sugar

Uric Acid & Gout News: Hereditary Fructose Intolerance

Hereditary fructose intolerance is a disorder in which a person lacks the protein needed to break down fructose. Fructose is a fruit sugar that naturally occurs in the body. Man-made fructose is used as a sweetener in many foods, including baby food and drinks.

Causes

This condition occurs when the body is missing an enzyme called aldolase B. This substance is needed to break down fructose.

If a person without this substance eats fructose or sucrose (cane or beet sugar, table sugar), complicated chemical changes occur in the body. The body cannot change its stored form of sugar (glycogen) into glucose. As a result, blood sugar falls and dangerous substances build up in the liver.

Hereditary fructose intolerance is inherited, which means it can be passed down through families. If both parents carry a nonworking copy of the aldolase B gene, each of their children has a 25% (1 in 4) chance of being affected.

Uric Acid Metabolism and the Effects of Fructose

Sugar intake has risen dramatically over the last century which seems to correlate closely with the rise in obesity, diabetes, and metabolic syndrome. Simple sugars include both glucose and fructose. While glucose is generally utilized by the body for energy production, fructose is known to produce high amounts of harmful substances. Added sugars to our food sources mostly stem from fructose, and fructose metabolism can cause some pretty significant damage. Fructose can actually deplete our energy sources, cause death to our cells, stimulate fat making enzymes, and produce excess uric acid.

Studies on rats have shown fructose intake to instigate all markers of metabolic syndrome – increased waistline, obesity, diabetes, hypertension, non-alcoholic fatty liver disease, lipid abnormalities, dementia, cardiovascular disease, and cancer. These studies have also shown high fructose intake to stimulate free radicals, weaken the arteries, create a fatty liver, and cause kidney damage. Continue reading “Uric Acid Metabolism and the Effects of Fructose”

Gout, Arthritis, Inflammation: The relation to the diet

This may be one of the most complex areas to understand, and we are gaining new knowledge all the time. For far too long we have remained focused on certain food triggers rather than the source and the reasoning behind our reaction. Food selection is very important. The larger, and often overlooked, picture would be the lack of pH balance to each meal, general unhealthy food choices for far too long, high-heat cooking methods, and an overabundance of processed and now genetically modified selections in the typical diet.

Questions to consider:

Is red meat the enemy OR is it the grain fed caged source vs. grass fed and free to roam source?
Is the inflammatory inducing acid of the protein the problem OR are we not providing enough alkaline food sources in the same meal to buffer the acids and still benefit from the good it has to offer?
What is the true source behind the body’s inflammatory reaction?

You will continue to find conflicting information on what is considered to be a ‘healthy diet,’ rendering you helpless in making concrete decisions on your approach for change.

Here is what we do know:

Fructose and Uric Acid Metabolism

Gout, uric acid, and risk of death

Gout affects an estimated 4% of the population, or around 1 in 25 people. Evidence suggests this number is growing and is certainly affecting a larger demographic than in the past. A lot of confusion has surrounded the specifics on how high levels of uric acid may affect the heart and kidneys, even when acute Gout attacks are not present.

There have been studies attempting to separate the mortality rates of those with other risk factors, namely cardiovascular disease and diabetes, from those with just Gout and/or high uric acid levels. The findings seem to suggest that Gout and high uric acid levels are independently responsible for higher death rates across most age, sex, and race subgroups independent of other pre-existing conditions. The University in Limerick found those with the high serum uric acid levels displayed at 77% higher risk of death from all causes, and a 209% higher risk of cardiovascular death. While pre-existing conditions such as obesity, hypertension, diabetes, etc. are strongly associated with a higher death risk, the results did not decrease by much when those factors were removed.

What does this mean for the Gout sufferer? Continue reading “Gout, uric acid, and risk of death”

The Danger of Artificial Sweeteners

Just how bad are fake sugars for you? Let’s just start by making you aware that saccharin was discovered over 150 years ago by a chemist working with coal tar. Coal tar — you know, a well-known carcinogenic material. Studies dating back to the 1970’s concluded that saccharin was linked to bladder cancer in laboratory rats. If that isn’t evidence enough…… Yet, a gazillion conflicting studies later and we still have an issue that remains under intense debate. Saccharin is sold under brand names such as Sweet and Low®, Sweet Twin®, and Necta Sweet®.

In 2013, The European Food Safety Administration deemed aspartame “safe” at current usage and exposure levels, going as far as to say it won’t cause cancer. However, the Center for Science in the Public Interest denounced this review stating it was a complete “whitewash” of the truth. Continue reading “The Danger of Artificial Sweeteners”

Low-fat Diet Myths and Our Deteriorating Health

Is it just a coincidence that ever since we adopted low-fat and fat-free diet plans our health deteriorated? The craze began back in the 70’s and 80’s, and by the early 90’s foods with little to no fat were flying off the shelves. The American Heart Association, food manufacturers, physicians, and even drug manufacturers had convinced us that all saturated fats led to obesity and heart disease. People began trading nuts for pretzels, whole milk for skim, potatoes -hold the sour cream, and even still buying cookies so long as they were labeled “fat free.” Dietary fats and all cholesterol were deemed to be bad for our health. Yet, over this same 30+ year time span of ‘healthier’ eating the incidences of obesity, diabetes and cardiovascular disease have soared to alarming rates. In addition to all of the fat-free products flying off of the shelves, so have the cholesterol-lowering and blood pressure lowering drugs.

So wait…… Continue reading “Low-fat Diet Myths and Our Deteriorating Health”

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