Drink Coffee to Reduce Risks of Gout
Researchers from Boston reported that a cup of coffee every day for several years can reduce the risk of gout about 50 percent of postmenopausal women. But, there are those who are forbidden to drink coffee.
Gout begins from the increase in blood uric acid levels. Then, uric acid crystals accumulate in joints and the surrounding area. This causes swelling and pain. Gout is rare in young women, but most in one out of 20 postmenopausal women. In the early stages, the symptoms of gout come and go, which obviously mostly affects the legs.
“The pain is described as one of the most severe pain experienced by humans, such as broken bones. You can not walk, even light objects such as sheets feels unbearably heavy ,” said lead researcher, Dr. Hyon Choi of Boston University’s School of Medicine.
The research Choi showed previously indicated that drinking coffee lowers the risk of gout in men. He and his colleagues wanted to see whether the same effect also occurs in women, particularly elderly and postmenopausal women whos process of disposal of uric acid through urine is disrupted by the loss of estrogen.
Research
Choi’s team studied the case of gout in 89,433 women through the Nurses’ Health Study since 1976. The researchers analyzed the lifestyle, diet and beverage consumption habits through questionnaires to be filled with study participants every 2-4 years.
After observing statistically the risk factors for gout such as body fat mass, alcohol consumption, use of diuretics and milk intake, researchers found that drinking coffee can make a significant differences in the risk of gout first attack.
“The higher the level of consumption, the lower the risk,” said Choi, according to health24.
A total of 896 cases of gout were reported by study participants during the research conducted. But then, the number of cases of gout decreased with increasing coffee consumption which was initially less than one cup a day (226 cases) to more than four cups a day (85 cases).
Lower risk of gout
“The risk of gout decreased by 22 percent with 1-3 cups of coffee daily intake and decreased consumption of 57 percent with more than four cups per day compared with those who did not consume coffee,” wrote the researchers in the American Journal of Clinical Nutrition.
Similar risk reduction is also seen in women who drank decaffeinated coffee, but not in tea or soda pop which contains caffeine.
The study led the researchers to conclude that “other components of caffeine can also contribute to reducing the risk of gout.”
“But what is it with coffee to provide such benefits, remains unclear. And, not everyone can tolerate coffee, so it is not recommended for all elderly women to start drinking coffee, “said Choi.
Big risk in patients
“For a doctor, it would be a leap which too great to recommend someone, especially elderly women, to drink coffee in order to reduce their risk of gout,” he said.
Choi asserted that the caffeine in coffee is only beneficial to reduce the risk of gout, not cure it. Because caffeine is actually dangerous to patients with gout, not only does it increase blood pressure and erode the absorption of calcium in the body, it also increase the risk of osteoporosis.
“Research only talks about a long-term consumption benefits. When you start the coffee in patients with gout, this benefit may not exist and may make it worse. On the other hand, if you’re drinking coffee, and have a family history of gout, this benefit may be effective, “said Choi.
Tagged with: coffee, coffee consumption, gout, gout risk, risk of gout, symptoms of gout,
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