Fight Gout With This Popular Vitamin

The connection between gout and Vitamin C has been the subject of a few studies over the past 30 years. You may have read in the news about a recent New Zealand study about Vitamin C and gout.

The study claims that taking vitamin C supplements daily doesn’t lower uric acid levels as much as drugs do. This is a study that only evaluated 40 people for about 8 weeks!

Is this study supposed to refute the earlier 20-year study, which included over 47,000 men and was conducted between 1986 and 2006? The findings of this study revealed that taking vitamin C supplements helped gout sufferers lower their uric acid levels and reduce inflammation.

In the same study from the Boston University School of Medicine, 1317 men developed gout during this 20-year period. According to the study, people who took 1,000mg to 1,499mg per day had a 34% lower incidence of gout. Those who took 1,500mg per day also had a 45 percent lower risk.

Note that this was irrespective of other gout risk factors such as diet and alcohol use.

Vitamin C intake may be linked to a lower risk of gout

Gout is a condition in which uric acid crystals build up in the joints. These crystals tend to collect in the joints, producing inflammation and pain. Inflammatory arthritis in men is the most frequent form.

The majority of treatments depend on changing one’s lifestyle, such as eating a low-purine diet and drinking enough water. Medicine to lower uric acid levels in the body may be prescribed in severe situations.

Higher vitamin C intake has been shown in several trials to help lower uric acid levels. Vitamin C intake should be between 75 and 90 milligrams per day.

Vitamin C’s uricosuric action may help to lower uric acid levels in the blood.

The effect Uricosuric Substances for gout treatments

Uricosuric drugs lower uric acid levels by blocking uric acid reabsorption in the renal tubules, resulting in increased net renal uric acid excretion. These drugs raise the risk of kidney stones, with probenecid posing a 9-10% risk.

They should not be taken during an acute gouty arthritis attack.

The goal of treatment is to reduce blood uric acid levels to around 5-6 mg/dL without developing kidney stones.

 

Tart Cherry Extract for Gout

 

The lowdown on the latest vitamin C study and gout

Let’s go back to our original study that came out a couple of months ago. The researchers divided 20 patients with gout into two groups. The first group already took allopurinol, while the second did not.

The first group was directed to either raise their medication dosage or supplement with 500 mg of vitamin C per day. The second group was given either allopurinol or a 500mg vitamin C supplement every day if they were not already on medication.

At the beginning of the 8-week study, the levels of uric acid levels in the patients’ blood were 9 mg per deciliter on average. The researchers said a healthy uric acid level falls below 6.5 mg per deciliter.

In both cases, patients who started taking vitamin C, with or without allopurinol, did not see a significant decrease in uric acid levels. The study claimed that patients who started on allopurinol had a significant decrease in uric acid levels of around 3 mg per deciliter.

On the other hand, those who were on the medicine but increased their doses had a significant decrease of about 1.6 milligrams per deciliter.

The researchers eventually came to the conclusion that vitamin C had no impact; however, this was promptly debunked by Dr. Tim Bongartz. Dr. Bongartz is a Mayo Clinic rheumatologist in Rochester, Minnesota.

He believes it will be difficult to draw any clear conclusions from the current research. This is because there would need to be roughly 200 people in each group to notice a difference.

Even if the results of previous trials of people without gout could be replicated, he continued, it was unlikely that people’s uric acid levels would fall below the 6.5 milligrams per deciliter threshold. It also does not imply that medication is the only option.

Other measures, according to Dr. Bongartz, can assist gout sufferers in lowering their uric acid levels. One of the most important is for obese people to reduce weight.

Finally, fellow gout patients, it is up to you to discern and carefully dissect the data. Then you must come to your own conclusions about what is true and what is false based on the facts presented here.

Don’t take my word for any of the information and recommendations provided by myself on this website. Do your own homework and make your own conclusions from the information you process.

What are the benefits of vitamin C?

Now let’s take a closer look at vitamin C. It provides a variety of health benefits, including the ability to improve your immune system, assist in detoxification, and may protect against cardiovascular disease.

It may also help with good bacteria in the gut, eye disease, may help remove heavy metals from our bodies, and many other benefits.

Fresh raw foods such as oranges, cantaloupe, broccoli, red peppers, chili peppers, rose hips, parsley, and kiwi fruit should be included in your diet. However, make certain that everything is organic!

I personally take a supplement of vitamin C daily of 500mg and have been for years now. I bought a big bottle from Costco’s brand Kirkland, which lasts me for 500 days!

Remember vitamin C is an essential nutrient for humans and certain other animal species. Remember, that vitamins and drugs operate in 2 different ways in order to control uric acid levels.

Allopurinol, for example, works by preventing purines from being broken down into uric acid. Vitamin C, for example, may help with uric acid excretion in the urine. It’s possible that improving excretion is more important for you than lowering production.

