My husband suffered from gout. Its pain led us on a search for relief from the debilitating pain which accompanies gout’s arthritic joint pain. Imagine sharp needles piercing your joints even when lying in bed. Now imagine trying to walk with those needles jabbing into your joints. After months of seeking relief, my husband found a magic bullet that relieved the agony that accompanies this condition.
Gout occurs when urate crystals accumulate in your joint, causing the inflammation and intense pain of a gout attack. Urate crystals can form when you have high levels of uric acid in your blood. Often, gout first attacks your big toe. It can also attack ankles, heels, knees, wrists, fingers, and elbows.
Your body produces uric acid when it breaks down purines — substances that are found naturally in your body. Purines are also found in certain foods, such as steak, organ meats and seafood. Other foods also promote higher levels of uric acid, such as alcoholic beverages, especially beer, and drinks sweetened with fruit sugar (fructose).
Normally, uric acid dissolves in your blood and passes through your kidneys into your urine. But sometimes either your body produces too much uric acid or your kidneys excrete too little uric acid. When this happens, uric acid can build up, forming sharp, needlelike urate crystals in a joint or surrounding tissue that cause pain, inflammation and swelling.
Diuretic medications or “water pills” taken for high blood pressure can also raise uric acid levels.
Is Water the Cure?
About the time of our search for relief, a lady at our church began to provide ionized alkaline water to anyone in our church. Alkaline water is water that has been ionized, which means the pH level of water has been increased. Normal drinking water generally has a neutral pH of 7. Alkaline water typically has a pH of 8 or 9.
The pH level is a number that measures how acidic or alkaline a substance is on a scale of 0 to 14. For instance, if the level is 1, it means the substance is very acidic and if it is 13, it is very alkaline. Alkaline water has pH level of about 8 or 9 and pH level of normal tap water is 7, which is neutral.
It is believed that alkaline water helps people with excess acidity as it helps neutralize the acid in the body; thanks to its alkaline nature. In a study, participants who drank hydrogen-rich {alkaline} water showed a substantial increase in their antioxidant enzymes and a massive decrease in acid in the urine. Further, participants showed a significant increase in HDL the “good cholesterol,” and a significant decrease in the “bad cholesterol.”
My husband and I reasoned that if gout was caused by excess uric acid then alkalizing his body fluids might help his gout. So he started drinking the alkaline water, and within three days his symptoms left. It was an answer to prayer!
An Economical Relief
Water ionizers can be rather expensive, but we found an alternative solution. The Alkaline Water Pitcher of Life is available on Amazon, and water run through its filter becomes alkaline. My husband shared our findings with his sister when she developed a similar case of gout when she ate shrimp. We suggested that she order a Pitcher of Life. She reported back that after drinking the alkalized water for a week, she had no more gout pain.
If you or a loved one is experiencing the ravages of gout, there are other lifestyle changes that will help restrict gout flare-ups. Developing a lifelong eating strategy that focuses on following a heart-healthy diet should be the goal for people with gout. This diet includes all the food groups, especially vegetables, whole grains, plant proteins such as nuts and legumes, and low-fat dairy.
Avoid foods and drinks that promote higher levels of uric acid, such as red meat, organ meats, seafood (shrimp and lobster), alcoholic beverages (especially beer), and drinks sweetened with fruit sugar (fructose). Refined carbohydrates and processed foods should be kept to a minimum.
Engaging in regular physical activity and losing weight, if needed, can lower your risk of repeated gout attacks, as well as the chances of developing heart disease, which is common in people with gout. Left untreated, gout can lead to permanent joint damage and other health issues such as kidney stones.
The first and best practice, and in our experience the most effective treatment for gout, is to drink ionized alkaline water. May you benefit from our experience and leave the pain of gout in the past.
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