Prevention of rheumatic diseases - Family dishes

Author: Susumu Yamaguchi (Japan) / et al.
Publisher:
Publish Date: 2000-05-01
Features: This book introduces some techniques for continuous treatment. One of them is "Delicious Healing Diet." It is essential to be mindful of the "purine body" that causes the disease, but a balanced intake of various foods is even more important. Another key point is having the correct knowledge about the disease. The horror of gout is not the "pain," but the complications that arise after the pain subsides. "Gout" is a disease of people who are "still energetic but unhealthy." It is hoped that readers can utilize this book to regain their health.
Excerpt: Most experienced people know that when a disease accompanied by "pain" appears with furrowed brows—gout. The direct cause of gout is uric acid. It is usually due to an increase in uric acid dissolved in the blood, which accumulates in the body, causing joint inflammation and severe pain, which is gout. Currently, the number of patients is increasing. There are also many times more people who are in the "pre-gout" stage, suffering from "hyperuricemia." When the uric acid level is 7.0 mg/dL or higher, it is necessary to pay attention to undergoing health checks or blood tests that include the "uric acid level" item. When the uric acid level exceeds 7.0 mg/dL, it is considered high and is referred to as "hyperuricemia." The average uric acid level has a significant difference between men and women. However, the judgment standard for a higher uric acid level does not differ between men and women, as it is divided at 7.0 mg/dL. But when suffering from hyperuricemia, the "gout attack" phenomenon does not appear immediately. It takes a long time, such as 5 to 10 years, for uric acid to accumulate in the joints before a gout attack occurs. Therefore, if diagnosed with hyperuricemia, it is necessary to immediately start efforts to normalize the uric acid level. Whether one can escape painful gout attacks or internal organ damage depends on whether the correct measures are taken early in the stage of hyperuricemia.
What is uric acid, the waste product of cell activity?
From a chemical perspective, the raw material of uric acid is a carbon and nitrogen compound called a "purine body." Purine bodies play an important role in the body. They exist in food taken orally, and the body's cells naturally produce old waste—"uric acid" when carrying out life activities. When the uric acid concentration is below 7.0 mg/dL, it dissolves in body fluids and circulates in the body. Uric acid dissolved in body fluids is completely harmless. However, if it exceeds 7.0 mg/dL, it cannot dissolve and forms crystals, which then precipitate throughout the body. When these crystals accumulate in the joints, they cause "arthritis," leading to aching pain and triggering gout attacks. Additionally, if gout is left untreated, the crystals will accumulate in the kidneys, becoming the main cause of "kidney failure." And if gout treatment is neglected, it may eventually lead to death from uremia.