ReeHart - Blogging from the Heart

Posts Tagged ‘treat gout’

Being overweight is a common factor in most gout patients. A big reason for the connection between the two is diet. High purine foods are a major contributing factor to gout. Many of these same high purine foods are not healthy and aid in weight gain.

Risky foods such as bacon and hamburgers should not be part of your diet. However, if you wish to continue eating them, it would be advisable to only eat them occasionally. These foods not only have a big purine content, they also are loaded with fats that make it harder to lose extra weight.

Drinking multiple sodas a day increases your risk of gout by 50%. The empty calories also add to your weight problem, further increasing your risk of gout by putting more stress on your kidneys. Not to mention, high sugar content has been linked with increased risk of cancer.

Diet sodas are not a good option if you drink regular soda. Diet pops can have a negative effect on losing weight. These seemingly helpful drinks make you hungrier and some health professionals actually think diet sodas are worse than drinking regular pop. Not to mention the chemicals used in diet drinks have been found in studies to increase your risk of cancer. Just don’t drink pop. Water is a much better alternative.

Drinking coffee can have useful benefits when trying to eliminate future gout symptoms. Even though coffee can dehydrate you, studies show that drinking four cups a day can reduce uric acid levels almost in half. Decaf works also in case caffeine use is a concern.

Big changes in one step is usually not beneficial. Moderation is the key. By taking smaller steps you will be less likely to quit and will be more likely to have healthy longevity results.

By doing just a few things a little at a time, you will help improve kidney function, reduce the stress load on your renal system, which will have the added benefit of reducing your risk of cancer, heart disease, high blood pressure, and stroke. The benefits far outweigh the risks.

Eating a healthy diet will not only help you in losing extra weight, but can help you get rid of gout. Many of the foods we take for granted such as most fruits, can actually help you beat the symptoms and causes of this painful arithritic disease.