Gout Pal Interactive

Not a day goes by without a request for gout food lists.

How I wish it were so simple.

But it’s my job to make it simple.

So here is a simple explanation of gout and food.

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Thanks to WouteR for this image

Gout sufferers know how good water is.

1. Water reduces uric acid concentration, lowering the risk of pain-inducing crystals forming.
2. Water helps flush excess uric acid, and many toxic gout treatments, from the body.

Two - Nil is brilliant.

Where’s the third one coming from?

I’ve had a recent email exchange with a long-term gout sufferer who reckons he has found a new way to combat gout with water.

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I not only suffer gout.

Now aspirin has driven me insane.

First, let me refer you to my article about aspirin and gout. I thought this was a great piece of news for gout sufferers who have been worried about low-dose aspirin, commonly taken to reduce the risks of stroke and heart disease.

I always intended to research this further, and add it to the gout research section at GoutPal.com. Today I learned that my link to the original presentation abstract was faulty. I decided to complete my review of aspirin and gout and improve my report.

That’s when aspirin started driving me mad.

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I wonder what’s so special about Monday and gout.

Is it due to weekend excesses?

More importantly (to me anyway) is will it repeat this week?

Is it a result of more diagnosis of gout on Monday as it’s the first chance that sufferers have had to see a doctor?

So if it’s still Monday, and you’re looking for gout information, why not let us know what’s so special about Monday to you.

Where do you go for gout diagnosis?

You might think that any qualified doctor could tell if you have gout, but even your doctor is not sure.

In a recent survey of different types of physicians, only rheumatologists are 100% certain that they can diagnose gout.

This supports my advice that you should always consult a rheumatologist if you have gout, or show any gout symptoms.

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Whilst looking for information about uric acid, I came across an interesting piece about Alzheimer’s disease and uric acid.

In the article, Mathilda refers to some recent research about uric acid as a potential cure for Alzheimer’s, or at least a way to hold the progression of the disease.

The research in this article follows on from a piece I did last year explaining how uric acid could reduce nerve damage. The researcher, Professor Firestein, pointed out to me that maintaining an adequate level of uric acid in the body is important.

There are a few more important points about uric acid, Alzheimer’s disease and related medical conditions and treatments.

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Join the forum discussion on this post - (2) Posts

You see lots of gout information, but how much is written just for you?

You might not realize, but the whole of GoutPal.com is driven by your needs and desires.

I like to analyze visitor numbers, but mainly I respond to your requests - especially when you write them in the Gout Forum (now no registration required).

It is by far the easiest way to communicate, and I really missed it when my ISP let me down. Now that I’m back in business on a new server, I will continue to manually transfer old popular gout information. I will also try to catch up on the avalanche of emails I received during the time my server was crippled.

My priority will be to respond to your forum requests, but I am also interested in what my visitors find interesting, even if you leave no comments.

I plan to add a weekly and monthly summary of popular gout information from GoutPal.com. For the first week in April, these are:

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Thanks to The Wellness Site for this image

I’d never heard of Polycystic Kidney Disease (PKD) until a recent question from a gout sufferer suggested a link with gout and PKD.

Coincidentally, I spotted a PKD article on my Gout Related News Page, entitled “Potential New Treatments For Polycystic Kidney Disease”.

As you may know, the Gout News Page contains an automatically updated feed from Medical News Today. As well as gout news, I include other topics of interest to gout sufferers. As PKD has been mentioned recently in the Gout Forum, I was drawn to this article.

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Rumours of my demise are exaggerated.

Not only am I still alive and kicking, but I’ve resurrected this blog.

There’s hope for a bright future on a new server. Thanks to all who’ve helped with this - I’ll write more soon.

In the meantime, there are a few bugs that have crept in during moving this site. They may also affect links on GoutPal.com.

If you spot anything, please let me know.

Also, please let me know what is most important to you. I always give priority to your needs.

I’ve just read a fascinating study about a substance called L-carnitine and it’s effect on uric acid.

The study is not concerned with gout, but anything related to uric acid interests me. This particular study looks at how uric acid rises after strenuous exercise. The fact that exertion raises uric acid is the reason why I recommend gentle exercise for gout sufferers - exercise is important to aid mobility and help weight loss, but too much can have a bad effect.

L-Carnitine

$5 VITAMIN SALE!! Plus get FREE SHIPPING on any order over $25. No coupon needed. Hurry, sale ends soon!

L-carnitine is currently being promoted widely as an anti-aging / anti-dementia supplement. It is produced naturally in the body if sufficient lysine (an amino acid found in protein), vitamins B1, B6 and iron is available. It is available from diet - mainly muscle and organ meat, fish and milk products.

The study about uric acid, exercise, and l-carnitine (L-Carnitine L-tartrate supplementation favorably affects markers of recovery from exercise stress) uses a commonly available carnitine supplement LCLT, combining L-carnitine with L-tartrate.

In the study, the subjects took the LCLT supplement for a 6 day rest period prior to starting the exercises. Although the study is mainly concerned with the effects during and after exercise, the volunteers on LCLT displayed lower uric acid levels even during the rest period.

The big question is - will it do any good for gout? If you’ve taken this supplement, please let me know how you got on with it.