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This Diet Removes Uric Acid From Your Joints Best
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It’s no secret that the Standard American Diet is no good for you – but it seems that there’s one more reason why you should be steering clear of it (if there weren’t enough). A diet high in acidic foods has been tentatively shown to induce the body to hold on to uric acid instead of excreting it which can lead to buildup and an ailment called gout and general pain in the joints and the crystallization of uric acid in the body. The opposite was also found to be true, for the participants in the study at least, that a diet high in alkalizing foods helped the body to eliminate uric acid.
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What Is Gout
Gout is caused by excessive uric acid and is a form of arthritis. It presents itself with extreme pain in the joints and most often attacks the big toes. The symptoms of gout most often present themselves at night in the form of excruciating pain at the base of the big toe and the joint becomes hot, swollen, and tender where even the weight of a bed sheet on it is extremely painful. Gout can also be present in the joints of the ankles, wrists, knees, fingers, and elbows.
The initial attack of gout is very painful for most people and although the worst of the pain only lasts a few hours, there will still be lingering pain for days, weeks, or even months before it goes away completely. Unfortunately, if not treated, gout attacks become more common and can become increasingly worse as the uric acid builds up more in the body. The attacks can present themselves in other parts of the body and can be at different times or at the same time. Untreated gout can also lead to kidney stones and thus difficulty and pain urinating.
Treating Gout
There is no common cure for gout and instead the symptoms are managed whenever they flare up including pain relievers for when joints are inflamed and hurting as well as anti-inflammatory medications. Other medications that can be prescribed include uric acid reducers and steroids. Most doctors will tell their gout patients though that they should also change their diet, exercise, lose weight if they are overweight, quit drinking, and eat less meat.
Most of the lifestyle changes that doctors recommend, unfortunately, are not always followed by patients. The thing is, these lifestyle changes seem to be a potential ‘cure’ for gout as they lower the levels of uric acid in the body and help to get rid of the already present uric acid. The study below went out to prove just that and it seems that their results were positive.
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The Study On Uric Acid and Diet
The study was conducted on college-aged female students that had no medical problems for five days, back-to-back. One group of the female students ate high-protein, low fruit/vegetable diets and the other at high fruit/vegetable, low protein diets. The first group was supposed to induce an acidic environment in the body and the latter group was supposed to induce an alkaline environment in their bodies. At the end of the five days, urine samples were compared and tested for volume, pH levels, levels of organic acids, creatinine, uric acid, and titratable acid as well as all the other cations and anions to determine the acid-base levels.
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The study found that the higher the acidic levels went, the more degradation of the materials being consumed. There was a greater concentration of uric acid in the urine of the group that ate a high-protein, low fruit/vegetable diet as well. The study concluded that uric acid was being reabsorbed back into the body more actively from acidic urine than from that which was alkaline, where it was being actively excreted from the participant’s bodies.
There were a few limitations to the study including that it was conducted with all females and the majority (80%) of gout presents itself in males. It was also conducted on perfectly healthy individuals and would have to be repeated with those already suffering from gout to really tell if a change in diet would be beneficial at helping their bodies to excrete uric acid. Even so, the study is promising for those suffering from the disease or hoping to avoid it altogether.
Natural Methods To Combat Uric Acid Buildup
No matter if you’ve experienced a gout attack already or are just wanting to stay ahead of the symptoms ever occurring, there are a few things you can do to prevent gout. The study above concluded by recommending that individuals follow an alkaline diet to help them prevent the onset of gout. Foods such as green leafy vegetables, pumpkin, miso, basil, cucumber, cabbage, kiwi, pineapple, yams, vinegar, walnuts, and bell peppers are all recommended daily foods for alkalizing the body. There are certain foods to stay away from as well, including, but not limited to, alcohol, caffeine, high-protein foods, highly processed foods, processed dairy, corn, sugar, and mayo.
Another way to help gout symptoms is to drink plenty of water. Most people don’t get the recommended daily intake of water and many times the water that they take in is not beneficial to the body either. Whether it is full of chemicals, plastic-polluted, or too acidic it seems that water has many ways it can be better. To really help your body if you’re suffering from gout, drink alkaline water and drink plenty. Water also helps to flush out uric acid and to potentially even ‘melt away’ uric acid deposits. To better your water further, add a tablespoon of apple cider vinegar to a cup of water in the morning. Apple cider vinegar has been shown to help alkalize the body as well as having a host of other benefits for the body.
Gout is a terrible disease that puts an individual in excruciating pain and takes a toll on the body. Fortunately, it seems that gout can be prevented and potentially even reversed with a change in diet and alkalizing the body. Doing so involves avoiding certain foods and adding other into the diet to create a balanced pH level in the body. The more basic pH in the body helps to eliminate more uric acid from the body. Other changes, including drinking more water, could also help to flush current amounts of uric acid and prevent further gout attacks. This natural way of dealing with your joint pain is also side-effect free and will help you live a better life overall.
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