Simple Ways Bananas Improve Your Gout Symptoms Naturally
This is the third installment of our series on gout treatments. The first two remedies mentioned in this series were pineapples and grapes. This series is meant to give you alternative gout treatments to consider so you can reduce or eliminate the sharp fiery pain that is so common among episodes of this painful disease. So how can bananas help improve your pain?
A Gout Treatment that Reduces Inflammation.
Bananas are loaded with potassium. Potassium is very critical when it comes to properly treating this condition. As has been mentioned in other posts, potassium helps to liquefy uric acid. The pain from gout is mostly caused by inflammation due to increased uric acid crystallization in the joints, most commonly in the big toe, but this can occur in other joints as well. The liquefying of those crystals helps them to move out of the joint and be processed for urination by the kidneys (your renal system). Your kidneys act as an equalizer and help bring the body into balance by lowering your body's uric acid content to normal (in medical terms this is called homeostasis).
Bananas have a moderate level of potassium. Whereas pineapples and grapes both have potassium, but are lower, bananas have around 10% of your daily recommended allowance for potassium (3500mg). The average banana contains approximately 358mg. Adding bananas to a fruit mix of pineapples and grapes would really help you get closer to increasing your potassium levels to where your body is able to properly eliminate the excess crystallization that is causing you pain. Another benefit to potassium is that it also helps prevent your body from becoming too acidic.
You can supplement potassium, but I seriously advise you to seek a physician as potassium needs to be kept in proper balance since it plays an important role in your heart rhythm regularity.
A Gout Treatment that Reduces Uric Acid Levels
As mentioned above, excess uric acid leads to crystallization in the joints. If you have gout banana helps combat this because they are loaded with vitamin C which has been shown to reduce uric acid levels by 10% when taken in enough quantities (500mg was the test quantity). An average serving of bananas contains approximately 15% of your daily total, although the recommended total is less than the 500mg used during the test results showing the decrease in uric acid due to vitamin C usage.
Vitamin C also helps with repairing connective tissue in your joints that the crystals are tearing down. This is vital in getting rid of gout pain .
Conclusion
Bananas, just like pineapples and grapes cannot beat gout alone. With their ability to go to the heart of gout pain by helping to reduce swelling and the crystallization that causes swelling bananas should be part of your natural treatments for gout program.
Until later,
Medicman
Showing posts with label getting rid of gout pain. Show all posts
Showing posts with label getting rid of gout pain. Show all posts
Wednesday, May 7, 2008
Friday, May 2, 2008
Gout Treatments-Part 2|Grapes
How Grapes are Helping Gout Sufferers Reduce Their Pain
How many times have we heard that eating plenty of fruits and vegetables are crucial in our ability to get rid of gout. The fact that fruits are so effective as natural remedies for gout is the reason for this gout treatments series.
Next up on the list is grapes. Grapes are another natural gout remedy that is not commonly used as a gout treatments therapy. As with pineapples, grapes by themselves will not get rid of gout, but they have a lot of potential when used with other therapies. There are quite a few ways that grapes can help to relieve gout pain. The following list contains the properties of grapes that help ease your pain.
Water
One of the benefits of eating grapes are they are made up mostly of water. In fact, they are roughly 2/3 composed of water. As we've seen in an earlier post on proper hydration as an effective natural gout treatments solution,water helps flush the extra uric acid out of your system, while helping to reduce inflammation. As I mentioned in that post, you can also help supplement your water intake by eating water dense foods, such as grapes. Water is an excellent gout treatments therapy no matter what form you take it in.
Quercitin
Quercitin is a flavonoid. Flavonoids are known to have beneficial anti-swelling abilities. Obviously, this is a major benefit in getting rid of gout pain as swelling is what causes the majority of a person's gout discomfort. As an extra benefit, quercitin is noted be a great cancer fighter due to it's ability to help fight off tumor growth. You should consider other foods with quercitin such as cherries, the king of gout treatments, to help ease gout attacks. Quercitin also comes in supplement form.
Anthocyanins
Anthocyanins are also flavonoids. Flavonoid compounds are thought to block the pain messages carried by the COX enzyme in the body. So, anthocyanins, as with quercitin helps to reduce swelling and block pain receptors simultaneously. They are found in dark skinned fruits, such as red grapes and cherries. The best grapes to take in your gout treatments arsenal are red grapes as white grapes were not found to have hardly any levels of anthocyanins.
