I normally don’t attack opposing viewpoints, but today I am going to. I opened up TIME, magazine today and 8 pages in there is a nice spread covering both pages advertising the drug Uloric. This drug happens to be for the condition gout. Gout is an inflammatory reaction that occurs in the body due to high uric acid levels. This drug aims to reduce uric acid levels and improve gouty symptoms. So far I don’t have a problem. Here is the point I have a problem with and I quote, “Gout’s root cause is high uric acid.” Ok, stop the train, this is preposterous. Do people with gout have high uric acid levels? Yes. Is the root cause of gout high uric acid levels? Well, actually yes. There is one problem. How in the world did the uric acid levels get high in the first place?
My big problem here is they are address a symptom of a bigger issue. If uric acid levels are high there is something major going on in the body. Why treat uric acid levels instead of finding the cause? That is a great question. Ok, so what IS the cause of gout than? Let’s explore this issue. Gout is most often associated with high uric acid levels. Gout is a deposition of crystals of uric acid within joints that cause inflammation, fever, swelling, pain, and abnormal motion. Uric acid comes from certain sources and particularly in animal protein. People with gout problems cannot properly breakdown protein. Proper protein digestion would allow for greater osmotic pressure within the blood. Ok, so that means it allows the blood to clean up waste better. It also allows the kidneys to filter out the uric acid better. Hmmmm, seems to me like we just address THE root cause of gout. If you improve protein digestion, ingestion, and absorption uric acid levels have to decrease according normal body function aka physiology. Thank you to Uloric for giving me a great topic to write on today, sorry it had to be at your expense!
I saw a 3 minute commercial for that drug last night. Great thoughts on the cause of gout. What are some ways that we can practically reduce Uric adic?
Fresh fruits and veggies. Typically gout is of little concern to those under the age of about 50 or so. But now is the time for prevention. Lean cuts of meat, fish, white meat, and healthy portions of fruits and veggies raw will do the trick.
Thank you, doctor, for the informative post. I’m going to link your blog to mine at http://chairtaichi.wordpress.com
Thank you! I will be looking at your blog and seeing what it is all about. I’m always interested in learning more. Feel free to look over old postings I have made and ask questions.