The Cause of Gout

Gout is caused by excess uric acid which forms crystals inside the body's joints. This causes swelling, inflammation and excruciating pain.

It used to be thought that people got gout because they were lazy (inactive), ate too many rich foods and drank too much alcohol - all signs of a lifestyle many people only wished they could afford. But the truth lies elsewhere.

Some people eat the right foods, don't drink much alcohol (or none), are healthy and active - yet they still get gout. Others who do all the 'wrong' things healthwise, are inactive, eat rich foods and drink too much - and they don't get gout at all.

So another theory used to be that certain people were predisposed to suffer from gout. And maybe is is a genetic thing, but no one has proved it conclusively.

Purines

Food certainly is a factor, and most doctors will prescribe what is called a Low Purine Diet. This is a regimen of eating which avoids all foods known to be high in Purines.

Normally, Purines in food are processed by the body, removed from the blood and excreted by the kidneys in your urine.

But when there are more purines in the body than your kidneys can get rid of, those same purines are changed into uric acid.

Some people live happily with excess uric acid in the bloodstream. But in others, that uric acid goes into the joints and forms crystals. The crystals then produce the symptoms we call gout. Swelling of the affected joints, extreme tenderness and terrible pain that can go unabated for days or even weeks at a time.

Next: Gout Drugs