Treating Raised Uric Acid From Exercise Stress

Though exercise will generally benefit most gout sufferers, strenuous exercise can raise uric acid levels. This report looks at one possible solution from supplementation with a common fitness supplement – L-Carnitine.

For more information, please see the uric acid and exercise discussion.

Title:

L-Carnitine L-tartratesupplementation favorably affects markers of recovery from exercise stress.

Authors:

Jeff S. Volek, William J. Kraemer, Martyn R. Rubin, Ana L. Gómez, Nicholas A. Ratamess, and Paula Gaynor.

Published:

AJP – Endo February 2002 vol. 282 no. 2 E474-E482.

Gout And Athletic Endurance

A statistical study relating gout with exercise. This study gives some pointers about improving gout diet, exercise, and fitness, as these are associated with lower risks of gout. As with all statistical investigations into gout diet, it is important to measure any changes that you make by frequent blood tests for uric acid levels. Statistics give pointers, but only accurate measurement of your own uric acid levels will tell you if you are safe from gout.

This is particularly important when considering exercise, because failure to maintain uric acid in the blood at 5mg/dL (0.30mmol/L), or below, will increase your risks of joint damage – the last thing you want if you want to continue exercising.

Title:

Effects of diet, physical activity and performance, and body weight on incident gout in ostensibly healthy, vigorously active men.

Author:

Paul T Williams.

Published:

American Journal of Clinical Nutrition, Vol. 87, No. 5, 1480-1487, May 2008.

Is Alkaline Diet uricosuric?

This study of alkaline forming diet vs acid forming diet shows higher uric acid excretion when urine pH is higher. Unfortunately, the study does not go far enough, and corresponding measurement of uric acid in the blood is not available. Not collecting such important data seems to be a glaring omission, or was the data collected but omitted from the report because it makes the results inconclusive? Cynicism aside, I believe this opens up an important research avenue. It may be too much to hope that scientific resources could be allocated to such a project. Perhaps those people wishing to lower uric acid using their own uric acid meter to guide dietary changes can contribute useful information.

Please discuss this in the Gout Diet Forum if you have any input. Relevant questions are:

Is an alkaline diet uricosuric?

Leave Is Alkaline Diet Uricosuric? to browse the Gout Diet Menu pages

This completed gout diet question form is an example of how to ask a question related to food, drink, or lifestyle in the Gout Diet Forum.

Though the specific question is What Are Purines?, you should read the accompanying notes to learn how to ask much better gout questions.

Remember, the more interesting and unique your question is, the better answer you will get.

Also see the gout forum guidelines for more tips, and more ways to discuss gout.

Obesity And Gout

A statistical analysis of a large sample of men, including over 700 gout patients.

Although you should be wary of applying general statisitical information to your specific health problems, this study does reveal a common link between excess weight and an increased risk of gout.

If your weight is high, then you should consider slow weight loss as a method for lowering uric acid. For more details of how to manage obesity and gout, see my Gout Diet Section

Title:

Obesity, Weight Change, Hypertension, Diuretic Use, and Risk of Gout in Men – The Health Professionals Follow-up Study.

Authors:

Hyon K. Choi, MD, DrPH; Karen Atkinson, MD, MPH; Elizabeth W. Karlson, MD; Gary Curhan, MD, ScD.

Published:

Arch Intern Med. 2005;165:742-748.

Tomatoes And Gout Investigation

Interesting investigation showing how a tomato-based soup can lower uric acid. This is a good addition to your diet if you have gout.

Title:

Mediterranean vegetable soup consumption increases plasma vitamin C and decreases F2-isoprostanes, prostaglandin E2 and monocyte chemotactic protein-1 in healthy humans.

Authors:

Sánchez-Moreno C, Cano MP, de Ancos B, Plaza L, Olmedilla B, Granado F, Martín A.

Published:

J Nutr Biochem. 2006 Mar;17(3):183-9. Epub 2005 Aug 15.

Iron, Xanthine Oxidase, & Uric Acid

Observation, and possible explanations for increase in xanthine oxidase followed by uric acid caused by excess iron in the blood. Though only demonstrated in rats, not humans, this investigation gives valuable insight into the dangers of excess iron for gout.

Rather than preventing generation of [uric acid,] a remarkably beneficial iron chelator and antioxidant with allopurinol or increasing its urinary excretion with probenecid, perhaps a more rational treatment for hyperuricemia might be not only the avoidance of highly absorbable iron in red meat, but also regular voluntary donation of blood to decrease the relatively elevated body iron stores of men and postmenopausal women, thereby balancing decreased uric acid production with antioxidant needs.

Title:

Iron regulates xanthine oxidase activity in the lung.

Authors:

Andrew J Ghio, Thomas P Kennedy, Jacqueline Stonehuerner, Jacqueline D Carter, Kelly A Skinner, Dale A Parks, John R Hoidal.

Published:

AJP – Lung Physiol September 2002 vol 283 no 3 L563-L572.