Potassium
Grapes, as with bananas also contain potassium. Whereas, bananas contain approx. 115mg of potassium per serving (100g or 3.5 oz), grapes contain approx. 191mg per serving. Combine these two fruits in a fruit salad to help you work towards your daily totals for potassium and fruit consumption.
As mentioned in the last post about pineapples and gout, potassium helps put uric acid into a solution versus being crystallized, which helps your kidneys excrete the excess uric acid out of your system.
Alkalinity
Grapes are considered, as well as bananas to be alkaline inducing foods. Your body works on a pH balance and it is healthier for the body to be in an alkaline state versus an acidic state. Part of the problem with gout is the acidic nature of your blood. Grapes are fairly alkaline, despite having acids in them. It is the soluble salts such as salt of potassium in the grapes which make them alkaline. This helps neutralize the uric acid in your body thereby helping reduce your gout symptoms.
Vitamin C
Grapes also contain vitamin C which are a vital part of any gout treatments therapy. The vitamin C content in grapes is not huge, around 10mg, but it is helpful. Whereas grapes have more potassium than bananas, bananas have more vitamin C than grapes. Vitamin C is noted for preventing purines from forming into too much uric acid.
Conclusion
It is possible to find healthy natural gout treatments to cure your painful gout symptoms. Grapes are a great way to mix variety into your diet and is why grapes should be considered as one of the important cures in your gout treatments therapy.
Until later,
Medicman
How many times have we heard that eating plenty of fruits and vegetables are crucial in our ability to get rid of gout. The fact that fruits are so effective as natural remedies for gout is the reason for this gout treatments series.
Next up on the list is grapes. Grapes are another natural gout remedy that is not commonly used as a gout treatments therapy. As with pineapples, grapes by themselves will not get rid of gout, but they have a lot of potential when used with other therapies. There are quite a few ways that grapes can help to relieve gout pain. The following list contains the properties of grapes that help ease your pain.
Water
One of the benefits of eating grapes are they are made up mostly of water. In fact, they are roughly 2/3 composed of water. As we've seen in an earlier post on proper hydration as an effective natural gout treatments solution,water helps flush the extra uric acid out of your system, while helping to reduce inflammation. As I mentioned in that post, you can also help supplement your water intake by eating water dense foods, such as grapes. Water is an excellent gout treatments therapy no matter what form you take it in.
Quercitin
Quercitin is a flavonoid. Flavonoids are known to have beneficial anti-swelling abilities. Obviously, this is a major benefit in getting rid of gout pain as swelling is what causes the majority of a person's gout discomfort. As an extra benefit, quercitin is noted be a great cancer fighter due to it's ability to help fight off tumor growth. You should consider other foods with quercitin such as cherries, the king of gout treatments, to help ease gout attacks. Quercitin also comes in supplement form.
Anthocyanins
Anthocyanins are also flavonoids. Flavonoid compounds are thought to block the pain messages carried by the COX enzyme in the body. So, anthocyanins, as with quercitin helps to reduce swelling and block pain receptors simultaneously. They are found in dark skinned fruits, such as red grapes and cherries. The best grapes to take in your gout treatments arsenal are red grapes as white grapes were not found to have hardly any levels of anthocyanins.
Potassium
Grapes, as with bananas also contain potassium. Whereas, bananas contain approx. 115mg of potassium per serving (100g or 3.5 oz), grapes contain approx. 191mg per serving. Combine these two fruits in a fruit salad to help you work towards your daily totals for potassium and fruit consumption.
As mentioned in the last post about pineapples and gout, potassium helps put uric acid into a solution versus being crystallized, which helps your kidneys excrete the excess uric acid out of your system.
Alkalinity
Grapes are considered, as well as bananas to be alkaline inducing foods. Your body works on a pH balance and it is healthier for the body to be in an alkaline state versus an acidic state. Part of the problem with gout is the acidic nature of your blood. Grapes are fairly alkaline, despite having acids in them. It is the soluble salts such as salt of potassium in the grapes which make them alkaline. This helps neutralize the uric acid in your body thereby helping reduce your gout symptoms.
