Gout Risk Factors: Who Is At Risk of Gout?

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Are you at risk of gout? Here, I’ve listed key gout risk factors so that you can see how much you may be at risk…

Hyperuricea — the condition where there are high uric acid levels in the body — is a leading cause of gout. Around 70% of people who suffer from gout produce too much uric acid, whilst about 30% can’t eliminate it from their systems effectively enough.

So what are the things that can give rise to high uric acid in people?

Lifestyle Issues

1. Your Diet

Foods contain compounds called ‘purines’ that, when they breakdown during your normal metabolizing process, produce uric acid. And some foods are higher in purines than others. If your diet is high in purines (as western diets tend to be) then your uric acid levels can be elevated.

2. Too Much Alcohol

Alcohol — beer in particular — is known to produce hyperuricemia because of it’s ability to hamper the normal removal of uric acid from the body. It is believed that, on average, 2 drinks per day for men and 1 drink a day for women, can lead to hyperuricemia.

3. Being Overweight

Someone who is overweight has a higher risk of hyperuricemia, simply because there is more tissue to be broken down. The human body also contains purines, so that when these breakdown uric acid is produced, therefore the more tissue to breakdown, the more uric acid produced. The risk exists if you are 30 pounds or more above your model weight.

Other gout risk factors are…

Family History

There is research that suggests that 1 out of 4 gout sufferers has a family history of gout. So, if you have a family history of gout — or arthritis because gout accounts for around 5% of arthritis cases — then you have a higher risk of gout than someone who hasn’t such a history.

Medical Conditions / Medications

Some medical conditions can help to increase your gout risk. These are conditions such as; diabetes, high cholesterol, narrowing of the arteries, high blood pressure, and chemotherapy which can release a lot of uric acid into the bloodstream.

And some medications can also increase your gout risk, e.g. medications for high blood pressure, diuretics, niacin (vitamin), cyclosporine (immuno-suppressant), levodopa (for Parkinson’s disease), meds that use salicylic acid (e.g. aspirin), and so on.

Age and Sex

Gout affects men more than women, because men usually have higher uric acid levels in their bodies compared to women anyway. On average, men seem to get gout between the ages of 30 and 50.

Women don’t usually start getting gout until they are over 50. It is believed that this happens because a woman’s uric acid levels naturally rise after the menopause.

Relatively very few gout cases have been diagnosed in children and young adults. 

By knowing and understanding the risk factors leading to gout, you are now better able to help yourself prevent gout attacks in the future. Please now look around this website for more information on symptoms, causes and treatment options.

Related Posts:

• Causes of Gout in Men – Are You at Risk?

Can Apple Cider Vinegar Cure Gout In The Foot?

Apple cider vinegar is a popular and pretty effective home remedy for gout. It contains loads of nutrients, vitamins, minerals, amino acids, enzymes etc., so is beneficial in many ways, apart from as a gout remedy.

It cannot ‘cure’ gout, but it can certainly help to reduce the symptoms of gout. When drunk, it is believed to alter your blood pH so lower your uric acid levels. And, applied externally to the affected joint, it can help to alleviate the pain and inflammation there.

Let’s start with the drink…

Add 3 teaspoons of apple cider vinegar into a large glass of water and mix thoroughly. Drink a glass at least twice a day. I personally drink three glasses a day. If the taste is too much for you, you can add some honey or fruit juice to help it along.

Now for the topical remedy…

Use a ratio of half of a cup of vinegar to three cups of hot water and soak your foot for about 30 minutes. Repeat as you like, reheating the mixture as you go.

As for the type of apple cider vinegar you use, it must be the raw, un-distilled, unpasteurized apple cider vinegar you would get from a health food store or other specialist store. It normally has a good deal of sediment in the bottom of the bottle; called the ‘mother.’ 

 But as I said at the start, apple cider vinegar cannot cure the gout in your foot on it’s own. You need to investigate and address a whole range of issues, as well as other natural home remedies, to be able to successfully manage your gout and prevent recurring attacks.

This is important because recurring gout can cause you to eventually have permanent joint damage as well as possible kidney problems, such as painful kidney stones. You can get all this information in one place — The Gout Remedy Report — which I have successfully used and which I review in this website.

Related Posts:

• Apple Cider Vinegar Gout Cure Exposed
• Natural Gout Remedies: Apple Cider Vinegar