Causes of Gout: Food and Acidity
Welcome back to Gout Treatment, where in this post I want to take a look at one of the problems I have personally found is likely the cause of gout returning on a regular basis.
Its all to do with the overall acidity of the body. We know that it is the excess uric acid in the bloodstream that gravitates towards the joints in the extremities, but what is not so well known is the way that uric acid behaves in the bloodstream according to certain factors. The single factor that gout sufferers should be most interested in is the acidity of the blood itself, which is a mirror of how the whole body acidity levels are.
It is a fact that uric acid is more soluble in blood that is less acidic overall than that which is more acidic. That means the body is more easily able to get rid of excess uric acid in the blood when the overall acidity of the body is lower.
Now in general terms, it means you need to keep an eye on what you’re eating as this will affect overall body acidity. There are certain foods that, while acidic in nature in their natural state are actually less acidic in the body once they have been digested. This is important to know and a good nutritionist will know which foods become more or less acidic in the body after digestion.
A good rule of thumb has always been believed that mainly acidic foods will raise the body’s acidity levels, while less acidic foods will lower it. This is generally true but not in all circumstances.
Lemons are highly acidic, but when metabolized, actually lower overall body acidity. Conversely oranges and grapefruits will raise it. Dairy products will definitely raise body acidity once their digested and the higher they are in saturated fats the higher the acidity levels. Cottage cheese is teh exception and wil lower acidity in teh body.
The knowledge of how these and other foods are metabolized and how they affect the body’s overall acidity levels are important to know and will potentially help to prevent further attacks of gout.