The pain of a gout attack is enough to make an eagle-like adult shed tears of regret. But I originally thought that gout is more likely to occur when you are older, but I didn’t expect that young people who have always controlled their diet and love to exercise will be affected by gout just because they climbed a mountain... That’s right! Like high blood pressure, cerebral infarction and other diseases, gout, which we once thought was a "senile disease", has begun to affect young people.
A study conducted by Wuhan Tongji Hospital from 2010 to 2019 surveyed a total of 732,527 local adults. turn out,The prevalence of hyperuricemia among people aged 20 to 39 years increased from 22.5% to 40.1% in ten years, nearly doubled, the most rapid increase in incidence among all age groups.
Another study conducted in Qingdao also found that in the past decade, the incidence of gout has been significantly younger. In the survey from 2013 to 2018,The average age of onset of gout patients has dropped by 4.14 years, and the proportion of early-onset patients with onset younger than 30 years has increased by 12%.
Therefore, the pain and fatal risks caused by high uric acid and gout are indeed gradually approaching young people.
1.How much impact does gout have on health?
Hyperuricemia and gout are a continuous, chronic pathological process. Hyperuricemia is a metabolic syndrome caused by purine metabolism disorder. Regardless of gender, as long as the blood uric acid level exceeds 420 μmol/L twice on different days, it is called hyperuricemia. When blood uric acid exceeds its saturation in blood or tissues, sodium urate crystals will be formed and deposited locally in joints, inducing local inflammatory reactions and tissue destruction. This is what we call gout.
Simply put, as long as the uric acid level in the blood exceeds the standard, it is hyperuricemia.When patients with hyperuricemia develop joint swelling and pain, it is gout. High uric acid levels may not cause gout, but gout is definitely caused by high uric acid. The level of uric acid that causes gout varies from person to person. Some people develop symptoms at 400-500 uric acid levels, while others have no symptoms at 700-800 uric acid levels. Therefore, gout attacks are very subtle at first.
At first, it may just be redness, swelling and inflammation of the fingers and toes. If you are not careful, you may think it is just ordinary muscle strain and fatigue, which basically will not affect your normal life. However, if no attention is paid, more crystals are deposited, and the pain will gradually spread to large joints such as knees and elbows, and the pain will become difficult to ignore. The entire joint will show severe redness, swelling, deformation, and even a burning sensation. During the attack, the pain is often so painful that it is impossible to walk. When force is applied to the joint, there will be bursts of continuous needle-like pain.
Some people even have to lie in bed to rest during an attack. But even so, it is also very uncomfortable. Gout tends to occur at night. It is often caused by a sudden pinprick pain during sleep, followed by a night of tossing and turning.
After pain, if uric acid crystals accumulate in the kidneys, they may cause diseases such as nephropathy, chronic interstitial nephritis or kidney stones. In severe cases, it can induce fatal renal failure. In addition, because uric acid crystals can cause damage to multiple organs and tissues throughout the body, gout is also related to diseases such as hypertension, diabetes, arteriosclerosis, and coronary heart disease. so,Gout is not only painful, it can actually kill you!
So where does such terrible gout come from?
2.Where does gout come from?
The root cause of hyperuricemia and gout is a problem with the metabolism of uric acid in the body. When uric acid is high, risks arise.
Uric acid is the final product of purine metabolism in the human body. Under normal circumstances, 90% of uric acid will be absorbed by the human body, and the remaining 10% will be excreted from the body in the form of urine, sweat, and feces, keeping the uric acid level in the body in a dynamic balance. But if there is too much production, or if it is not excreted in time, it will lead to the accumulation of uric acid in the body.
The human body continuously produces uric acid every day. These uric acids are divided into endogenous uric acid and exogenous uric acid. Endogenous uric acid accounts for about 80% of it and is produced during the aging and decomposition of cells in the human body. Exogenous uric acid accounts for about 20% and is produced by the purine substances ingested by the human body in order to digest and decompose food.
