With Vitamin C, There’s No ‘Gout’ About It
Researchers: Vitamin C a ‘Useful Option’ in Gout Avoidance
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Vitamin C supplement
Late last summer I wrote about gout. For those unfamiliar with the condition, gout is a type of chronic arthritis that causes severe pain in and around the joints, all thanks to the overproduction of uric acid. Uric acid is something that all bodies produce, but they primarily form when purines break down. Purines come from foods – meats, in particular – but they are also the natural by-product of the body’s cells.
Anyway, last summer I wrote about a drink that increased one’s chances of getting gout – soda pop. Today I’m doing just the opposite – writing about something that decreases one’s chances of getting gout.
What does this something happen to be? Vitamin C.
According to researchers from the University of British Columbia, men who take 500 milligrams of vitamin C a day decrease their risk of getting gout by about 17 percent.
Published in the journal Archives of Internal Medicine, researchers looked at approximately 47,000 men to see what health and disease traits they had in common based on their age and their lifestyle habits. The 20-year study found that those men who consumed large doses of vitamin C daily decreased their risk of vitamin C precipitously. For instance, those men who consumed over 1,500 mg of vitamin C daily were almost 50 percent less likely to develop gout than those men who consumed less than 250 mg per day!Â
Researchers estimate the risk of developing gout drops by about 17 percent for every 500 milligrams consumed daily.   Â
Because vitamin C is a water-soluble vitamin, large daily doses of vitamin C can be handled by the body without posing any short or long term risk. However, you should always play it safe and consult your doctor before making any significant changes to your dietary regimen.
In the meantime, large doses of vitamin C are best acquired through supplementation. I never discourage someone from getting their vitamins primarily from food, but to get 1,500 mg of vitamin C daily, you’d have to eat around 14 oranges (granted, oranges aren’t the world’s best source of vitamin C – peppers are – but you get my drift)! And considering the fact that 1,500 mg really isn’t all that much, you’re better off supplementing with vitamin C to get its full array of benefits.
I don’t pretend to know what gout feels like, and quite frankly, I don’t want to know. People compare the pain to giving childbirth (another thing I’ve never experienced, and happily, will never have to) or a bone fracture. And from what I understand, the painful flare-ups can last anywhere from three to 10 days.
Ouch!
Do yourself and your joints a favor:Â Eat more vegetables (most vegetables are low in purines), eat less meat (meats and cheeses are high in purines, especially organ meats) and start supplementing with vitamin C (a purine defeater).Â
Sources:
MSNBC
gout.com
WHFoods
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- Can Vitamin E Prevent Cataracts?
 
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Posted: March 30th, 2009 under arthritis, Vitamin C.
Tags: gout
Comments
Comment from john
Time March 30, 2009 at 10:38 pm
does vitamin c help if gout has already developed
Comment from Ohakwe
Time March 31, 2009 at 1:23 am
Thanks for the great work You are doing. May God empowered you the more
Comment from Richard Jone
Time March 31, 2009 at 4:13 am
I would like to thank you for your consistance in giving me information relating to my health. I feel that you have very strong concern for the health of the American people. I want you to know that I notice. thank you again
Comment from sweets
Time March 31, 2009 at 6:04 am
I liken a gout attack to a NYC transit train running over your foot !The Merck manual states you can’t even let your sheet touch it and it is true.There are some foods like in the nightshade family that exacerbate the problem as does caffiene and organ meats.I will increase my vitamin C,thanx.
Comment from Krysofeurope
Time March 31, 2009 at 8:00 am
Very good article thank you. I will add that Vitamin C slow down anti-aging process.
Krystyna Mazur
(esthetician)
Comment from Carol Addis
Time March 31, 2009 at 8:19 am
Thank you for the article – vitamin C is also effective, so I am lead to believe in the control of High Cholestral, I am at present trying it – all citrus is good for Cholestral – but I would point out that to eat 14 oranges a day would cause havoc – oranges are acid and I know, I suffered with sore joints – arthritic type pains – when I stepped up my intake of fresh squeezed Orange juice each day – I thought I would increase my vitamin C that way – no go – sore joints !!
Vitamin C is cheap to buy and easy to take and builds the immune system against colds etc – so thanks for the Gout article I will pass it on to some friends who have a problem !!
Sincerely Carol Addis
Comment from Frank
Time March 31, 2009 at 10:18 am
we appreciate. thanks