Ask The Expert- January 2019

Dear Red Hot Mamas,

My significant other (Dan) has been diagnosed with gout. Please provide me some information about it. I’m clueless as about this disease. Thank you.

Maureen

Dear Maureen,

What a caring partner you are! We hope we can help.

Gout is a medical condition characterized by attacks of acute inflammatory arthritis in the joints. It is caused by elevated levels of uric acid in the body. It is the most common form of inflammatory arthritis affecting men.

When levels of uric acid are elevated, it crystallizes most frequently in the joints causing swelling and pain.

The treatment for the gout attack is to rest the affected joint, colchicine stops the attack, an NSAID to reduce pain and inflammation. When the attack is under control then starting a urate-lowering medication, adopting a gout diet and drinking lots of fluids is beneficial.

Health recommendations for a gout diet usually include:

• Weight loss (reducing calories and losing weight lowers the risk of gout)
• Eat more fruits and vegetables and whole grains which provide complex carbohydrates
• Avoid sugary foods and vegetables
• Stay well hydrated by drinking lots of water
• Cut back on saturated fats from red meat, fatty poultry and high fat dairy products
• Eat lean meat and poultry, low fat dairy and lentils as sources of protein

Chronic gout may involve more than one joint and it may have repeated episodic flares causing inflammation and pain. The exact cause of gout is unknown.