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Having Gout Isn't All Bad.

Even though having gout is very painful it isn't all bad! In fact it seems that having gout can actually protect you from getting other more serious illnesses.

Recent Research On Gout.

Latest research from Rutgers University shows that if you suffer from gout, you may be less susceptible to Parkinson's Disease and Multiple Sclerosis. This is due to the excess uric acid that builds up in the blood of gout sufferers. The excess acid may also be beneficial for stroke or spinal injury victims. This discovery may enable new drug treatments to be developed for these other diseases and problems.

Gout Medication That Protects Against Other Diseases

A medication given to gout sufferers, Colchicine, an anti-inflammatory drug most often used to treat gout, helps prevent hepatocellular carcinoma (HCC), a form of liver cancer.

Another study in 2004 from researchers at the University of Michigan, found that another drug, Allopurinol, prescribed for gout offers some protection against developing colorectal cancer. Patients who had taken the drug for 5 years or more, had a 2/3rds reduction in developing this form of cancer.

Myths And Culprits

Alcohol has always been considered a cause of gout. Now its been suggested that contrary to putting the blame on port, the usual suspect in attacks of gout, it may actually be a cure! Drinking two or more beers a day, on the other hand, has been shown to increase the likelihood of getting gout by 2 ½ times.

Anecdotal evidence seems to show that a fresh bottle of port is fine, it seems it is only port that is left in a decanter for a day or two that may increase the likelihood of a gout attack. In the past, port was often served from elegant lead-crystal glass decanters, which then leached the lead into the port. Lead poisoning is not good for anyone of course, and decreases the level of potassium in the blood, another trigger for gout.

The British Medical Journal recently reported that sodas and fizzy sweet drinks may be even more to blame! Men who drank two or more sugary soft drinks a day had an 85% higher risk of developing gout than men who drank less than one a month. The culprit seems to be the fructose used to sweeten many soft drinks. Diet sodas don't seem to be to blame.

Contrary to popular opinion, that coffee is bad for gout sufferers, research from the Arthritis Research of Center of Canada shows the opposite. It seems that the more coffee a man drinks the less likely he is to develop gout. Someone who drinks 4-5cups of coffee a day lowers their risk of getting gout by 40%.

In The Future

Genetic testing may be available to screen for gout, as recently 3 combined genetic variations have been identified as increasing the susceptibility to gout by 40 times.