Why Not Talk About Urate?

Fastidious readers of my summaries of gout research studies might have noticed that whenever urate is mentioned, I almost always change it to uric acid. This is *not* because I think that they are the same thing. It is because, for the layman, for the average gout sufferer, i.e. for 99% of visitors to GoutPal, they can be treated as the same. I believe that gout sufferers have enough to worry about without having to learn lots of new terms. It is good to understand the inner workings of gout. Knowledge is power, and if you understand how gout works, you are better placed to control it. However, as a medical problem, we are up against the intricacies of biochemistry and human biology. Some of these processes are very complicated, with every other word an unfamiliar medical or biological term. Before I continue, I should explain that I have written this article in response to an off-topic comment on another thread. I...
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Gout Symptoms And Causes Forum Introduction.

Stage 2 of the 2012 gout forum revamp project is now live, with a revised Gout Symptoms Forum. Getting a clear diagnosis from your gout symptoms is your vital first step in your journey to gout freedom. Without a correct diagnosis of gout, you will never know if you actually have gout, and you risk lack of progress from treating the wrong disease. This gout symptoms forum is also the perfect place to discuss the "why me?" factor. Newly diagnosed gout patients are often anxious to know why they have fallen foul of painful gouty arthritis. Sometimes it is difficult to know your causes of gout, but if you can determine what caused your gout, it may give you better choices during your next step - your gout treatment plan. Continue to see how you can discuss your gout symptoms and causes...
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Gout Cures Debate

The natural gout cures debate is to discuss issues raised by the Natural Gout Cures To Lower Uric Acid pages in the Gout Treatment Section. It complements other topics in the Gout Treatment Section, and you can see a list of all relevant debates in the Gout Treatment Forum Guidelines. Allopurinol is known the world over as the best of all gout medications to cure gout. But many people want to avoid daily pills, and seek out a more natural approach. Have you found natural gout cures to lower uric acid? There are three ways to lower uric acid: Block the uric acid forming enzyme xanthine oxidase (XO) Encourage excretion of uric acid (uricosuric) Convert uric acid to harmless allantoin (uricase) Discuss gout cures from natural products...
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Gout Pain Relief

Gout pain relief is the first stage of gout management. The second stage is treatment to reduce uric acid, but this can cause more pain and many people miss this vital treatment because they cannot tolerate the pain. Recent discoveries regarding gout pain have suggested an alternative approach that may well lead to a new, more effective form of gout pain relief. Many people mistakenly believe that uric acid crystals, commonly described as needle-like, cause pain in the same way that sticking pins in your body will. If you've studied my U-D-R-P model of gout pain, you will know that it is actually your immune system reacting to the crystals that causes swelling and pain in a similar way to fighting a virus. And the pain doesn't only arise when something triggers these uric acid crystals to form. A few days after your immune system has attacked uric acid crystals, swelling and pain subside as the crystals become hidden by white...
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What Foods Can I Eat With Gout

Friends frequently ask me, "What foods can I eat with gout?" Please do not think that I have a huge circle of gouty acquaintances. I see all gout sufferers as friends, especially the ones who comment here, post in the gout forum, or tell me about their gout by email. When I started developing my gout diet plan, I deliberately shied away from creating a fixed menu, for two reasons: It takes up more time than I have available. I do not agree with telling other people what to eat. I feel it is irresponsible to plan a diet for somebody if you know nothing about them Continue reading What Foods Can I Eat With Gout...
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Recipes For Gout

Now that the latest issue of my free gout newsletter is finished, it's catching up time once again. It is time to answer your short question about recipes for gout. First, a warning. I have seen hundreds of so-called recipes for gout, and books of gout diet recipes. Most of them simply regurgitate old, out-of-date, advice about foods low in purines. Purines and gout are not that important, and certainly not for vegetables. If you see any of these, and you are not sure about their true value for gout sufferers, please let me know about them, and I will appraise them for you. You might have noticed that I have started a new Gout Diet Recipes section. Continue reading about recipes for gout...
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