Vitamin C for weight loss

Vitamin C is a water-soluble substance that provides the body with antioxidants and is also beneficial to eye health. However, because of its role in fat molecule metabolization, this vitamin is of particular relevance to those trying to reduce weight.

It’s critical to eat properly if you have a weight problem and want to lose weight. However, eating well entails more than just consuming less calories. It’s also critical to get the correct nourishment and reduce weight in a healthy and long-term manner.

Gout is more likely to develop if you are overweight, while gout is less likely if you lose weight. Even without a purine-restricted diet, research suggests that cutting calories and lowering weight can lower uric acid levels and lessen the incidence of gout attacks.

It’s also important to consider where you put on weight. People who have visceral fat (belly fat) are more likely to develop gout, even if they are not technically overweight.

This is due to the fact that belly fat produces more of the inflammatory chemicals that can cause the disease than subcutaneous fat.

Benefits of Vitamin C for Weight Loss

One of the most common mistakes people make when trying to reduce weight is focusing solely on macronutrient intake. People often overlook the importance of micronutrients such as key vitamins and minerals in weight loss.

Vitamin C, commonly known as ascorbic acid, is one such micronutrient that can assist you in losing weight. We are all familiar with vitamin C, which is found in citrus fruits and is the most important nutrient for increasing immunity in the body. The nutrient, on the other hand, is essential for weight loss.

But did you know that taking vitamin C may help you lose weight? A vitamin C shortage could be preventing you from losing weight. Vitamin C deficiency can also cause symptoms such as bleeding gums, acne outbreaks, and other skin disorders.

Scurvy is a disease characterized by a persistent deficiency of vitamin C, and some other symptoms of scurvy include easy bruising of the body and muscle and joint problems.

Let’s look at why it’s so crucial to get enough vitamin C, especially if you’re trying to lose weight.

Vitamin C For Weight Loss And Belly Fat Reduction

For years, vitamin C has been widely viewed as vital to everyone’s nutrition, particularly for sailors who suffered from scurvy and a variety of other maladies as a result of a shortage of fruit and vegetables.

One of the most important water-soluble vitamins is ascorbic acid, also known as vitamin C. It is required for the manufacture of collagen, carnitine, and neurotransmitters. For their own needs, most plants and animals generate ascorbic acid.

A deficiency of an enzyme called gluconolactone oxidase prevents apes and humans from synthesizing ascorbic acid.

As a result, we must ensure that our meals are high in vitamin C. Fortunately, many fruits and vegetables contain significant amounts of vitamin C, making them simple to obtain.

Vitamin C has an RDA of 75-90mg. According to recent studies, the best way to get the maximum health benefits from vitamin C is to take 500 milligrams each day. This is why supplementing with vitamin C is a sensible solution.

Vitamin C’s seven most important health advantages

  • Vitamin C is a powerful antioxidant:
    Antioxidants work by stabilizing and cleaning up free radicals to protect cells and reduce harm. As a result, Vitamin C, Vitamin E, and Beta Carotene may help the body stay younger and protect it from certain life-threatening diseases.According to studies, increasing your vitamin C intake can boost your blood antioxidant levels by up to 30%. This aids the body’s natural anti-inflammatory defenses.

Exercise-induced oxidative stress is highest in those with low vitamin C levels, where oxidative stress and free                     radicals are frequent due to the intense nature of the activity and its influence on the body.

We may therefore conclude that if you are currently exercising and doing tough daily workouts, you need to take vitamin C supplements to avoid the harmful effects of free radicals.

  • Vitamin C may help to lower blood pressure:
    Because vitamin C is water-soluble, it also acts as a diuretic, causing the kidneys to remove more sodium and water from the body, allowing the blood vessel walls to relax and thus may lower blood pressure.Lower blood pressure also means a lower risk of stroke and improved cardiovascular health, which is especially important today because so many people suffer from cardiovascular disease.

 

  • Vitamin C strengthens your immune system:
    We’ve already heard how vitamin C may prevent curable diseases like scurvy and fights a variety of illnesses. As a result, it boosts your immunity and has been shown to prevent illnesses such as the common cold and flu.According to research, vitamin C is essential for stimulating the immune system and increasing the organism’s strength and protection. It is primarily beneficial to immunity and general health due to its role in reducing inflammation.

Finally, vitamin C strengthens the immune system, lessens the severity of allergic reactions, and aids in the fight against infections. Adding more vitamin C to your diet should be a priority if you want to stay fit and healthy.

 

  • Vitamin C improves iron absorption:
    Vitamin C-rich fruits, such as gooseberry, have been shown to improve iron bioavailability from staple cereals and pulses. We know that iron’s main function is to increase the body’s ability to transport oxygen through the blood and that a lack of iron can result in anemia. As a result, vitamin C is extremely beneficial to this process.

