Imagine being awakened from a sound sleep by an unexplained burning pain in your big toe joint. It’s swollen, red and tender to the touch.

This is often how someone finds out they have gout.

Until now, science has attached a stigma to this painful condition. Sufferers have been led to believe that they are causing their own pain, mainly through poor diet.

Fortunately, new research has blown that stigma out of the water.

If you suffer with gout, you’ll be happy to know that it is not your fault.

Rheumatoid arthritis vs. gout

Gout is a “first cousin” to rheumatoid arthritis (RA). It is the result of excessive uric acid (also known as urate) in the body. When urate levels are high, needle-shaped urate crystals form in the joints, causing intense pain.

The immune system of a person with gout is “primed” to attack these crystals, causing further pain and swelling.

While RA usually occurs in the small joints of the hands, wrists and feet, gout usually occurs in the foot. It’s most common at the base of the big toe but can also attack the foot and ankle.

In its later stages, gout may affect other joints in the body and can also cause kidney damage.

Gout is mainly genetic

“Gout is a chronic disease with a genetic basis and is not the fault of the sufferer – the myth that gout is caused by lifestyle or diet needs to be busted,” says Prof. Tony Merriman.

Merriman teaches in the Department of Microbiology at the University of Otago in New Zealand.

He is also the senior author of a major international study which has shown that gout is primarily a matter of genetics.

The study analyzed the genetic information of 2.6 million people. Much of the data was gathered from customers of 23andMe, Inc., a direct-to-consumer genetics and preventative health company, who agreed to participate in the research.

Through this analysis, the researchers were able to determine that inherited genetics is an important part of why some people get gout and most others don’t.

The study identified a large number of genes and signaling pathways that could eventually be targeted with therapies to prevent gout attacks.

For now, though, this information encourages people with gout to pursue available treatments.

“This widespread myth causes shame in people with gout, making some people more likely to suffer in silence and not go and see the doctor to get a preventive drug that lowers urate in the blood and will prevent their pain,” says Prof. Merriman.

Reducing uric acid is key

Research from Boston University’s School of Medicine demonstrates that consumption of omega-3 fatty acids via supplements or from fatty fish is associated with a lower risk of gout flare-ups.

And it just so happens that there’s already a diet custom-made to help control gout.

The DASH diet was originally meant to lower blood pressure. But it’s also been proven to significantly lower uric acid levels, especially for people whose levels are already high.

On a more sinister level, high levels of uric acid can be a sign of coronary artery disease (CAD). Studies show that each 1 mg/dL increase in blood uric acid levels increases the risk of heart-associated death by 12 percent.

The current go-to medication for gout, allopurinol, lowers blood uric acid levels by about 2 milligrams per deciliter. In studies, the DASH diet lowered blood uric acid levels as much as 1.3 milligrams per deciliter.

Need an even quicker way to take levels of uric acid down? Eat a handful of this super healthy nut daily.

Sources:

Study busts myths about cause of gout — Eureka Alert