Vitamin C
Grapes also contain vitamin C which are a vital part of any gout treatments therapy. The vitamin C content in grapes is not huge, around 10mg, but it is helpful. Whereas grapes have more potassium than bananas, bananas have more vitamin C than grapes. Vitamin C is noted for preventing purines from forming into too much uric acid.
Conclusion
It is possible to find healthy natural gout treatments to cure your painful gout symptoms. Grapes are a great way to mix variety into your diet and is why grapes should be considered as one of the important cures in your gout treatments therapy.
Until later,
Medicman
Wednesday, April 30, 2008
Gout Treatments-Part 1 | Pineapples
If you've ever woken up in the middle of the night with gout pain, you know how important it is to have a gout treatments plan that works. The next series of posts are going to be dedicated to specific gout treatments that are known to have beneficial effects on treating gout. First up on the list is pineapples.
How Pineapples Ease Painful Gout Attacks
Pineapples are not usually the first food that comes to mind when it comes to getting rid of gout. So, is pineapple good for gout? Pineapples do have several beneficial properties that can help you when combined with other methods in your gout treatments program. So, what is it that pineapples have to offer that can help you overcome the painful symptoms of gout?
Potassium
Potassium is very crucial when it comes to providing yourself with effective prevention therapies. Potassium helps turn uric acid into a solution your kidneys can get rid of more easily during urination. As stated in an earlier post on gout treatments, the suggested daily intake of potassium according to the government is 3500mg. While pineapples do not have an overwhelming amount of potassium, 115mg, when combined with the other therapeutic remedies pineapples contain, this is a fruit that is definitely worth making part of a gout treatments plan.
Bromelain
One of the biggest gout remedies benefits of using pineapple in treating this painful disease is that it contains bromelain. As a gout treatments remedy, bromelain is first-class. It is an anti-inflammatory enzyme that helps to digest protein molecules.
This enzyme can be purchased as a supplement. It can also be used effectively for arthritis, swelling from minor traumas, and digestive problems. It is sometimes used to aid in healing from post-surgical procedures. Another benefit of bromelain is that is known to be helpful as an anti-coagulant (blood thinner) which would be useful if you are prone to blood clots. Please remember, seek your physician's counsel before taking this supplement or any supplement prior to using as a treatment for any condition.
As with most things, too much of a good thing can pose risks. While studies have found that moderate doses revealed no notable side effects, higher supplementation can lead to possible heart rate increase, plus nausea and vomiting. Another downside is the likelihood of diarrhea at higher doses. It should not be used in conjunction with other blood thinners such as Coumadin (Warfarin) or Aspirin. Overall, bromelain is considered safe in moderation and is one of the best natural gout remedies available.
Vitamin C
Pineapple contains a lot of vitamin C which is very good at getting rid of gout pain. These delicious fruits contain on average 36mg which is 60% of the RDA for vitamin C. How does this vitamin make an efficient gout treatments tool? A study performed by Arthritis and Rheumatism (2005;52:1843–7) showed that 500mg of vitamin C administered over a two month period reduced uric acid levels by an average of 10%. While 36mg is not as potent as 500mg, it is a healthy way to get your vitamin C.
The reason why vitamin C works for gout treatments is it helps the kidneys to excrete greater amounts of uric acid. It also helps prevent purines from breaking down into uric acid. Uric acid in and of itself is not bad for you, in fact, it is very beneficial to your body. The problem arises when the uric acid is not able to be metabolized very well by the body or overwhelms the body. This is where vitamin C can help you in your treatment of gout.
Folic Acid
I just thought I'd mention folic acid is present in pineapple, and it has had a reputation of helping with gout. Folic acid combines with folate to make up the vitamin B9. Folic acid is used by some in their gout treatments profile because folic acid helps repair tissue and DNA. While this is very helpful because uric acid crystallization damages your joints, there is very little scientific proof that folic acid is beneficial in gout. It certainly is not harmful, but I would avoid supplementation strictly for a gout treatments remedy.
Conclusion
As you can see pineapple has quite the combination of elements that help ease gout pain. While some of these elements in and of themselves are not in adequate amounts by eating pineapple itself, when you combine pineapple with other gout treatments, you can have a great weapon in your gout treatments arsenal.
Until later,
Medicman
Subscribe to:
Posts (Atom)
