Get Rid of Gout|Why Improved Health is Vital to Get Rid of Gout

Simple Gout Cures Any Determined Person Can Do

If you are serious about getting rid of gout, you simply cannot downplay the importance your overall health plays in your ability to treat this arthritic disease. Most people who have attacks are generally overweight, and their diet contains very unhealthy foods which contribute to high uric acid levels, the chief cause of gout symptoms.

Gout (hyperuricemia) is caused by either overloading your body with purines to the point your body is not able to deal with the excess uric acid produced by the high purine content or by your kidneys not being able to properly eliminate even normal levels of purines.

So How do You Improve Your Health?

Proper diet and exercise are crucial gout treatments if you truly want to improve your health and get rid of gout.

Proper diet

Lowering your intake of high purine foods goes to the heart of what causes gout. Many high purine foods are high in fat and deter your ability to lose weight effectively. Common high purine foods are hamburgers, hot dogs, and bacon. We all know these foods would never make a list of foods to help you improve your health. Decrease your amount of these foods or better yet, eliminate them altogether.

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 hinder weight loss. They have been found to increase your hunger and some health experts believe that diet sodas are even worse than drinking regular sodas, especially due to increased risk of cancer from the chemicals used in most diet soft drinks. Bottom line: get rid of soda. Drink water instead.

You can keep the coffee. 4-6 cups of coffee was found in a Canadian study to lower uric acid levels by 50%. Decaffeinated coffee was also found to lower uric acid. I personally drink organic Green Mountain decaffeinated coffee. I use my own grinder and grind the grounds at home.

You don't have to make wholesale changes all at once. In fact, this usually proves disastrous to long term health as most people quit due to the difficulty of making large lifestyle changes in a short time. A very easy goal to reach is one pound a week.

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.

There are many alternative and natural methods of improving your overall health through diet. A great site to check out is Terry Didcott's site on alternative cures. His article on alternative cures for acne should not be overlooked by gout sufferers. The same diet problems contributing to acne also contribute to increased gout problems. His research on his site is solid and informative. He also has good articles on arthritis. Gout is a form of arthritis.

Exercise

Exercise gives me fits due to the extensive history I had of serious gout attacks. I have had numerous attacks in both feet, ankles, knees, and especially my left wrist (this really stinks since I am left handed). Ironically, I have only ever had one attack in my big toe, the most common place to have gout.

I hardly ever have gout attacks anymore, but I do have a hard time exercising. Lack of exercise makes it hard for me to lose excess weight. Gout ravaging my joints is one of the reasons I decided I had to find a way to prevent any future attacks.

I have finally found a way to exercise. My friend is a physical therapist, and he is helping me overcome this problem. When your joints are damaged, he stated your blood supply doesn't heal your joints, synovial fluid does. He has designed easy exercises for me to increase the amount of fluid going to my joints without adding stress to them until they are healed enough to start strengthening them.

Conclusion

Proper diet and exercising wisely will not only help improve your joint and kidney health, but will help your overall health and getting rid of gout pain. If you choose not to lose weight, you can still reduce your painful symptoms, but your alternatives are mostly prescription medications. I, however, prefer to use natural gout treatments methods over medications.

Until later,

Medic