Although endogenous uric acid contributes about 80% of total uric acid levels, it is a normal metabolic product and does not affect our health. We also have no control over this level - as long as the body is functioning normally, this level of production is inevitable.
Excessive accumulation of uric acid in the body is mainly due to the fact that we eat too well, resulting in excessive exogenous uric acid production.When our intake of purines through food exceeds the limits of normal production and catabolism, an imbalance in blood uric acid levels results.
Some seafood, beef and mutton are common high-purine foods. It’s no wonder that gout used to be called a rich man’s disease—who can afford to eat a lot of fish and meat if you are not a rich person? However, with the development of economic level, ordinary people can now show off seafood, beef and mutton as they like. It is no wonder that gout has "entered the homes of ordinary people." Now that we know where gout comes from, how can we avoid being targeted by "gout"?
3.How to stay away from gout? You can try these 9 points!
-Seafood, beef and mutton should be eaten in moderation!
If you want to reduce the risk of gout, you must first control the amount of seafood you eat. People who regularly eat seafood have a 1.5 times higher risk of gout than people who rarely eat seafood.
Provinces such as Guangdong, Jiangsu, Zhejiang, and Shandong in the coastal areas of China, which are accustomed to eating seafood, are all provinces with high incidences of hyperuricemia and gout, and the incidence rate is significantly higher than other provinces.
Consuming too much beef and mutton will also increase uric acid levels. Provinces such as Inner Mongolia and Xinjiang that consume large amounts of beef and mutton also have a high incidence of hyperuricemia. Offal is also a major source of purine. Sichuan and Chongqing people who like to eat beef and mutton and are good at eating offal in a fancy way are also prone to gout.
In addition to the type of meat, the quality of the meat is also important. Since a high-fat diet can promote uric acid metabolism disorder, when eating meat, you should try to choose meat with low fat content. It is best to blanch water to remove part of the purine before cooking. For example, when eating Chaoshan beef pot, just eat meat, but don’t drink the broth. After all, Guangdong Province, which loves to drink Laohuo Jingtang, is also a province with a high incidence of gout.
-Vegetables and mushrooms should be eaten in moderation
There are also some high-purine players in fruits, vegetables and mushrooms, such as beans, spinach, cauliflower, seaweed, fungus, asparagus, celery, coriander, and shiitake mushrooms, tea tree mushrooms, slide mushrooms, Hericium mushrooms, hazel mushrooms, etc.
However, compared to animal-based high-purine foods, plant-based high-purine foods are actually not that “lethal”. Other nutrients contained in some beans, for example, can actually help reduce uric acid levels. Therefore, the guidelines for the diagnosis and treatment of hyperuricemia in the United States and Europe only recommend limiting the intake of animal-derived foods, but do not limit the intake of purine-rich vegetables and purine-rich fruits.
-Sugary drinks and desserts, don’t drink or eat them!
In addition to high-purine foods in the daily diet that directly affect uric acid levels, some other dietary habits can aggravate the accumulation of uric acid.
High-sugar foods, especially high-fructose foods, will accelerate the formation of uric acid. A survey conducted in the United States found that excessive intake of added sugar through sugar-sweetened sodas will significantly increase the prevalence of hyperuricemia. Compared with those who did not drink sugary sodas, the risk increased by 1.5 times among young men aged 20 to 34 who drank sugary sodas, and by a factor of 1.5 among those aged 35 to 49 years.
Because estrogen can inhibit purine decomposition and increase uric acid excretion, the incidence of hyperuricemia in women is lower than that in men, and it mostly occurs when estrogen levels decrease before and after menopause. However, the intake of added sugar will also affect the incidence in women. Women over 35 years old also have a 1.6 to 2.3 times higher prevalence rate due to excessive intake of added sugar.
Although sugary drinks don’t directly cause gout, they can be the straw that breaks the camel’s back.If you're already on the verge of developing hyperuricemia or gout, cutting out sugary drinks may actually save you from the pain..
