Gout is a disease caused by the continuous increase of uric acid in the blood due to the disorder of purine metabolism in the body and the precipitation of uric acid crystals in the joint cavity or other tissues of the body, manifested as recurrent gouty acute arthritis, gouty stone deposits, gouty chronic arthritis and joint deformities. Gout often involves the kidneys and causes chronic interstitial nephritis and uric acid kidney stones.
With the improvement of living standards, the incidence of gout disease is increasing year by year, there are about 15 million gout patients in China, of which more than 2 million are misdiagnosed as rheumatoid arthritis, rheumatoid arthritis, traumatic arthritis, chronic pyelonephritis and other diseases.
The onset of gout is usually intermittent, mainly manifested as redness and swelling in the bunion, ankle and finger joints, accompanied by pins and needles and knife-like pain, and most patients also have high fever. Gout stones can cause serious deformation of the joints, making it impossible for the patient to walk normally or even hold pens, books, chopsticks and other daily objects. Some patients also suffer from coronary heart disease, hypertension, diabetes and other diseases due to gout. Especially in patients with gouty nephropathy with a disease duration of more than 10 years, if the disease is not controlled, it will easily lead to renal colic, hematuria and renal failure and uremia, and eventually, some patients have to rely on dialysis or kidney replacement to maintain their lives.
85% of acute attacks have the following triggers present.
1. Drinking large amounts of alcohol or eating purine-rich foods;
2, overexertion or joint strain;
3, emotional hormones or mental stimulation;
4, cold and moisture;
5.Surgery or trauma;
6.Drug induced, such as the application of diuretics;
7.Cancer chemotherapy or radiation therapy, etc.
In addition to colchicine, hormones and non-hormonal anti-inflammatory and analgesic drugs under the guidance of doctors, dietary treatment is also very important in the treatment of gout.
Gout diet treatment principles: 1.
1. Maintain ideal weight
The level of serum uric acid is positively correlated with the degree of obesity, body surface area and body mass index. After the weight of obese patients is reduced, the level of serum uric acid is lowered, urine excretion is reduced and gout attacks are alleviated.
2.Limit the intake of purine in food
Minimize the intake of animal offal (such as heart, liver and kidney) and seafood such as shrimp and squid, etc. Excessive intake of protein can also increase endogenous uric acid, so it should also be appropriately limited.
3.Encourage alkaline food
Alkaline foods (vegetables, milk, fruits, etc.) can reduce the acidity of serum and uric acid, and even make urine alkaline, thus increasing the solubility of uric acid in urine, speeding up the discharge of uric acid, reducing the concentration of uric acid in blood and reducing the precipitation of uric acid crystals.
4.Guarantee sufficient urine volume
If the patient’s heart and lung function is normal, the urine volume should be maintained at about 2000ml per day to promote uric acid excretion. Therefore, the total daily fluid intake of the patient should be 2500-3000ml, and drinks such as plain water, tea, mineral water, soft drinks and fruit juices are appropriate. And strong tea, coffee, cocoa and other beverages, has a stimulating effect on the plant nervous system, may cause gout attacks, so should be avoided, in order to prevent the night urine concentration, should be appropriate before bedtime or midnight drinking water.
5, drink as little as possible, and try to quit drinking
The human body must consume energy in order to break down the large amount of ethanol that enters the body, resulting in a large amount of uric acid. In addition, the metabolism of ethanol in alcohol increases the level of lactic acid in the blood, which hinders the excretion of uric acid by the kidneys and raises blood uric acid, causing acute attacks of arthritis. It is generally believed that beer is low in degree and safe to drink, but it is not known that beer contains a lot of purines and is high in calories, which can easily induce gout. Therefore, the acute period of gout should be prohibited, the chronic period, intermittent period to try to quit drinking, if you have to drink, should control the amount of alcohol, drink slowly, do not drink all at once.
6.Reasonable cooking
Reasonable cooking skills can remove or reduce the purine content in food, so that the variety of food eaten by gout patients can be diversified.
(1) Fish and meat: purine is a water-soluble substance, which is more easily soluble in water at high temperatures. Therefore, gout patients can eat fish and meat food can be blanched with boiling water before cooking, so as to reduce the purine content of such food, and also reduce the heat.
(2) Vegetables: When gout patients eat meat, they often need to discard the soup and then eat it, but chicken soup or bone broth dissolves the purines and also the essence of meat. Add vegetables to the soup stew, can absorb the essence of the soup, so that the vegetables taste sweet and delicious.
(3) Microwave oven or non-stick cooker: Gout patients must control the daily calorie requirement and balance the intake of various nutrients in their diet. The use of microwave oven or non-stick pan can avoid excessive calories caused by the use of oil, and also reduce the loss of vitamins. Therefore, for gout patients, microwave oven or non-stick cookware is indispensable for reasonable cooking.
(4) Oven: The oven can remove excess oil to reduce heat and also bake sizzling food. In addition, lining the bottom of the pan with aluminum foil when baking fish or meat can absorb the dissolved purines and oil, thus reducing the purine content and heat in the food.