Consuming a low-carb, high-fat diet known as the ketogenic or keto diet is meant to put the body into a state of ketosis.
A regular diet has been associated with improvements in certain medical issues, including diabetes and cardiovascular disease, though it is mainly viewed as a way to shed pounds quickly. It appears that there may be information which could reduce the severity of gout.
The Arthritis Foundation states that gout, which is a form of inflammatory arthritis, is experienced by four percent of the adult population in the United States. It should be kept in mind that the ketogenic diet is not suitable for all and that initiating a state of ketosis may result in exacerbations.
More data concerning the keto diet and gout can be found here, which can assist you in deciding if the keto diet is suitable for you. Investigations into the repercussions of adhering to a ketogenic diet on gout vary in their results. Here’s what some experts claim.
Gout
Gout is an extensive and intricate type of arthritis that can affect any person. This condition is characterized by intense, serious bouts of joint discomfort, accompanied by swelling, irritation, and soreness, and often targeting the joint near the base of the big toe.
A gout attack can come on suddenly, and have you awoken in the middle of the night feeling as if your big toe is burning.
The joint that is affected is gummy, swollen, and so sensitive that even the lightest pressure from something like a sheet can cause pain. The signs of gout may be fickle, but there are ways to alleviate the symptoms and prevent them from coming back.
Reasons
Gout strikes cause excruciating pain due to a build-up of uric acid crystals in the joint. When the uric acid levels in one’s blood are too high, urate crystals can form.
As you metabolize purines, which are naturally occurring components in the blood, your body eliminates uric acid from the system. Steaks, organ meats, and fish all contain purines.
Consumption of alcohol, particularly beer, and beverages containing fructose can foster elevated concentrations of uric acid. Your kidneys usually pass uric acid through your bloodstream and out of your body through your urine.
But sometimes, either an excessive amount of uric acid is created in the body, or your kidneys cannot release enough of it. Uric acid may collect in joint tissue or the area around it, which can form small, pointed strings of urate crystals that can be painful, inflame, and increase swelling.
In 2017, Yale University researchers explored what the effects of ketosis had on the protein complex causing the inflammation which ends up causing gout. Results from animal and human trials have demonstrated that a keto diet can lead to reduced joint inflammation.
Despite the promising results, the researchers noted that more testing needs to be done before the keto diet can be used as a treatment for gout.
A further benefit of a ketogenic diet for gout sufferers is weight loss. Losing weight is the most efficient way to lower uric acid levels and stop gout flare-ups.
Gout causes
Gout is caused by an excessive amount of uric acid in the bloodstream leading to the development of uric acid crystals in the connective tissue, which in turn causes discomfort, swelling, tenderness, and inflammation. To alleviate gout, it is important to reduce the amount of uric acid produced.
There are a few potential culprits that drive up uric acid production:
Protein and gout
Doctors often suggest low-protein, low-meat diets for gout. They believe that the majority of proteins found in food include substances labelled purines, which are the beginnings of uric acid.
Purines are the ingredients that DNA and RNA are composed of and once these are ingested, they are converted into uric acid by the body. The most abundant purine providers are beef, seafood, and offal.
The hypothesis is that by reducing the amount of purines that are consumed, the levels of uric acid in the body will go down, thereby reducing the chances of developing gout. The research regarding consuming protein and gout is conflicting.
One study that looked at what people were consuming found that eating meat and seafood can be a risk factor for gout. In a more tightly watched experiment, scientists observed that for a period of six months, when people on a high protein and low carbohydrate diet, the uric acid levels of 74 overweight or obese participants lowered.
The authors determined that even with plenty of purines, adopting the Atkins diet (where protein consumption is prioritized without limiting the consumption of calories) can diminish the amount of serum uric acid.
It appears that there is more than just protein intake that could be influencing uric acid levels, as evidenced by the fact that vegans tend to have higher concentrations of uric acid than those who eat meat.
Recent studies have shown that when one consumes a high-protein diet, their kidneys are able to correctly eliminate the uric acid produced from purines.
Put another way, the higher the quantity of purines you ingest, the more uric acid will be expelled. So long as your kidneys are functioning optimally, it does not appear that consuming protein has any effect on the probability of developing gout.
