Home Remedies for Gout | Organic Facts

Gout is a very unusual condition that is most commonly characterized
as an acute attack of inflammatory arthritis, and results in hot,
swollen, and painful joints. It most commonly affects the feet, due to
slower blood flow in the extremities, particularly in the big toe. It
can appear in other forms as well, including kidney stones, tophi
(accumulated crystal formation in the joints or bones), or urate
nephropathy, which is a significant decrease in kidney function. There
are a number of home remedies to decrease the severity of the appearance
of this uncomfortable affliction, but before we explain how to solve
the problem, we should first examine the causes and the details of the
condition itself.


Simply put, gout is an accumulation of uric acid crystals in various
parts of the body, and when they begin to gather and cease to move
through the body, they tend to end up in the joints. This is why the
symptoms are so similar to acute inflammatory arthritis, because the
accumulation of these crystals in the joints can make them inflamed,
reduce the movement range, and cause intense pain.


Cases of gout have increased greatly in recent years, and much of
that is suspected to be due to changes in diet and lifestyle in the
modern world, as well as the preservatives, chemicals, and artificial
sugars that are added to so many foods. Gout used to be called the “rich
man’s disease” or the “disease of kings” because it is commonly
associated with eating a very rich diet that was high in fat, sugar,
meat, seafood, and alcohol. Now, with a broad middle class across much
of the world, those types of foods, combined with a sedentary lifestyle
of the modern business world and societal infrastructure, gout is
appearing much more frequently. Aside from lifestyle and diet, there are
also genetic predispositions that can lead to gout, as well as various
medical conditions that increase your chances of developing it,
including hypertension, obesity, and insulin resistance/diabetes.


The
condition may present itself in a number of ways, and if you begin to
feel unusual joint pain, or hardened areas that feel like callouses or
cysts on elbows, knees, or toe joints, you may be developing early
stages of tophi or crystallized deposits. Also, slight malfunctions in
kidney function, difficult or painful urination, unusual amounts of
fatigue, or a high fever can be signs that gout is developing! There are
a number of behavioral changes you can make to eliminate gout, and
there are many home remedies. Let’s examine the behavioral changes
first.

Behavioral Solutions for Gout

Maintain a Healthy Weight: Crash diets and frequent fluctuations in weight
can lead to gout, so if you are trying to lose weight, do it in a
healthy and responsible manner, so you don’t have the rebound weight
gain that can slow down the metabolism, reduce detoxification in the
body, and leave uric acid deposits in your joint fluid. Try diets that
are high in protein and low in fat for optimal results.


Stay Hydrated: Drinking water is the best way to
flush out the body and eliminate excess toxins. When the body isn’t
hydrated properly, joint fluid is more likely to become clogged with
uric acid and other toxins that normally would be cleaned out by enough
fluid in the body. Also, being dehydrated
makes you lethargic and sedentary, and it means that you aren’t
stimulated to urinate. Urination empties the kidneys of toxins, which
will otherwise stay in the kidneys or circulate the body again.
Furthermore, urine contains approximately 4% fat, so it can help reduce
weight as well, further boosting your resistance to gout.


Alcohol Consumption: If you are at high risk for gout, or you feel that you may already be developing the condition, avoid excess alcohol. Alcohol helps
the body retain urate, which is what forms the crystals in tophi and
kidney stones. Beer and liquor is specifically dangerous, while wine
shows less of an effect on the retention of urate.


Wear Comfortable Shoes: Since gout so frequently attacks the feet and toes, specialists recommend that you wear comfortable shoes
that don’t overly constrict blood flow or cause any sort of unnatural
bending or twisting of the joints. By keeping blood flow normal, you can
reduce the chances of uric acid becoming clogged up in your toe’s
joints. Also, if you are already suffering from gout, tight or
uncomfortable shoes can exacerbate the pain and cause the uric crystals
to grind against nerves and other joints.


Joint Movement: If you have already developed gout,
then there are a number of things you should do to keep the pain from
becoming overwhelming while you attempt to cure the condition through
natural home remedies or prescription medicine. First of all, make sure
to elevate the joint, which will reduce the blood flow to the affected
area and keep the pressure down. Put as little pressure on the affected
joint as possible, and try not to move it. Using a split for your toe,
elbow, or other affected joint can help to immobilize it.


