How Will This Tart Cherry Juice Concentrate Spritzer Make Your Life Easier
This tart cherry juice concentrate spritzer is the perfect go to drink when you’re bored of plain water and need something refreshing and delicious. It’s great to drink before bed, because one of the many potential tart cherry juice benefits is helping you sleep better.
Try these other easy drink recipes: Sparkling Berry Lemonade and Mimosa Mocktail.
Can Eliminating Alcohol Reverse Gout
In a word, no. Eliminating or cutting back on alcohol alone likely wont lower uric acid levels enough to effectively treat gout. For many people with gout, the target uric acid level is less than 6 mg/dL. If a person with high levels of uric acid goes on a diet, loses weight, eliminates high-purine foods like shellfish and stops drinking beer, they can lower their uric acid from, say, 10 to 9, but usually not much lower. Dietary improvements are still not enough the patient has to be on uric acid-lowering medication at this level, says Dr. Fields.
It is a myth that gout is a dietary disease, and that watching your diet will be enough to manage gout.
Gout is a genetic disease and extremely few people can make enough of a change in their blood uric acid level with diet to control their gout, says Dr. Fields. That said, its still important for people to limit those foods and beverages mentioned as part of their treatment, especially in the first six months after they start uric acid-lowering therapy when the patient is vulnerable to flares since these foods and drinks can make gout worse. Watching your diet, especially early in treatment, can make a difference, says Dr. Fields.
Red Wine Consumption Reduces Cardiovascular Risk
Studies have indicated that patients who have chronic inflammatory arthritis are at a high risk to be affected by cardiovascular events20.
Elderly patients with arthritis have a higher probability of developing atherosclerosis. It has been shown that inflammation plays an important role in the atherosclerotic process.
Rheumatoid arthritis increases cardiovascular disease risk by increasing oxidative stress and dysfunction of the endothelium .
The polyphenolic compounds present in red wine helps in reducing the development of heart diseases in healthy individuals.
Studies have shown that on the consumption of red wine the ratio of good cholesterol: bad cholesterol increased significantly. In patients with type 2, diabetes consumption of 150 ml/day of red wine decreased total cholesterol/High-density lipoprotein ratio.
What does this mean? This suggests that polyphenols of red wine have a significant role in lowering the risk of heart disease in arthritis.
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Acute Hyperuricemia And Cardiovascular Effects
Uric acid is an end product of purine metabolism in humans. This is different than in most other mammals, which express urate oxidase, an enzyme responsible for further metabolism of uric acid to allantoin. During the course of human evolution, several mutational events have produced the loss of uricase activity . This, in addition to effective kidney re-absorption system for urate, has resulted in approximately 10 times higher plasma uric acid levels in humans than in most other mammals , indicating biological significance of uric acid in man.
Indeed, uric acid is the most abundant aqueous antioxidant, accounting for up to 60% of plasma antioxidative capacity . The antioxidative effect of uric acid is evidenced by its ability to directly scavenge free radicals or to form stable complexes with transition-metal ions, such as iron, thereby preventing ascorbate oxidation and lipid peroxidation .
Can I Drink Wine If I Have Gout
Q: Can I drink wine if I have gout?Greg, Sarasota, Fla.
A: Gout is a form of arthritis that causes severe pain, redness and swelling in the joints, often at the base of the big toe. According to the National Institutes of Health, studies have identified numerous genes that contribute to gout risk, but the primary risk factor is hyperuricemia, or elevated uric acid levels. Because there is a genetic component to this condition, people with a family history should consult their physician to establish a diet and lifestyle that mitigates other contributing factors, such as consuming foods and beverages that are high in purines, such as organ meat, seafood, alcohol and sugary beverages .
“Alcohol consumption increases uric acid,” Dr. Marie-Pierre St-Onge, professor of nutritional medicine at Columbia University, told Wine Spectator, “and has been associated with increased risk of gout attacks.” However, she acknowledged, not all types of alcohol appear to have the same impact on gout risk. A 2004 Harvard Medical School study on the effects of alcohol on gout patients concluded that wine drinkers showed no greater or lesser chance of developing gout compared with nondrinkers. Spirits drinkers’ chances of developing gout grew by 15 percent for every shot of liquor they consumed each day, and beer drinkers’ proclivity grew by 49 percent with each daily beer.
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Orange Juice And Gout Risk
Many sugar-sweetened juices can increase your risk for gout, but naturally-sweetened juices like orange juice may also be a gout risk trigger. “In the last 10 years, there has been some evidence from some studies that high fructose in fruit juices may be associated with a higher risk of gout,” says Dr. Freeman. Fructose is a sugar that is added to soft drinks, but it occurs naturally in orange juice, so drinking too much OJ could be as risky as drinking a sugary soft drink.
