Fun Facts

Some of you might have seen people having a big swelling either near the neck or in the joints around the leg and wondered how that is possible. Well. Those people are suffering from the disease called Gout.

What is gout

Gout is actually a type of arthritis that is caused by an inherited defect in the kidney’s ability to excrete uric acid. This waste product of protein metabolism comes both from the digestive process and from the normal turnover of cells.

Mistakenly, gout has had a persistent reputation for being the penalty for high living and overindulgence.

When deposits of uric acid crystals build up in the synovial fluid that surrounds the joints, the human body’s immune system attempts to eliminate these crystals through the process of inflammation; unfortunately, this causes attacks of intense pain that can continue for days or even weeks if the condition is left untreated. Over time, uric acid crystals accumulate in the form of lumpy deposits under the skin of the ears, the elbows and near the affected joints.

Gout attacks usually occur suddenly and unpredictably. Marked by swelling, inflammation and excruciating tenderness in the joints, gouts most commonly affects the joints at the base of the big toe, other foot joints, knees, ankles, wists and fingers. The slightest touch – even that of a bedsheet – may prove to be unbearably painful during an attack of gout.

Treatment for gouts

Thanks to the inventions and innovations in the medical technology, several drugs are now available that will stop the unbearable pain and also prevent any future attacks of gout. Colchicine, a drug derived from the autumn crocus flower, is one of the fastest acting and most effective drug for treating gouts. Unfortunately, this drug can cause severe nausea and diarrhea and on such reactions, one should immediately stop consuming that drug.

Dietary changes to manage gout

Though treatment is available for dealing with sudden attack of gout, it is advisable to make changes in your diet plan to deal with gouts effectively.

As obese people are more prone to gout attacks, losing weight – especially fat around the abdomen – often prevents future attacks. Weight loss should be gradual, however, because a rapid reduction can raise blood levels of uric acid and provoke gout. Fasting increases the blood level of uric acid. Therefore, people with gout should avoid skipping meals. High-protein, low-carbohydrate diets should be avoided since these diets encourage the formation of ketones, metabolic by-products that hamper the body’s ability to excrete uric acid.

Health Gout, Gout causes, Gout remedy, Gout treatment

It is but true that many of us want to maintain a fit body physique and enjoy the desirable blood sugar level so that diseases such as diabetes does not affect our physical and mental make-up. To a great extent, the food we intake to maintain ourself is what determines the quality of our health. Our normal consumption of foods on a daily basis includes carbohydrates, proteins, fat, minerals, fiber and such other things.

The quality and quantity of fiber content in daily intake of foods is one of the things responsible for putting on weight, higher glucose and cholesterol levels in a person’s body.

What is fiber and what is its role in moderating our body weight, as well as glucose and cholesterol levels?

Fiber is the stuff in the plants that our body cannot digest easily. Depending upon the nature of the fiber, there are two types – soluble fiber and insoluble fiber. The fiber, which does not digest quickly, will settle as bulky substance and absorbs water, thus filling up the stomach fast. Not only will your stomach is filled up, the digestion process is also slower than normal, creating a feeling of fullness in the stomach and postponing refill and in the process having control over the weight of the body. Insoluble fiber that cannot digest accumulates or binds all other waste and gets excreted at periodical intervals, thus ensuring that bowels regular.

Thus increasing the content of fiber in our food and moderating the intake of other ingredients such as carbohydrates, proteins and fat can help a person have better control over weight, cholesterol and sugar levels.

How to increase the fiber intake?

Do not skimp on breakfast: As part of the daily breakfast, one should consider eating whole grains and fruit. It is customary nowadays to list the contents of the different cereals available in the market. Select those breakfast cereals having higher fiber content in your daily meal for breakfast. One thumb rule is to look for fiber content of 6 grams or more in the breakfast cereals and consume more of them.

Do not peel off the edible skins: The skin of a potato, the seeds in berries and kiwifruits have high fiber content. While preparing the breakfast or meal, do not peel off the skin in fruits and vegetables as these skins have valuable fiber content. All you can do is scrub the fruit or vegetable and eat the skin. Avoid peeling off the skin from the vegetables as nearly one-third or more of the fiber content in that fruit or vegetable is in the skin.