Dairy and gout
Some people are worried that drinking milk, consuming cheese, or eating yogurt could potentially lead to gout due to the substantial amount of protein and purines contained in dairy products.
A large investigation that tracked 47,150 people for 12 years concluded that dairy consumption was actually associated with a lower risk of gout. This study is unable to show that dairy intake is the cause of gout, indicating that dairy may not be related to gout.
Sugar and gout
Gout is more likely to be caused by consuming a lot of sugar than by consuming large amounts of protein. Specifically, fructose, the type of sugar commonly found in fruit and corn syrup. Consumption of fructose leads to an increase in the creation of uric acid, but it blocks it from being removed from the body.
Your liver treats fructose in an alternative way compared to other types of sugar. If there is too much fructose in your liver, it can stop the metabolism of protein and use up all of the ATP (cellular energy) in the cells.
If your ATP levels decline, this causes a rise in the amount of uric acid that is produced. As noted previously, uric acid levels that are too high can be a major contributor to gout.
The second rationale for staying away from fructose is connected to the secretion of uric acid. Eating excessive fructose over an extended period of time will decrease your kidneys’ capability to get rid of uric acid.
However, you don’t have to consume fructose in excess amounts continuously to experience side effects – consuming even a small quantity of it at just one time may cause a decrease in the rate at which uric acid is cleared out of the body.
A predominant supplier of fructose in today’s eating habits is high-fructose corn syrup. You can uncover it in numerous items, ranging from soda, to chips, to breakfast cereal. Try to stay away from high-fructose corn syrup, and you will experience a much better feeling.
Insulin and gout
Consuming sugar — no matter the type of fructose — raises the chance of getting gout due to the way it affects your insulin amounts.
When you consume high amounts of sugar, your blood glucose levels increase. In answer to this, your pancreas produces insulin, your blood sugar regulator, to absorb any extra sugar in the blood and put it into your cells, where it can either be changed into energy (for immediate use) or fat (acted as a storage for energy).
If you consume a lot of sugar consistently, your blood sugar levels will stay elevated over a long period of time and insulin will no longer be able to pass on messages to your cells effectively.
The state known as insulin resistance (or metabolic syndrome) leads to the pancreas having to discharge higher amounts of insulin to achieve a similar outcome.
High levels of circulating insulin decrease uric acid clearance. Be mindful of insulin levels to avoid gout. The most efficient route to take is to eliminate sugar from your eating habits.
Alcohol and gout
Consumption of alcohol has long been known to be a contributor to the chances of contracting gout as well as increasing the odds of an attack if a person is already suffering from gout.
In a study looking forward, investigators tracked the progress of 47,150 male participants who had no past experience of gout for a period of 12 years. Results showed an apparent connection between drinking beer and spirits and a person’s likelihood of having gout, with beer having the strongest correlation. Interestingly, wine was not.
A separate team of scientists posed a different query: what is the effect of consuming alcohol on the chances of a recurrence of gout among patients who already have the condition?
Results showed a heightened risk of gout flare-ups in the 24 hours after drinking any form of alcohol, even wine.
Does it increase the risk of gout
Probably. The Keto diet consists primarily of food items with low levels of purine. Purine is a substance that the body metabolizes into uric acid. Gout develops when the blood has an excessive amount of uric acid.
An excess of uric acid in a joint can form sharp crystals, which leads to tenderness, pain, redness, and swelling. A perfect diet plan for gout sufferers should include minimal amounts of purines, and should comprise fruits, pulses, whole grains and dairy products that are not high in fat.
It is suggested that, in combination with treatment, a diet low in purines should be taken in order to reduce the possibility of developing gout. A 2012 study demonstrated that people encounter an increased likelihood of gout when they start a ketosis diet because of the augmented uric acid concentration.
There is a risk that’s only temporary, and your body will adjust to ketosis over time.
During the initial period of the keto diet, you may face a heightened risk of gout for a short duration. The reason your kidneys don’t work correctly in relation to purging uric acid is due to having increased levels of ketones.
Nevertheless, there is some enthusiastic news: following a period of two to three weeks, your body adjusts to the keto diet and your uric acid levels go back to the usual level. It has been demonstrated that a ketogenic diet can help to lower the chances of developing gout later on, as it reduces the uric acid level.