What Kinds Of Alcohol Cause Gout
Studies have shown that all kinds of alcohol cause gout flares. Doctors used to think that beer and liquor were more likely than wine to cause gout flare-ups, but recent research shows that all alcohol forms can cause gout.
Also, the amount of alcohol doesnt matter; gout can flare up even if a person is not drinking heavily or often. Medical professionals usually tell people to avoid all alcohol if they have gout.
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In Another Study Look What They Have To Say About Alcohol Particularly Beer Consumption:
In a study published in The Lancet medical journal this spring, researchers followed over 47,000 male medical professionals with no history of gout for up to 12 years. By the end of the study, close to 2 percent of the men had experienced attacks of gout. Men who drank the most alcohol daily had twice the risk of developing the disorder as men who did not drink. Beer drinkers increased their risk by 50% for every daily serving, while those who drank hard liquor increased their risk by 15% for each drink. Men who drank wine did not appear to increase their risk for gout, although few men had more than two glasses of wine daily so these results are less conclusive.
The researchers believe beer consumption leads to gout because of its high purine content. Through the process of digestion, the purine compound breaks down to form uric acid. Normally, uric acid leaves the body through urine. But if the kidneys are unable to process all of the uric acid, levels in the blood become too high. The uric acid may then form crystal deposits in the joints. These deposits are the cause of gout. Beer was more likely to be associated with gout than spirits, and spirits in turn more than wine. 2
Also check out the other beverages we gout sufferers should try and avoid or at least limit their consumption like soft drinks which Ill talk about in more detail in a future post:
Does Alcohol Cause Gout And Can You Drink With Gout
Anyone who has had the misfortune to suffer from a gout attack will tell you how excruciatingly painful it is, and it can be very difficult to treat. However, it is avoidable with a monitored diet.; One question which comes up time and time again with regard to this is; does alcohol cause gout?
To truly understand if alcohol causes gout, lets look at the condition itself.
Gout is a form or arthritis, tiny crystals form around the joints, in the hands and feet in particular. Swelling occurs, as does a great deal of discomfort.
A gout attack can come on suddenly, often overnight. The crystals are a by-product of uric acid, which is a chemical produced by the body to break down purines.
Foods such as offal, oily fish, seafood, game, yeast extract , as well as beer, stout and port, are all very high in purines, so if any of these are your tipple of choice, then the answer to does alcohol cause gout, is that it is probably a major factor.
There is some good news for beer drinkers though. Gout is becoming more and more common, and some people have labelled purines as the new gluten. So purine free, or low purine beers are starting to hit the market. It is also important to add, that if you enjoy beer, being susceptible to gout doesnt mean that you have to abstain completely.; I must add that I say this from a personal view, not a medical one.
Ive spoken to many other gout victims in the past, and there is very much two camps of different opinion.
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What Type Of Wine Should I Buy
In my opinion, there is only ONE type of wine fit for a gout killer:; Dry Farm Wine.; DFW is an online mail order club that searches the world over to find and bring us the cleanest wines . But the most important feature of DFW for gout killers is that each batch is tested and proven to have statistically ZERO sugar.; And sugar is the enemy, especially when it comes to gout.
; References
Middle Aged Men Most At Risk
Although exact figures are not known, it is estimated that 2 million Americans have gout. A type of arthritis that occurs most frequently in overweight, middle-aged men, gout is caused by the buildup of needle-like crystals of uric acid in the joints.
While there is certainly a genetic link to the disease, there is also no question that lifestyle is a key contributing factor. The link between alcohol and gout has been suspected for thousands of years, but the new research is some of the first to actually confirm the association.
The study involved 47,000 men followed for 12 years. During this time, 730 of the men developed gout. The findings are published in the April 17 issue of The Lancet.
“We showed a sight protective effect for wine drinking among people who drank less than two drinks per day, although the effect was not statistically significant,” Choi tells WebMD. “But it is intriguing and deserves further study.”
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Alcohol And Gout Risk
Although beer may be the worst drink for gout, any alcoholic beverage can trigger gout symptoms in people who are prone to the disease. “Alcohol causes the kidneys to excrete alcohol instead of excreting uric acid. That increases the amount of uric acid in the blood, which could provoke a gout attack in about one or two days,” warns David Freeman, MD, a rheumatologist at the Lahey Clinic in Burlington, Mass.
Why Does Alcohol Cause Gout
Gout develops from a buildup of a chemical in the bloodstream called uric acid. The body makes uric acid as it breaks down chemicals called purines, which are in foods like seafood and meat. Usually, uric acid is dissolved into the blood and then removed from the body through urine. If there is too much uric acid in the body, it can turn into crystals in your joints and cause a painful gout flare.
