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Simple Changes To Prevent The Pain Of Gout

Article Summary: Some people may not even have heard of gout but it can cause serious pain and problems if you get the disease. Gout is a form of arthritis and affects over 5 people out of every 1,000.

We are constantly told that we need to live a healthier lifestyle, but never warned about the risk of gout. Most people haven't even heard of gout, but you'll know it if you get it! Gout is a form of arthritis and it only affects 0.5% of the population and is not fatal, which is why it is not as heavily popularised as other diseases, but for sufferers then it is a potent and dehabilitating disease.

Gout is caused by an excess of uric acid in your body, that then forms needle shaped crystals. The crystals move around in the blood and fluids of the body, until they congregate around a joint. The crystals have a damaging effect and start to irritate the surrounding tissue. The party doesn't stop, so the tissue gets severely irritated and becomes seriously inflamed. Very suddenly, usually in the middle of the night, you have a big toe or other joint feeling like it is really on fire and burning up. The pain is abrupt, intense and liable to last for a week or more.

The intense pain and the inflammation in the affected part can be dehabilitating, usually the toe or foot. It can mean no walking other than crutches for a week or so. The inflammed area is so sensitive that anything that comes into contact with it will cause extreme pain and discomfort. Sufferers even report the duvet on their bed touching them causing severe pain during an attack. Gout attacks, but it then subsides for a little while and returns with a vengeance another time.

If you take the holistic approach to gout, there are several lifestyle adaptations available for prevention or mitigation of gout. All of the recommended prevention methods are going to help you in other areas of your health as well. The first is losing weight and keeping it off, as well as a reasonable level of fitness. Extra weight on the body can lead to increased uric acid production in the body and increased risk of gout.

Your lifestyle can assist the body natural ability to remove any excess uric acid. One of the easiet ways to help is to make sure you drink plenty of fluids like water and stay hydrated. Water is essential to your body eliminating waste well, including uric acid. Another obvious part of this lifestyle change is to limit the amount of alcohol you consume, especially drinks you consume regularly. An occasional drink won't cause much problem of a problem, but long term exposure could be detrimental.

For the food aspects of diet, there are guidelines for gout prevention. Purines are a substance the body makes into uric acid. Wild meats and foods that involve the organs in an animal are very high in purines so they may help create excess uric acid. Some special foods like livers, kidneys etc should be avoided completely or at a minimum severely limited to maximise gout prevention. Shellfish and small oily fish such as anchovies, herring, and sardines are on the list to avoid as well.

Following these changes will increase your health overall, not just your ability to avoid gout, and you will feel much better with more energy and vitality!

Article Source: http://www.upublish.info

About the Author:
Steven Carter
To learn more about the treatments for gout for when you are already suffering from the disease, then head over to squidoo.com/GoutTreatments for some great tips.