Finally, avoid heat treatments,
which will stimulate blood flow and make the condition worse in the
long run, even though it may initially be soothing. Ice treatments can
be used, but it should not be directly on the affected area. Wrap the
ice in a towel, and avoid direct skin contact. Excess cold can cause the
uric acid crystals to harden even further, making it difficult to break
them apart and cure the condition, but the cold temperature does reduce
inflammation and pain. That duality is why ice treatment is a
controversial solution for gout.

Home Remedies for Gout

Baking Soda: If you choose not to use modern
prescription medicine for the treatment of your condition, then
alternatives with similar effects are recommended. Baking soda is one of those solutions, and it is shown to reduce the levels of uric
acid in the body and promote its elimination through urination. The
recommended dose is half a teaspoon in a glass of water; during
particularly bad flare-ups of gout symptoms, you can repeat this up to
four times a day, but do not consume more than that amount.


Lemon Juice: If you want to prevent or reduce the
signs of gout in your body, then you need to keep body tissues strong,
and the body must be properly alkalised. Lemon juice
is an ideal neutralizer for uric acid that also acts as an antioxidant,
boosting the strength of joints and tissues that makes them less
susceptible to uric acid accumulation. You can mix the lemon juice with
baking soda in water to increase the effects. All natural treatments can
benefit from high levels of vitamin-C, but lemon juice in particular
can boost your defence against inflammatory arthritis and gout.


Apples: Apples have a unique acid that is not found
in many fruits called malic acid. It specifically neutralized uric acid
and reduces its ability to bind and join with other crystals. Eating an apple every day, or drinking 2-3 glasses of apple juice each day can seriously reduce your chances of developing gout.





Cherries: Although the exact mechanism of its impact
on gout is not clearly known, multiple studies have shown cherries to
be a very valuable defense against recurrent gout attacks.
Regular intake of cherries, even as few as 10 per day, can reduce gout
flare-ups by 35%. If you don’t like to eat cherries, you can drink
cherry juice instead, since cherry extract is actually the beneficial
element for gout, and it is included in almost all cherry-derived
products and foods.


Activated Charcoal: This may seem like an unusual solution for someone who has never taken a charcoal bath, but studies have shown that activated charcoal actually absorbs uric acid,
making it harmless in the body. Taking a charcoal bath two or three
times a week can greatly reduce the effects of ankle and toe-based gout
because the activated charcoal will be absorbed into the skin and will
begin to absorb uric acid directly in those locations. For other parts
of the body, like elbows and knees, a charcoal paste is suggested that
is made from a half cup of charcoal powder and water, which is stirred
into a paste. That is the same paste you make before adding it to a tub
of water and adding more water once the paste is made. You can also take
charcoal supplements to put the charcoal directly into your body for
similarly beneficial effects.


Bananas: It seems like fruit and natural vitamins and minerals
are some of the best ways to reduce gout, and bananas are yet another
strong defensive tool. The high levels of potassium in bananas have a
unique effect on uric acid; it actually returns uric acid back to its
liquid form after it has crystallized. This can break down the
accumulations of uric acid crystals in the joints and bones, thereby
eliminating the signs of gout and relieving your pain and discomfort.


Ginger: Ginger root is often praised for its
anti-inflammatory properties, and ginger has a multitude of uses in the
prevention and treatment of gout. You can consume small pieces of ginger
every day, or mix the root in boiling water and drink it once a day.
Also, you can create a ginger paste out of ginger root and a small
amount of water and apply it directly to the affected areas of the body.
However you end up using ginger root, just know that it will get the
job done!


The Last Word on Gout: There is a good chance that
cases of gout will continue to increase, unless a serious overhaul of
global diet and lifestyle changes, so actively preventing the likelihood
of developing it is very important. Eat healthy, stay active, and
maintain healthy blood flow and fluid intake in your body. Gout can
become quite serious, and even result in complications to other
conditions that can result in death. It must be taken seriously, and
these simple treatments outlines above will help to keep your joints
safe, along with all of the other health benefits that they will
provide!