The incidence of gout and hyperuricemia is increasing with the increase of the income level of Chinese residents. In China, the incidence of this disease was very low decades ago, but now it has become an important disease threatening the health of men.
The reason why male patients are much more than female patients is that estrogen promotes uric acid excretion. Therefore, young women seldom develop hyperuricemia. However, after menopause, women may also be troubled by this disease.
Among hyperuricemia patients, some will develop gout attacks, while others will remain asymptomatic. Because of this, some men, especially young and middle-aged men, often turn a blind eye to this.
However, studies have long found that even if it does not develop into severe gout, hyperuricemia represents a metabolic disorder of the body, which is closely related to diabetes, hypertension and cardiovascular and cerebrovascular diseases. At the same time, it also increases the risk of kidney stones and renal damage, so it must not be taken lightly.
What people are prone to gout?
In addition to genetic susceptibility, the vast majority of people have bad habits in eating and living.
At present, epidemiological studies have found that drinking alcohol, eating too much red meat, eating too much seafood and exercising too little will increase the risk of gout. The study also found that overweight and waist and abdomen obesity are all risk factors for gout. In addition, men who gain weight when they are young are more likely to suffer from gout, especially those with gout patients in their families, and should be on high alert.
A follow-up study of nearly 30,000 regular runners found that even among men who took part in public running activities, diet and life factors also affected gout risk:
1. For every 10 grams of alcohol ingested, the risk of gout increases by 19%
On average, if you consume more than 15 grams of alcohol per day, even if you run for exactly the same distance, the risk of gout is twice as high as that of non-drinkers at all. Further analysis found that for the same amount of 10 grams of alcohol, red wine increased the risk by 27%, while beer increased the risk by 19%. This is inconsistent with the previous survey results that drinking red wine does not promote gout.
2. Eat an extra portion (80 g raw weight) of red meat every day, and the risk of gout increases by 45%.
Considering that overweight people like to eat meat, the researchers also compared the amount of meat eaten by people of the same weight and found that eating one more portion of meat still increases the risk of gout by 25%.
3. Eat one more fruit (such as an apple or orange) every day, and the risk of gout will be reduced by 27%.
And this effect is not affected by weight difference. Researchers believe that Fruit is not so much a direct prevention of gout, Rather, people who eat fruit regularly may have higher overall health awareness and better living habits. The researchers specifically mentioned that although dairy intake was not investigated in this study, people who consume high amounts of fruit usually consume high amounts of dairy products, and dairy products are very good for gout prevention.
4. Body mass index (BMI) has a great influence on gout risk.
For every 1% increase in BMI, even if you run the same distance every day, the risk of gout will increase by 18%. However, the risk of gout for people with BMI above 27.5 is 16 times higher than that for people with BMI below 20 and 4 times higher than that for people with BMI between 20 and 22.5.
5. For every 1cm increase in waist circumference, even if you run the same distance, the risk of gout increases by 6%.
6. The risk of gout is reduced by 8% for every 1 kilometer increase in daily running distance.
7. In the standard 10km run test, the risk of gout decreased by 45% for every 1m/s (3.6 km/h) increase in running speed.
The fast running test speed means better cardiopulmonary function and higher overall metabolic level.
The results of this study are presented not only to explain the source of the disease’s risk, but also to suggest that food factors can be changed besides genetic factors. Physical fitness is also very important, because physical fitness means metabolic ability to a large extent.
In the blood uric acid of human body, More than two thirds are endogenous uric acid, Food sources are only a small part. 70% of these uric acid is excreted by the kidney. Hyperuricemia will only occur when the metabolism of the human body is disordered and more endogenous uric acid is produced, and the kidney function is not sufficient to deal with excess uric acid in time. Therefore, it is more important to improve the body’s metabolic ability to uric acid than to haggle over every ounce of purine content in food.
How should patients with high uric acid eat?
Looking at these research conclusions, we can also know that how’s life is conducive to controlling uric acid and preventing gout.
1. Reduce the intake of red meat
Clinicians in our country have also found that Many gout patients have the habit of eating a lot of red meat. These people also usually have obvious obesity. According to China’s dietary guidelines, combined with the patient’s condition, gout acute attack period should not eat meat, remission period or hyperuricemia state, the average daily intake of red meat should be controlled within 50 grams. Animal viscera is best not to eat.
2. Reduce seafood intake
Long-term consumption of large amounts of seafood is also considered by the global medical community as one of the risk factors for gout. Due to the relatively low calories in seafood, some patients may not be significantly obese, but their uric acid levels are relatively high.
3. Reduce dietary calories and fat intake
Fat itself will hinder the excretion of uric acid by the kidney, and a diet with high fat will also lead to obesity and metabolic disorders. For patients with high body fat and obesity in the waist and abdomen, weight loss itself is conducive to the improvement of metabolic disorders.
4. Change the content of staple food
Do not eat the combination of refined white and fat staple food, moderately increase the proportion of coarse cereals and potatoes, and reduce obesity and insulin resistance.
5. Greatly increase the intake of fresh vegetables and fruits, especially low-sugar vegetables and fruits.
6. Increase low-fat milk intake
7. Strictly abstain from drinking, do not drink sweet drinks, and drink more water.
In addition, Patients with gout and hyperuricemia should also undergo body composition analysis and comprehensive physical examination to confirm whether they have problems with waist and abdomen obesity and high body fat content. If so, weight loss diet should be adopted. Confirm whether there are hypertension, hyperlipidemia, abnormal blood sugar control and other problems. At the same time, you should also know whether you have kidney stones and abnormal kidney function. Other problems should be included in the target range of nutritious diet.
We need to clearly define a goal: while avoiding foods, wines and sweet drinks with high purine content, only through reasonable nutrition and weight loss and lipid reduction to improve the overall metabolic function of patients can we truly adjust our bodies.
As the body’s comprehensive metabolic level improves, the problem of uric acid will gradually improve. For patients who have not yet developed gout, controlling body weight and improving metabolic disorders can largely prevent the disease from developing into gout and prevent various serious consequences caused by it.
Responsible Editor: Fu Ting
The article was reprinted by Clove Garden authorized by the author.