A major benefit of the keto diet is the stabilization of your insulin levels. When you limit your carb intake on a diet that consists mainly of fats, your glucose levels will remain low. This in turn will keep your insulin at a low level. If you remember, when insulin is low it helps the kidneys to filter out uric acid.
There are other mechanisms at play, too. On a ketogenic eating plan, the liver creates ketones, with BHB (beta-hydroxybutyrate) being the leading one.
A team of scientists from Yale recently discovered that BHB could lessen the odds of gout flares happening in rats. BHB has the potential to cut down on inflammation by obstructing a section of the immune system named the NLRP3 inflammasome, which could reduce the chances of a gout attack.
No information exists which implies that the ketogenic diet could be effective against the underlying cause of inflammation in order to prevent the appearance of acute gout symptoms. No definite therapy for the illness has been established.
Is the diet healthy for Keto
The keto diet is usually considered safe for healthier people and can be of particular benefit to those with such illnesses, such as:
- Class 2 diabetes
- Résistance of insulin
- Accountability
- PCOS (Polycystic Ovarian Syndrome)
Adopting a low-carb regimen and achieving ketosis can result in side effects, such as having signs of a cold. Effects associated with low-carb and keto diets, sometimes jocularly referred to as “low-carb flu” and “keto flu,” usually pass after the body adjusts to the regimen, and the symptoms are generally short-lived.
Popular side effects encompass:
- Headache
- Tiredness
- Breakout
- Brain Fog
- Cramping knees
- Bad Breath
- Diarrhea and constipation
Safety for people with gout
It is essential to speak to your physician prior to making any substantial modifications to your diet. Eating dishes that are high in purines, especially from animal-based sources, increases the likelihood of an attack of gout by a factor of five. Different variants of the keto diet exist, but all of them feature meals high in purine.
Managing gout
Gout management usually involves creating a combination of adjustments in medication, nutrition, and everyday habits. Gout therapies include anti-inflammatory nonsteroidal medications (NSAIDs) and corticosteroids.
The medication is meant to mitigate the symptoms of severe flare-ups, like soreness and inflammation, as well as to regulate uric acid levels in order to stave off any potential attacks or further issues.
Suggestion: One should have an even-keeled eating plan that does not consist of foods and beverages high in purines. Foods rich in uric acid which are known to cause gout flare-ups include:
- Cooked meat: beef , pork, lamb
- Organs: liver, heart, sweetbread
- Seafood: shrimp, tuna, and anchovies
- High-sugar snacks and drinks: pastries, dumplings and sweetened beverages
A 2015 study published an article suggesting that certain meals and drinks may lessen the chance of a gout attack. Adding the following will be helpful to the diet:
- Coffee
- Low-fat dairy products, such as yogurt and milk
- Vitamin C
- Eating juice to the cherry: The juice will cure flare-ups by reducing uric acid levels in the body.
- Drinking plenty of water: Water allows the kidneys to wash away uric acid, shorten the length of a flare-up and may symptom intensity.
- Exercising and maintaining a healthy weight: Weight reduction reduces the levels of uric acid, and the chances of heart failure and stroke, all of which are more severe in gout people.
Exercise and gout
In conjunction with the dietary modifications mentioned, establishing a routine exercise plan could possibly be advantageous for those with gout.
Exercise:
- Increases insulin sensitivity, and can improve metabolic syndrome
- Clears liver glycogen, which contains uric-acid-promoting fructose
- Prevents hyperinsulinemia, which may help with uric acid clearance
Side notes
Many things increase your risk of developing gout. The presence of dehydration, fructose, insulin resistance, or alcohol can lead to an increase in uric acid levels, which will increase the risk of crystals forming and can result in gout.
In order to decrease the likelihood of gout, it is important to avert exposure to potential risk factors and to try out dietary changes such as consuming coffee and consuming vitamin C. Think about starting a consistent workout plan to improve your body’s reaction to insulin.
In conclusion, there is no need to be concerned about increasing your risk of gout through the consumption of fat and protein. Sugar (especially fructose) is the macro to avoid. It seems that a dietary regimen that is low in carbohydrates and high in ketogenic ingredients may be effective in decreasing the chances of developing gout over an extended period of time.
