Gout is a form of arthritis that usually affects the toe joints. It most often occurs in middle-age, overweight men who consume large amounts of meat, eggs and other foods high in nucleic acid. Men are more prone to gout than women. Women may be protected from gout by the female hormone estrogen. Men start building uric acid levels in puberty. However, uric acid does not start accumulating in...

What exactly is arthritis? The term arthritis literally means joint inflammation, but it also is used to refer to more than 100 rheumatic diseases. These diseases can cause pain, stiffness, and swelling in joints and may also affect other parts of the body. Some common types of arthritis are osteoarthritis, rheumatoid arthritis, systemic lupus erythematosus, gout, juvenile rheumatoid...

People always have the mentality that as long as one does not eat junk food, one can be considered to have a healthy diet. Actually a diet that is considered healthy to one might be unhealthy to another person, it can be quite subjective in this context. Gout patients are usually advice to go on a special diet, which will help to alleviate the pain cause by gout attacks. This diet will require...

What is gout? Gout is a type of arthritis. It is caused by the buildup of uric acid in your joints. It can affect the foot, heel, ankle, elbow, wrist or hand. Most often though, it affects the big toe. Gout is a reoccurring problem that comes and goes. It usually comes on without warning, and then goes away after 7-10 days. What causes gout? Uric...

Gout is a painful inflammation of joints caused by accumulation of uric acid crystals. Uric acid is a normal chemical formed by the breakdown of purines, which in turn are an important component of the human body. Many foods contain purines especially seafood and meat. Unless a patient has a family history or is taking medication that can cause gout such as some diuretics it may be hard to...