Monday, February 2, 2009

Children and Gout

By Kathy Nelson

Many people who suffer from gout have heard that it is referred to as being caused by a combination of rich food and beer, therefore is has become known as the disease of kings. However this often means that people assume children are not in danger of suffering from gout, as not many children will drink that much beer.

A build up of uric acid crystals around your joints causes gout and it normally starts in the big toe and can then travel around the body from here. These uric acid crystals don't consider what your age is, they dont consider that you may be too young to feel the nasty burning pain that comes when gout attacks.

Over the last 20 years the average child spends a lot less time outside getting exercise and eats a lot more processed food and drinks. Most children are not satisfied with drinking plain old water any more they want sugary sodas and flavored drinks that are full of fructose.

The levels of uric acid in the body can be raised by the intake of sodas and fructose. As a result of this, there has been an increase in the reported cases of gout. No longer is gout known as the disease of kings. The amount of soda and "nutritional" beverages that we drink has increased over recent years, it is a consequence that so will cases of gout.

The amount of gout attacks suffered by a person can be reduced if the right kind of diet is put in place. This isn't really a difficult thing to do if you can remain focused. However it is only natural that the older we get, the more we get into a routine of what to eat which can often make it difficult to stick to a new diet.

You need to think about how your child's diet will affect them not only now, but years down the line when they are older. You could be allowing them to get into bad eating habits which will stick with them for a long time. Because of this you should try to steer them away from foods or beverages which are high in their fructose content.

We are all trying to squeeze too much work or to many chores into too short a day so often the shopping trip for food for the whole family can become a very rushed affair, add to the time constraint a child who doesn't want to be there and one shopping trip can give you enough of a headache for a week.

Gout prevention for the entire family should start with how you do your food shopping. Not buying foods that contain large amounts of fructose can make a big difference, as can avoiding foods which are high in uric acid creating chemicals. If you don't buy them in the first place, then neither you or your children can eat them. Not only are you less likely to start suffering symptoms of gout, you are also helping to avoid other diseases such as diabetes.

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