Gout

[JAYNEY]

Does anybody know any natural remedies for gout?

[andy hughes]

I suffer from gout, and I can dispel the popular myth about it affecting old men who drink port - I'm 46 and teetotal! Gout is caused by excess uric acid which crystalises, usually in the toes, occasionally in the knee joints, and it is hereditary, and very very painful! From my experience, the best way to avoid attacks is to adjust your diet - spicy food, even sausages or bacon, set off a bout of gout for me, so keep off the strong flavours, and drink lots of water to keep your system flushed, and you should have little or no trouble.

[moorby]

Don't know about natural remedies, but gouty attacks respond to strong painkillers. Once the attack is quiescent a recurrence can be prevented by the drug allopurinol which prevents the formation of uric acid from its precursor xanthine. As xanthine is more soluble than urate it gets peed out better. Xanthine and urate are products of DNA breakdown by the bodies normal housekeeping. This is why rich foods (especially meats) tend to worsen gout. It can also be caused by poor kidneys failing to excrete the urate, or any disease causing increased cell turnover - blood disorders are notorious for causing it (but rare).

[moorby]

Oh, almost forgot. Humans are unusual in that we have lost the enzyme (uric oxidase) that converts urate to a more soluble chemical called allantoin which cannot cause gout. Other animals and birds do have this so can't get gout.

[incitatus]

The most effective one is extract of Autumn crocus. In fact as colchicine, the purified form, this is a common treatment in western medecine. DO NOT SELF MEDICATE with this plant as it is very toxic. Consult a herballist.

[J..]

A colleague told me that his gout would always occur whenever he ate liver or kidneys - so keep off of these!