Green Tea For Gout: Natural Anti-Oxidants Useful For Gout Symptoms

Causes of Gout

Gout is a type of arthritis. It is an inflammation of the joints caused by uric acid crystals. When uric acid is present in the blood in excessive amounts, it crystallizes and deposits in the joints. This excess of uric acid can be caused by:

• Inability of kidneys to process uric acid
• High intake of food high in purines: Red meat, shellfish
• Too much alcohol
• Genetics
• Obesity
• High blood pressure
• Certain medications, like diuretics, aspirin, and chemotherapy

Symptoms of Gout

Gout has some characteristic symptoms that are easily recognized:

• Sudden, unbearable joint pain: Usually presents in the big toe, but can occur in other joints like the knees, elbows, wrists, and hands
• Swelling
• Redness
• Heat
• Tenderness

Treatment

There are lots of treatment methods for gout, including a change in diet, weight loss, and prescription medications. If one is seeking to cure gout through natural means, diet and weight loss are two very important factors. Drinking green tea has also been shown to be beneficial to gout sufferers. Green tea has no side effects, is inexpensive, and tastes great!

Benefits of Green Tea

People have been consuming tea for up to 500,000 years. Green tea is one of the most beneficial teas. Green tea has been shown to contain: Antioxidants called polyphenols: Antioxidants fight against free radicals, which are harmful chemicals that attack DNA and our cells. One of these antioxidants, called epigallocatechin-3-gallate (EGCG), has been shown to inhibit the body's production of inflammatory compounds that exacerbate joint pain

Evidence of the health benefits of green tea are abundant.

• Laboratory studies have shown that drinking green tea can be very effective in reducing the risk of developing certain types of arthritis.
• People in countries that drink a lot of green tea, such as China, India, and Japan, have a much lower rate of diseases like arthritis and cancer.
• For maximum benefit, drink two or three cups of green tea every day. This has the additional benefit of helping you to stay hydrated, because dehydration can exacerbate gout by concentrating uric acid in the blood.

Other Treatments

If just drinking green tea does not do the trick, take the following measures:

• Change your diet. Avoid foods that trigger an attack of gout.
• Lose weight. Obesity is a known risk factor for gout.
• Exercise. Moderate exercise has been shown to alleviate arthritis pain.
• Drink cherry juice or eat cherries. Cherries have been shown to have strong anti-inflammatory properties.
• Consider taking an herbal remedy. There are many gout medications on the market, but most have unpleasant side effects and are quite costly. Herbal remedies are a great alternative to conventional pharmaceutical drugs.

Sources: http://arthritis.about.com/od/preventionandriskfactors/a/greentea.htm

http://www.ezinearticles.com/?Green-Tea-May-Relieve-Rheumatoid-Arthritis-Pain&id=642439

http://www.umm.edu/altmed/articles/green-tea-000255.htm

Comment on HelloLife

What's YOUR take on this? Does it bring up any questions? Can you offer more information on this? Did you just enjoy reading it? Leave your comment here!

First Name:

Last Name:

Your Email:

Security Code:

Confirm Code:

You are at least 13 years of age and agree to our terms of service.

(All fields Reqiuired)