- Losing weight appropriately is really healthier
Obesity also amplifies the effects of added sugars on the prevalence of hyperuricemia. Simple obesity will increase the risk of hyperuricemia. The mechanism may be that excessive fat accumulation will produce and accumulate uric acid, especially the accumulation of visceral fat, which will lead to a surge in uric acid production.Obese people are usually accompanied by a series of metabolic disorders such as hyperuricemia and diabetes.
And if you are obese + have the habit of drinking sugary drinks, then it will be twice as big. The above survey conducted in the United States found that regardless of age and gender, people who are obese and consume too many sugary drinks are more likely to develop hyperuricemia than others. Among them, young men who are obese and drink sugary drinks have a risk of developing the disease that is 3.4 to 7 times higher than those of normal-sized men who do not drink drinks. If you are a middle-aged man who is obese and drinks sugary drinks, your risk is directly increased by 6.3 to 29.9 times.
-Fruits can be eaten in moderation, so don’t worry if you choose the right ones.
In addition, it should be noted that the connection between high-sugar diet and gout is mainly due to added sugar, that is, eating less or no sugary drinks, desserts, syrups, etc. There is no need to worry too much about the "natural sugars" in fruits and vegetables. Although ingesting a large amount of rich fruits in a short period of time can lead to an increase in uric acid levels, regular consumption of moderate amounts of fruits can promote the excretion of uric acid. Therefore, even gout patients can still choose fruits with low fructose content, such as watermelon, strawberries, pineapples, cherries, blueberries, etc.
Intake an appropriate amount of fruits every day, which are rich in dietary fiber and vitamins and play a very important role in the human body. Vitamin C has also been proven to play a certain role in regulating blood uric acid levels.
-This time, drinking more water really helps
Since we need to use water as a carrier to excrete excess urea in the form of urine and sweat, long-term insufficient water intake will affect uric acid excretion. Drinking too little water is a risk factor for hyperuricemia and gout. If you have a gout attack, drink more than 2000ml of water every day to increase uric acid excretion, which can also relieve gout.
-Coffee, you can drink it in moderation!
If you feel that the effect of pure water is not good enough, you can try coffee.
Two studies in the United States found that people who drank more than four cups of coffee a day had a 40% lower risk of gout than those who did not drink coffee. Another study conducted in the UK found that people who drank three cups of coffee a day also had a significantly lower risk of developing the disease.
However, excessive coffee intake can also cause other problems.You must also drink coffee in moderation. Drinking only one cup of coffee a day can actually reduce the risk of gout., Americans and British drink so much, the more likely reason is just... they really like to drink coffee as water.
-Wine, don't drink it! No wine of any kind
Many people should know the connection between alcohol and gout, but a very common misunderstanding is that only beer is harmful, white wine and red wine can be drunk. In fact, any alcohol will increase the risk of disease, and beer is just the most harmful one. If you are already a gout patient or at high risk, don’t think about drinking to relieve your worries. The more you drink, the more your worries will increase.
In general,Preventing gout actually has something in common with losing weight - keeping your mouth shut and your legs open are really effective. -
-Moderate exercise, healthier
However, for patients with hyperuricemia and gout, not all leg-opening exercises are suitable. Just like the 29-year-old girl at the beginning, excessively high-intensity exercise can sometimes induce gout.
During high-intensity anaerobic exercise, in order to supply energy, a large amount of uric acid raw materials-adenosine and hypoxanthine will be produced in the muscles. After their metabolism, they will increase the blood uric acid concentration in the body. Increased sweating and decreased urine output caused by strenuous exercise will also affect the excretion process of uric acid. After high-intensity exercise, a large amount of lactic acid will be produced in muscle tissue, lowering the local pH value, promoting uric acid crystallization, and further hindering uric acid excretion.
therefore,Medium and low-intensity aerobic exercises such as brisk walking, jogging, and swimming are all good choices, while high-intensity exercises such as fast running, football, and mountain climbing are not suitable.
In short, since there is no cure for gout, once it attacks, it will accompany you for life like a ghost. It is best to take precautions and monitor your uric acid levels early. Don't wait until it starts to hurt before you regret it. It's too late.