Gout, which is a form of arthritis can cause many symptoms in individuals who suffer from it. The disease often causes pain in the peripheral joints. Most often, a person who suffers from gout will have pain in their big toe first. The pain may also affect the elbows, knees, fingers, and thumb. Urate crystals in the joints are the cause of gout.
Urate is a breakdown product of a compound known as purines. A person who suffers from gout either produces more urate than what is considered normal or they excrete less in uric acid form. Men are more likely to develop gout than women, but women who are past menopause
Diet plays a large role in the treatment and prevention of gout. For this reason it is important to know what foods cause gout so that they can be avoided. Here is a list of 11 gout causing foods that you should avoid.
1. Alcohol
One of the biggest risk factors for gout is the consumption of alcohol. It has been well established that frequently drinking alcohol can dramatically increase your risk for developing gout. Researchers have found that regularly drinking alcohol can increase the risk of developing gout by up to three times in women when compared to those that have fewer than two drinks per week. For men, regular drinkers the risk of developing gout doubled. The worst type of alcohol to drink seems to be beer. It is followed by hard liquors. However, moderate consumption of wine is not associated with an increased risk.
The reasons that alcohol increases the level of uric acid in the body is not fully understood. Some types of alcohol, such as beer have a high amount of purines. However, it is not the richest source of them in the diet.