Alcohol has been shown to cause gout flare-ups in several ways, including:
- By increasing the amount of uric acid that the body makes
The combination of all three of these factors makes a person more likely to have a gout flare if you drink alcohol. Dehydration, specifically, can cause gout flare-ups because, without enough water in the body, the kidneys cant get rid of the extra uric acid that causes gout. Alcohol only worsens this process. When a person drinks alcohol, it shuts off a chemical in their brain called the antidiuretic hormone, or ADH. Without enough ADH, someone can become extremely dehydrated very quickly because they will urinate a lot in a short time. Dehydration raises a persons chances of having a gout flare.
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If I Am Being Treated For Gout Can I Still Drink Wine
Q: Following a recent trip to “wine camp” and the consumption of a variety of red wines, I experienced an acute gout attack requiring medical treatment. Should wines of all types be avoided if one suffers from gout, even if on medication to treat gout? –Albert, Nashville
A: Gout is an inflammatory form of arthritis caused by excess uric acid in the bloodstream. Most uric acid comes from the breakdown of the body’s own DNA, while some comes from diet. For most people, excess uric acid is simply filtered from the body by the kidney. When the acid remains in the bloodstream, it can crystallize in joints and surrounding tissues, which, over time, build-up and cause the inflammation typical of gout.
According to Herbert S. B. Baraf, MD, a rheumatologist and a clinical professor of medicine at George Washington University, for those worried about developing gout, studies have shown that wine does not increase the risk of gout, although beer can. In a study comparing beer, spirits and wine, he explains, “Using a cut-off point of two drinks a day as “high intake,” beer and, to a lesser extent, the intake of spirits were associated with the subsequent development of new onset gout. Wine did not appear to be a risk factor at this level.”
Have a question about wine and healthy living? .
Red Wine Is A Natural Antimicrobial Agent
The polyphenols in red wine have broad-spectrum activity against bacteria such as Staphylococcus aureus, Clostridium perfringes, Bacillus sp., Klebsiella sp.
S. aureus is the leading causWine septic arthritis, and red wine has an anti-microbial action against S. aureus, thus making it an effective natural remedy for septic arthritis.
What does this mean? The polyphenolic compounds in red wine specifically inhibit S.aureus, the major causative agent of septic arthritis. Red wine can be an alternative to antibiotics used to treat the same.
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Red Wine Prevents Cartilage Damage And Protects Bones
Bone mineral density was studied by a group of scientists in individuals who consumed red wine.
It was found that red wine prevents bone loss in older men. Resveratrol prevents bone loss and promotes bone metabolism.
It stops the synthesis of vascular endothelial growth factor that suppresses activation of kinases in osteoblasts . This is preventive for cartilage damage.
What does this mean? Red wine polyphenols prevent the progression of arthritis by inhibiting bone and cartilage loss. It can prove very useful in treating osteoarthritis.
Caffeine And Gout Risk
Studies show that caffeine may protect you from gout because caffeine is similar in chemical structure to a common gout medication. But other research shows that increasing your caffeine intake can actually trigger gout pain â in fact, one study found that suddenly doubling your caffeine intake could increase the risk of gout symptoms by up to 80 percent. So if you are a coffee or tea drinker, caffeine could be helping protect you â just remember that a sudden binge could bring on a gout attack.
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All Alcohol Even Wine Raises Risk Of Gout Flare
By Ronnie Cohen, Reuters Health
5 Min Read
NEW YORK – Bad news for gout sufferers who enjoy drinking the fruit of the vine – new research finds that all types of alcohol, even previously exempt wine, can bring on attacks of the painful condition.
I dont want to sound too dogmatic and say, You must stop drinking, lead author Dr. Tuhina Neogi told Reuters Health. But, the Boston University rheumatologist said, based on this study, I would counsel patients that any type of alcohol may trigger an attack.
Its not just beer or hard liquor that can trigger attacks, but also wine, she said.
Gout is a potentially debilitating form of arthritis that afflicts more than 8 million American adults, and the number is rising, Neogis team writes in The American Journal of Medicine.
The so-called disease of kings causes joints to swell and redden. It most often strikes overweight mens big toes but also claims feet, ankles, knees, hands and wrists. A link between intoxicating beverages and gout has been suspected since ancient times.
A 2004 landmark study of more than 47,000 men found that drinking beer and hard liquor – but not wine – increased the risk of developing gout.
Neither has wine been shown in other studies to bring on attacks in people who already have gout, the way beer and liquor have.
Nonetheless, Neogi said, some of her patients report they cant even sniff wine without having a gout attack.
The Relationship Between Alcohol & Gout
Gout is a type of arthritis. Gout does not flare up and cause pain all the time but will occur only occasionally, and months or years can pass between attacks. It usually affects one joint at a time, most often the big toe. A gout attack can happen quickly, and its incredibly painful for most people.
The pain of gout leads most people to want to avoid gout in any possible way. One of the best ways to prevent gout starts with diet, especially monitoring alcohol use. Drinking alcohol can cause gout flare-ups.
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