Add more beans and lentils: Including beans to a salad is one of the best means to increase the fiber content as beans is a rich source of fiber. Baked beans is an ideal source for soluble fiber and consuming baked beans is good for controlling weight and also cholesterol and sugar levels in the body.

Drink more fluids: While taking more fiber content in your daily meal, ensure that adequate quantity of fluids is taken. More consumption of water will help in reducing your weight and keep the stomach full. The fibers absorb more water and as such drinking water or fluids will help in having a better control over the body.

Moderate alcohol consumption: If you have the habit of consuming alcohol, try to avoid taking alcohol daily and fix for yourself two or three days as alcohol-free days. If you want to have control over your blood glucose levels and take the readings on a daily basis, ensure that you do not consume alcohol when the blood glucose level is relatively low. Put for yourself a limit on the amount of alcohol you consume and try to consume less than that daily limit or level, especially when you are on a mission to lose weight.

By increasing the fiber content in our food, one can have effective control over the weight, glucose and cholesterol levels and lead a better quality life, free from the worries of diabetes.

Health blood sugar, control blood sugar, how to control blood sugar, lose weight

Diabetes is a disease that affects the ability of the body cells to derive the required energy from the glucose present in the bloodstream. If you happen to be a diabetic patient, the first thing that your doctor or persons known to you will do is advise you to keep close control on what you eat. The second thing they would say is to reduce the sugar content and try replacing the carbohydrates you normally take.

In this modern age where innumerable innovations in the medical technology have made it possible to live with diabetes happily and not worry about it, one need not panic or feel depressed when affected by that disease. A better understanding of the type of food we eat, the quality of the food and the quantity of food we take, the proportion of components of the food and such other things, is all that is required to either fight this disease with strength or avoid contracting the disease in the first instance.

The food that we normally consume on a daily basis include carbohydrates, proteins, fat and minerals. A correct mix and combination of these vital ingredients is essential for a healthy life that helps a person generate adequate amount of required insulin for supply of glucose and energy to the cells. It is the inability of the production of insulin or insufficiency of insulin for transfer of glucose or sugar to the cells that results in diabetes.

Carbohydrates is the primary source of energy and more than 50% of our intake of foods is primarily carbohydrates. It is this carbohydrate in the food that breaks down as sugars in the body and finally as the glucose that is required for the cells for energy. The level of sugar content in our blood and the amount of glucose it produces is dependent upon the content of carbohydrates in your daily intake of food. High level of sugar content in the blood and its inability to transfer the glucose or sugar to the cells is what diabetes is all about. As such, reducing the intake of carbohydrates will result in lower accretion of glucose or sugars to the body and as such the level of sugar content in the blood can either be kept at a steady level or reduced and through this means, the diabetes can be effectively managed.

It is for this reason that doctors advise to reduce the intake of carbohydrates as effective means to manage diabetes. Carbohydrates, the primary source of energy, is divided into two groups based on the their classifications. One is called as simple carbohydrate and the other is complex carbohydrate. Simple carbohydrate is nothing but sugars such as table sugar, fruit sugar and milk sugar. In medical parlance, sugars include sucrose, fructose and lactose. Complex carbohydrates, on the other hand, are made up of more complex sugars, fiber and an assortment of nutrients.

Following significant research in each type of carbohydrate, ranking has been made for each carbohydrate and is assigned an index called as glycaemic index or GI, which indicates the level of impact of blood sugar levels in the body. Not only is the content of sugar in each carbohydrate but the time taken to break down the food and converted into sugar in the blood also is considered while calculating the index. Some fibers included in complex carbohydrates might take longer time to break-down in to sugar in the body while some simple carbohydrates will increase the level of sugar in the blood at a relatively quicker time.

Thus, as part of diabetic management, one need not avoid taking sugar or carbohydrates all together. Instead, one needs to have a close watch on the GI for each type of food in general and carbohydrate in particular and the consequences of the same in his blood sugar levels.

As such, carbohydrates is not bad in any way and the only thing that, as a diabetic patient, needs to do is not panic or feel depressed, but have a close watch on the GI, control the blood sugar levels and do more physical exercises that result in adequate processing of insulin hormone in the pancreas.

Health carbohydrates, diabetes, diabetes management