Gout is one of the oldest recorded diseases in medical history. It is a metabolic disease associated with too much uric acid in the blood. This can be caused either by the excess production of uric acid or by decreased excretion of it. It can lead to two complications: gouty arthritis and urate stones in the kidney. Of these, arthritis is more common
and noticeable. It occurs from needle-like crystals of a salt of uric acid that deposit in a joint and surrounding tissues.
This initiates pain, swelling and, in some cases, destruction of the joint. The large joint of the big toe is most commonly affected, but gout can also occur in other joints such as the knees, ankles, hands and wrists. The disease is chronic but very treatable.
There are effective medicines, which can control uric acid in the blood. Of these, allopurinol (Zyloric) is the most commonly used. Uric acid is formed from the breakdown of substances called purines. Purines are found naturally in our bodies as well as in certain foods. Foods high in purines include:
n Organ meats, like sweetbreads (pancreas of calves), liver, brains, kidney, meat extracts, poultry, ham, sausages and rich gravies.
n Fish like anchovies, sardines, shrimp, herring and mackerel.
n Dried beans, peas and lentils (masur ki dal).
n Mushrooms, cauliflower and spinach.
It would also help if you were to stay on the lean side. Lose weight, if you are overweight. This will help decrease the uric acid and lessen the load on weight-bearing joints, like the knees and foot bones.
The writer is Senior Specialist, Safdarjung Hospital and Professor, VM Medical College and a well-known columnist