 

  • Aids in the maintenance of healthy skin and hair:
    Vitamin C plays an important part in ensuring that you have healthier skin and thicker hair. Vitamin C aids in the formation of the protein collagen, and when combined with the previously mentioned iron absorption, you’ll not only have healthier skin and hair, but you’ll also be able to retain it.Collagen is a buzzword these days, but instead of taking supplements, eat collagen-rich foods like berries and omega-3-rich foods like avocados and salmon. Along with your vitamin C diet, you’ll be able to maintain your natural attractiveness indefinitely.

 

  • Helps with weight loss:
    Everyone wants to lose weight, gain muscle, or stay the same weight they are now, but it can be difficult at times, and you need a little help. Along with a well-balanced diet and regular exercise, you should aim to increase your intake of sweet potatoes and citrus fruits.According to research, vitamin C status is inversely related to body mass. Individuals with adequate vitamin C status oxidize 30% more fat during a moderate exercise bout than those with low vitamin C status; thus, vitamin C deficient individuals may be more resistant to fat mass loss.

In short, if your vitamin C levels are high, you will get the most out of your fat-burning workout.

 

  • Vitamin C is beneficial to both physical and mental health:
    Overall, vitamin C is an important micronutrient that does not have a positive reputation by chance. It has also been considered as a vitamin that offers you more energy and promotes your mental health, in addition to improving your ability to heal wounds and reduce inflammation both inside and outside your body and giving you a fantastic look.

Although it’s difficult to prove, those who have higher vitamin C levels have been found to be less prone to suffer from depression and exhaustion. It’s difficult to determine whether this is related to all the other aforementioned advantages, but you should simply increase your intake of vitamin C-rich foods and see for yourself; you won’t be disappointed!

Vitamin C has been linked to a wide range of health advantages, including increasing antioxidant levels, may help lower blood pressure, may help prevent gout episodes, enhancing iron absorption, boosting immunity, and may lower the risk of heart disease and dementia.

Overall, if you don’t get enough vitamin C from your diet, vitamin C pills are an excellent and easy way to increase your intake.

Can You Take Too Much Vitamin C?

Yes, there is a limit to taking vitamin C. For children, it’s 500mg, for kids between 9 and 13, it’s 1,200mg. For teens, it’s 1,800mg. And for adults, it’s 2,000mg. Try to not go above this amount and you should be fine.

Vitamin C has a low risk for toxicity but taking too much of it can lead to some mild side effects. This includes cramps, nausea, and diarrhea. If you experience any of these symptoms, cut back on your dosage.

Also, people with hemochromatosis should watch their vitamin C intake. Hemochromatosis is when the body retains too much iron. Taking too much vitamin C will raise the body’s absorption of nonheme iron.

The best way to really benefit from vitamin C is by eating vitamin C-rich foods. Supplements are great but they are not easily stored in the body. This means that any excess gets excreted through your urine. Before going the supplement route, start with your diet first and see if you can add more vitamin C-rich foods into your meals.

Ways to Get More Vitamin C into Your Diet

Aside from the obvious lemons and oranges, you can also eat more of these foods to increase the vitamin C in your diet.

 

  1. Eat acerola cherries
    Half a cup of acerola cherries has 822 mg of vitamin C, which is 900% of the daily recommended amount! Try to get a few of these in your snacks and you should have more than enough vitamin C that you need.
  2. Spice up your meals with chili peppers
    If you’re into hot food, great –more vitamin C for you. By adding just one green chili pepper to your dish, you are already consuming 109 mg of vitamin C. In addition, chili peppers contain capsaicin which helps reduce pain and inflammation.
  3. Sweeten up with yellow peppers
    If hot peppers are not for you, don’t worry since there’s another kind of pepper that is just as rich in vitamin C and that is the yellow bell pepper. Just half a cup of it already contains 137 mg of vitamin C.
    The best part is that the vitamin C content of this pepper increases as it matures!
  4. Sprinkle with thyme
    Thyme is another ingredient that can really boost the vitamin C content of your dishes. A tablespoon of thyme can already have as much as 3.5mg of vitamin C!
  5. Add parsley
    Another herb that is vitamin C-rich is parsley. Two tablespoons of it already contain 11% of the daily recommended value. What’s great about parsley is that it’s a plant-based, non-heme iron which means that it can work well together with the vitamin C content for the body to absorb it more efficiently.
  6. Try kale
    A cup of raw kale already contains 80 mg of vitamin C. Aside from that, kale is also rich in vitamin K and quercetin. Vitamin K helps with blood clotting and keeps the bones healthy.
    Meanwhile, quercetin is a powerful antioxidant that reduces inflammation, blood pressure, and blood sugar

 

I’m not saying Vitamin C is a cure-all for gout but when combined with other vitamins for gout. A low purine diet and the other natural remedies for gout described elsewhere on this website, could be very useful, my fellow gout sufferer.

If you do take vitamin C, make sure to drink plenty of water. Also, check your urine pH regularly to avoid excess acidity. You can also take an Ester-C version of Vitamin C because it is non-acidic.

What has your experience been like consuming vitamin C for gout? Share your thoughts in the comments below.

 

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