Gout in Women
The traditional view of gout is that it hits an older man and causes him a lot of pain in his big toe where the gout crystals settle. He has so much pain that he can't put on a sock or shoe and is down for the count. According to a study in the United Kingdom that looked at 35,339 gout patients, this idea is pretty correct. Seventy-two percent of the gout patients were men who had an average age of 62.7 years old.
But like heart disease, which hits more women now than before, gout is doing the same thing. The UK scientists found that about twice as many women with gout were diabetic compared to women without gout. In men, there was an increase in gout in those who were diabetic as well. In another Russian study, there were more cases of gout in those who used acetylsalicylic acid, diuretics, and were diabetic.
And in other studies, age was found to correlate better to gout than menopause, and high levels of uric acid in the blood was correlated with higher blood pressure readings.
It's always good to know what types of factors correlate with the presence of illness, but if you have gout and are a woman, the most important thing you can do right now is to clean out your cabinets of any and all foods that contain high fructose corn syrup. This fake sweetener has been clearly proven to be connected to the appearance of gout in both adults and children.
Avoiding Fructose Corn Syrup
The average consumption of high fructose corn syrup is over 41 pounds per year and the corn that the high fructose corn syrup is created from is genetically modified. The connection to gout is giving us a good idea of what actually happens as a result of consuming genetically modified foods.
How can you stop consuming it?
Step 1 is to avoid foods that contain high fructose corn syrup. Here's a list of them:
- Fast foods
- Beverages in cans or bottles, including sodas
- Pancake and waffle syrups
- Fruit pies
- Candies
- Condiments
- Any other food that lists high fructose corn syrup on the label
Step 2 is to start cooking your own foods from scratch so you can be assured you are eating a diet free of high fructose corn syrup. Look at it as a fun thing to do and a real achievement.
Step 3 is to commit to not eating high fructose corn syrup again. Reconfirming your commitment helps from time to time.