Gout - What Causes Of Gout Are?

What is Gout?

A form of arthritis that is a painful inflammation and swelling of the joints caused by the buildup of uric acid in the body. Certain foods cause gout so diet plays a role. Treatment of gout can be achieved through medication and proper diet.

Gout is caused by a build up of uric acid (urate) in your blood. Urate is a normally harmless waste product which is formed when the body breaks down substances known as purines. Two thirds of your urate is produced by your kidneys. The other third is produced by your digestive system. Purines are found naturally in the body, but are also found in some foods and certain types of alcohol.

Causes of Gout

If you drink sugar-sweetened soft drinks high in fructose it can cause uric acid to build up. A recent research study found that having two drinks a day of a sugar sweetened soft drink increased the risk of developing gout by 85%. (Drinks labelled as 'diet' or drinks containing artificial sweeteners were not found to increase the risk.) Fructose rich fruits and fruit juices may also increase the risk.

Certain foods may 'tip the balance' to raise your uric acid higher than normal. In particular, if you eat a lot of heart, herring, sardines, yeast extracts, or mussels it may increase the level of uric acid. However, eating a normal balanced diet should not have much effect on the uric acid level.

Mechanism behind Emergence of Gout

In normal cases, the metabolism process in human body produces Uric acid as its end product as Uricase, digestive enzyme secretion from kidney, beaks down the Purines from the food. However, in pathological stage, due to the decline in the levels of Uricase elevation in the quantity of uric acid is found. As kidney failed to discard this uric acid through urine, it experiences the saturation of this in the blood (Hyperuricaemia). This raised levels of uric acid in blood lead to deposits of microscopic, sharp needle like crystals of Monosodium Urate at joints.

If your parents have gout, then you have a 20% chance of developing it.

British people are five times more likely to develop gout.

Some medications can prevent uric acid from leaving the body. This can cause a build up of uric acid crystals and cause an attack of gout.

Alcohol and certain foods can trigger a gout attack.

Events such as strokes, heart attacks or surgery may also cause gout.

Gout is caused by too much uric acid in the blood. Most of the time, having too much uric acid is not harmful. Many people with high levels in their blood never get gout. But when uric acid levels in the blood are too high, the uric acid may form hard crystals in your joints.

Gout is caused by an excess of uric acid in the body. The excess can be caused by an increase in production of uric acid in the body and by the inability of the kidneys to adequately clear uric acid from the body.