Gout & Alcohol The Myths Explained
Alcohol has been consumed for many years and undoubtedly is to blame for many things. Certainly it has been linked to increasing the risk of gout attacks. However consider the picture here, can one say that this was the result of the alcohol shown on the pavement?
Gout Causes
Uric acid build up in your system can be caused by a number of things, however consumption of alcohol seems to be the leading factor and cause of gout. That’s not to say that anyone with a modest consumption of a few drinks, even on a regular basis, will get gout. Added to this research shows that different types of alcoholic drinks contribute in different ways, with different impacts on the levels of uric acid.
Historically researchers have always thought that diets containing large amounts of red meat and salt, washed down with alcohol contributed significantly to the onset of gout. In Europe gout was sometimes known as “the disease of kings”. Hey let’s face it at that time only kings could afford such a diet.
With the advance in science made over the last century, research has shown that certain drinks are more likely to cause gout, especially in men. It is my sad duty to tell you that the worst offender and one that greatly increases your risk of developing gout attacks is –BEER. I guess I won’t be getting a grant from Budweisser any time soon.
Sadly there is a double whammy when it comes to alcohol, one that was only discovered fairly recently. Apparently alcohol not only causes the production of uric acid, but also hinders the removal of that acid from one’s body. This is because alcohol is changed into lactic acid once consumed, which needs to be removed by your kidneys. So in effect your kidneys have to remove both the uric acid as well as the lactic acid. Unless you have twice as many kidneys as the rest of us this will mean that less uric acid is removed.
Gout Remedies (well some good news at least)
Ok so what’s the good news from all this research into gout? Well happily for all you wine lovers I can confirm that a moderate intake of wines and spirits has been shown to have little to no increased risk of causing gout. Maybe I should rephrase that last sentence, as I don’t wish to imply that you should mix wines and spirits.
So what’s the deal on beer? I will admit that here the scientists are divided as to why beer should be red flagged. Some postulate that it is because beer is the only alcoholic beverage that contains purines and that is the build up of excessive quantities of these purines in the body that lead to increased production of uric acid. However there are others (probably beer drinkers) who don’t believe that having purines in beer does indeed cause an increased risk of getting gout. They point to research conducted in Taiwan on vegetarians who were given a diet high in purines. This study showed that actually these people had a lower risk of developing gout.
If however it is not the purines in beer then some “experts” believe it may be due to the lifestyle of “excessive beer drinkers” – They hint that when drinking beer people often also eat fatty snacks such as peanuts and chips, as well as often spending hours on the couch watching TV. Therefore it may be the lack of exercise together with the rather good but unhealthy diet that is the major factor in the increased risk of gout.
So whatever alcoholic beverage you like, you can reduce your risk of gout by indulging modestly (about 1 glass of wine per day). If you musthave 2 glasses then make sure you do some exercise before you drink. Also if you slip once it’s not so bad, however regular excessive drinking may eventually lead to a seriously painful big toe.
Discover more information about Gout Remedies and Relieving Gout Symptoms at Cure Gout Now.
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