of reasons, the kidneys can sometimes not do this efficiently enough, so that you end up with too much uric acid in your bloodstream, leading to your gout symptoms.
One way to help to alleviate gout pain and to try to 'manage' your gout is to avoid food that causes gout, e.
g.
those foods which are high in purines.
Less purines means less uric acid and a better chance for gout relief.
Foods to avoid with gout are foods such as; red meat and offal, poultry, shellfish, anchovies, sardines, mackerel, herring, roe, asparagus, cauliflower, mushrooms, peas, beans, lentils, etc.
And alcohol of course.
But high-purine foods aren't the only causes of gout.
There are many other things to take account of when trying to figure out a real remedy to prevent your agonizing gout returning time and time again.
It isn't enough just to get rid of the pain this time around.
You need to treat the root gout causes and not just the symptoms of gout.
You really need to work out a proper remedy that doesn't just get rid of the pain now, but will prevent your gout ever returning.
And this will take a lot of work on your part, but, well worth it if it brings long lasting relief from your gout.