Why Not Talk About Urate?

by KeithTaylor Comment Closed
Fastidious readers of my summaries of gout research studies might have noticed that whenever urate is mentioned, I almost always change it to uric acid. This is *not* because I think that they are the same thing. It is because, for the layman, for the average gout sufferer, i.e. for 99% of visitors to GoutPal, they can be treated as the same. I believe that gout sufferers have enough to worry about without having to learn lots of new terms. It is good to understand the inner workings of gout. Knowledge is power, and if you understand how gout works, you are better placed to control it. However, as a medical problem, we are up against the intricacies of biochemistry and human biology. Some of these processes are very complicated, with every other word an unfamiliar medical or biological term. Before I continue, I should explain that I have written this article in response to an off-topic comment on another thread. I...
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Gout Cures Debate

by KeithTaylor Comment Closed
The natural gout cures debate is to discuss issues raised by the Natural Gout Cures To Lower Uric Acid pages in the Gout Treatment Section. It complements other topics in the Gout Treatment Section, and you can see a list of all relevant debates in the Gout Treatment Forum Guidelines. Allopurinol is known the world over as the best of all gout medications to cure gout. But many people want to avoid daily pills, and seek out a more natural approach. Have you found natural gout cures to lower uric acid? There are three ways to lower uric acid: Block the uric acid forming enzyme xanthine oxidase (XO) Encourage excretion of uric acid (uricosuric) Convert uric acid to harmless allantoin (uricase) Discuss gout cures from natural products...
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Gout Pain Relief

by KeithTaylor Comment Closed
Gout pain relief is the first stage of gout management. The second stage is treatment to reduce uric acid, but this can cause more pain and many people miss this vital treatment because they cannot tolerate the pain. Recent discoveries regarding gout pain have suggested an alternative approach that may well lead to a new, more effective form of gout pain relief. Many people mistakenly believe that uric acid crystals, commonly described as needle-like, cause pain in the same way that sticking pins in your body will. If you've studied my U-D-R-P model of gout pain, you will know that it is actually your immune system reacting to the crystals that causes swelling and pain in a similar way to fighting a virus. And the pain doesn't only arise when something triggers these uric acid crystals to form. A few days after your immune system has attacked uric acid crystals, swelling and pain subside as the crystals become hidden by white...
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What Foods Can I Eat With Gout

by KeithTaylor Comment Closed
Friends frequently ask me, "What foods can I eat with gout?" Please do not think that I have a huge circle of gouty acquaintances. I see all gout sufferers as friends, especially the ones who comment here, post in the gout forum, or tell me about their gout by email. When I started developing my gout diet plan, I deliberately shied away from creating a fixed menu, for two reasons: It takes up more time than I have available. I do not agree with telling other people what to eat. I feel it is irresponsible to plan a diet for somebody if you know nothing about them Continue reading What Foods Can I Eat With Gout...
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Recipes For Gout

by KeithTaylor Comment Closed
Now that the latest issue of my free gout newsletter is finished, it's catching up time once again. It is time to answer your short question about recipes for gout. First, a warning. I have seen hundreds of so-called recipes for gout, and books of gout diet recipes. Most of them simply regurgitate old, out-of-date, advice about foods low in purines. Purines and gout are not that important, and certainly not for vegetables. If you see any of these, and you are not sure about their true value for gout sufferers, please let me know about them, and I will appraise them for you. You might have noticed that I have started a new Gout Diet Recipes section. Continue reading about recipes for gout...
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Gout And Alcohol Debate

by KeithTaylor Comment Closed
Arguments about gout and alcohol continue, and I have summarized my thoughts on the main gout information site. I am sure I need to add more detail in some areas when I have a clearer idea about the real issues that affect gout sufferers. I have recently introduced a debate about uric acid lowering treatment and alcohol, and this debate runs alongside it, as I do not want to dilute the treatment debate with remarks about alcohol consumption and gout in general. There is never a single simple answer to stopping gout. Every gout sufferer needs to understand their own personal circumstances with respect to gout, and develop their own personal plan to deal with it. At GoutPal, we use the forums to start a plan. Then we can discuss the things that really matter with our doctors, and get the right treatment. Alcohol And The Treated Gout Patient The first consideration is if you are taking uric acid lowering medicine or not....
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