What Causes Gout?
High Blood Pressure Meds?

If you have high blood pressure, chances are you may think that`s what causes gout when you suffer a bout. In fact people think it is a symptom of high blood pressure because often both are diagnosed together in patients. But what really causes it?

You wake up during the night with a burning pain in your big toe. Oh no! Not gout! Why, on top of all your other health problems, do you have to suffer the most painful of all arthritis too?

It strikes roughly 5.1 million people in the US, attacking men mostly, whereas women can suffer an attack after menopause.

It`s a common complaint of people with high blood pressure and there are numerous reasons why that may be the case. Both health problems could be stemming from a common source…

It is viewed as an old disease and used to be associated with good living. Plenty of meat and wine. Which is true. But there is more to it than that.

A build up of uric acid is what causes gout and this build up occurs commonly around the joints of fingers, toes, elbows, and knees in crystal form. In fact, 90% of gout flare-ups happen in the big toe.

There are 4 stages of gout attacks. The Ist stage (Asymptomatic), alerts you to high uric acid levels, which will only show up in blood or other medical tests.

The 2nd stage, which develops as an attack on a single joint, usually a big toe.

The third stage (Inter critical), is like a sleeping volcano. Everything seems ok but 6mths to 2 years, then you enter into the 4th stage (Chronic), when numerous joints can be frequently attacked and small bumps or nodules start to appear on the joints. It`s at this stage when damage to organs, deformity of joints, forming of kidney stones, and hypertension become a high risk factor.

If you have suffered your first bout (second stage), try and view it as a safety warning to protect your body. You see, it will be another 6 months to up to a 2 year period before you enter the third stage, and during this time more trouble is brewing beneath the surface. So view it as a sign that it`s time to act quickly.

What do you need to do? If you have been diagnosed with gout by your doctor, he may have prescribed you with medication for reducing enzyme activity for the production of uric acid. But that`s not what causes gout. It`s too much uric acid in the blood that`s the cause. Uric acid is very important for our bodies and a normal balance of it needs to be maintained. Reducing the enzyme xanthine oxidase involved in the production of it won`t solve the problem but will only create other health problems.

He may prescribe NSAIDs for pain and inflammation, but they have nasty side effects and can cause kidney trouble and other health problems with long term use. They don`t put right what`s causing the gout either.

If you are using Allopurinol, Colchicine, NSAIDS, Prednisone, for gout, go to the Flamasil website to read the full article on the side effects of using these drugs under the heading Traditional Medications.

What Causes Gout to Develop?

So what other choices do you have? Understanding how your body works is the first step.

Uric acid, a natural anti-oxidant, is made by your body when ammonia is processed in the liver. It is the end product of the breakdown of cells, which your kidneys would normally expel when their is an excess. When the liver and kidneys are overworked with other toxin overloads, such as a bad diet, too much alcohol, high blood pressure medications, etc; the uric acid is left to build up, and deposits as crystals around joints. So really the liver and kidneys need relieved of that overload through a change of diet to a more healthier one.

Learning What Causes Gout and Rectifying it Through Diet

Did you know that 95% of gout incidents are self-inflicted through bad diet choices? Avoiding a high purine diet which over-produces uric acid is the first approach to natural treatment for gout and will really do a lot of good.

Steer clear of over refined foods like white flour and rice, and too much meat, rich meat gravies, anchovies, asparagus, mussels, mushrooms, sardines, and herring. Watch your weight which can cause poor blood flow and elimination of uric acid. Cut down or eliminate alcohol, a beverage high in purines.

The foods you should concentrate more on are fruit and veg, making them the bulk of your meal. Preferably, they are better raw so now and then try out some raw recipes. Side salads like grated carrots with added lemon juice and raisins are a refreshing change. Be creative with food and make it appealing.

What Causes Gout Could Also Be Causing High Blood Pressure

It was discovered that when uric acid was reduced in teens it reduced their high blood pressure to normal levels. The test was conducted by researchers at Baylor College of Medicine on 30 teen-aged participants.

They used Allopurinol to lower uric acid in half of the teenagers, a placebo on the other half, and stopped the treatment for 2 weeks. Then they turned the treatment around and gave each half the opposite treatment. In both groups the uric acid reduced and so did the blood pressure of 20 teenagers from both groups reduce to normal levels. Is the cause of gout also a cause of high blood pressure?

Now before you go rushing out to ask your doctor for Allopurinol, hear what Dr. Daniel Feig, associate professor of pediatrics-renal at BCM and chief of the pediatric hypertension clinics at Texas Children’s Hospital had to say, “Currently available antihyperuricemic therapies (treatments that lower uric acid) are not safe enough to be used as first line therapy for most people with high blood pressure.”

Why? Is it perhaps because these drugs cause liver problems, nausea, diarrhea, and vomiting? What`s available that is natural and without diverse side effects?

Turmeric (Curcumin) reduces the activity of xanthine oxidase just as effective as Allopurinol but without the side effects.

Fennel can help break up what causes gout, a uric acid build up in tissue and formation of kidney stones. A good mix of amino acids along with your protein will help utilize it and reduce uric acid build-up.

Increasing your alkaline foods and reducing acid foods will help reduce acidity which would put strain on your organs to rid your body of excessive acid ash. This action would in turn, borrow from your reserve of calcium, magnesium, and potassium, vital components in regulating blood pressure.

Some Powerful Herbs That Can Help

Yucca, Aged Garlic, Milk Thistle, Turmeric, Artichoke, Grape seed extract, Boron Citrate, pro-biotics, crystalline Vitamin C, cherry Fruit Extract or pure cherry fruit juice.

Some herbs in this list of are the ingredients of one of the best natural supplements for Gout. Flamasil.

Notes – Interesting information about some blood pressure treatments and other health problems that can contribute to what causes gout.

Because high blood pressure diuretics cause more fluid to be expelled from your body, this can cause higher uric acid concentrations. Not drinking enough water, which is only too true of people on diuretics, will only exaggerate the problem of uric acid being deposited around joints.

Low dose aspirin limits the excretion of uric acid.

And if you are on the drug Niacin for reducing Cholesterol, it also limits the excretion of uric acid.

Bad circulation which restricts blood flow can trigger a build-up of crystallized uric acid to form in the blood because too little of the soluble kind is excreted.