Ayurvedic Treatment of High Uric Acid

Gout is a complex and common type of arthritis. It mostly affected the joint of the big toe. It is an extremely painful type of arthritis marked by sudden attacks of stiffness, tenderness, pain, and swelling in the joints. The deposition of uric acid complicates the joints. Here we will discuss the concept of Ayurvedic treatment of high uric acid so that you can get rid of the problem permanently.

The basic line of treatment for this problem with Western medicines is very limited. There are two points, which are commonly taken as a line of treatment:

1. Stop consuming a protein-rich diet.
2. Certain medicines can null and void the uric acid from the body.

But none of these two have anything to do with the treatment of the condition. This is merely the management of the condition. The basic points about actual ayurvedic treatment of high uric acid are mostly missed, which are:

1. Correction of metabolism: so that the body won’t produce an excess of uric acid.
2. Why urate crystals are depositing in joints: so that joint health can be better forever.

These two things are at the core of the Ayurvedic treatment of high uric acid. Here we will discuss these two things in detail.

An attack of gout can come suddenly and quickly. The symptoms may go and return over time. 

Facts on Gout 

Here are a few facts about gouty arthritis, due to high uric acid.

• Gout is an inflammatory type of arthritis. 
• Gout is a term used to describe a variety of conditions caused by the buildup of uric acid. 
• It occurs due to excessive uric acid in our bloodstream. 
• Patients with hypertension, obesity, and cardiovascular diseases are more at risk of developing gout.
• The attack of gout often occurs suddenly, without any warning, waking you up in the middle of the night with the sensation that your big toe is hot. 
• Sudden gout attacks or intense pain make the patient feel as if the foot is on fire.
• It is uncommon to have gout in the joints toward the body center such as the hips, spine, and shoulders
• After the attack begins, the pain is more severe for the first 4 to 12 hours. 

Signs and Symptoms of Gout 

Sign and symptoms of gout occur suddenly and mostly at night. The sign and symptoms include: 

1. Intense pain in the Joints – Gout commonly affects the large joint in the base of the big toe. However, this condition can also affect other joints, including:
   • Knees
   • Ankles
   • Elbows
   • Fingers 
   • Wrist. 
2. Redness and Inflammation – The affected joint becomes warm, red, tender and swollen. The affected joint feels so tender that even wearing socks and the weight of the sheet seems intolerable.
3. Lingering Discomfort – Even after the severe pain subsides, the joint discomfort may last for a few days to a few weeks. The later attacks are likely to affect more joints and the discomfort lasts longer. 
4. Limited Range of Motion – With the time as gout progresses, the patient develops an inability to move the joint.

Gout progresses through various stages and different symptoms. 

Stages of Gout

There are certain stages of gout. The treatment is based on the stage of gout, therefore it is important to understand a bit of the problem.

• Asymptomatic Hyperuricemia – At this stage, the level of uric acid in the blood is elevated. In addition, uric acid crystal deposition may begin but the signs and symptoms are absent. Such patients need to take steps to address the factors that contribute to a uric acid build-up. 
• Acute Gout – It is the stage where the uric acid crystals deposited in and around the joint causes intense pain and severe inflammation. The sudden attack usually subsides within 3-10 days. Any stressful event, alcohol and drug can trigger this condition. 
• Inter-Critical Gout – It is the period between the acute attacks of gout. The period between subsequent attacks varies from months to years. If not treated, the flares occur frequently or last longer. 
• Chronic Gout – Chronic gout is the most debilitating type. There is permanent damage to kidneys and joints. The patient has chronic arthritis and develops big lumps of uric acid crystals. Without treatment, it takes around ten or more years to reach this stage.  If treatment is proper, it is unlikely that the disease will progress to this stage. 

Causes Behind High Uric Acid 

Gout results due to excess of uric acid in the bloodstream, i.e. hyperuricemia. There are several causes behind the problem because of these reasons, the body starts producing uric acid in excess. And because of these factors, the chances of increased levels of uric acid are high.

1. Genetics – If there is a family history of gout, it increases the chances of developing gout. 
2. Gender – Men are more likely to develop gout than females. Before menopause, the female hormone increases the filtration of urate and so females rarely develop gout before menopause. 
   *The level of uric acid in females after menopause approaches those of men. 
3. Age – The risk of developing gout increases with age.
4. Lifestyle Choices – Consumption of alcohol interferes in the removal of uric acid and contributes in high levels of uric acid.
5. Diet – Eating foods high in purine such as poultry seafood and meat increases the risk of raised uric acid. 
6. Certain Medication – Medications that increase urine production and drugs that contain salicylate increase the level of urate in the body. 
7. Exposure to Lead – Research links chronic exposure to some of the causes of gout. 
8. Obesity – Being overweight means more production of urate than kidneys can cope up. In addition, fat cells produce pro-inflammatory cytokines. A high level of body fat thus increases the chances of systemic inflammation. Also, obesity increases the risk of type 2 diabetes, high blood pressure, and high cholesterol. All these condition affects the ability of kidney to filter out urate. 
9. Kidney Problems and Other Health Issues – Kidney problems such as renal insufficiency reduces the ability of the kidney to efficiently remove waste products and lead to elevated levels of uric acid. Other health issues that increase the risk of gout are diabetes and high pressure.

How Gout Occurs

Gout occurs because of this three steps process.

1. Excessive production of the uric acid in the body.
   • Some urate in the bloodstream is healthy and normal. 
   • Our body creates urate every day with the breakdown of purines.
   • Purine is a chemical created by our body naturally as well as is present in certain foods we consume.
   • Nevertheless, people who have a high level of urate in the blood develop gout.
2. When kidneys don’t flush the urates properly.
   • Our kidney filters and excrete extra urate from our body. 
   • However, if the body starts producing too much urate, our kidney is unable to get rid of it and the level of urate starts rising. 
3. Deposition of the crystals of uric acid in the body.
   • When the level of urate stays high, urate crystals start forming mainly in and around the firm joints. 
   • The attack of gout is common in the joints at the ends of limbs such as fingers and toes because these are cooler parts of the body.
   • Low temperature makes it likely for the uric acid crystals to form.
   • Secondly, the blood flow is sluggish in these joints, because of the complicated meshwork of small arteries.

Therefore symptoms of gout are our body’s response to the formation and deposition of the uric acid crystals in the joint. 

As the disease progresses the crystals of uric acid can also form under our skin and can occur in an internal organ such as the kidney leading to permanent damage.

The same process we discussed above needs to be reversed for the complete cure of the problem of gout.

Ayurveda About High Uric Acid

There are many diseases with joint pain detailed in Ayurveda. One or two analogs with gout. This analogy is according to the signs and symptoms of the disease. But not much is perfect when we talk about the pathological process of the disease and most of the time we just work on reducing uric acid levels.

Gout is most loosely related to “Vata Rakta”. The condition of Vata Rakta talks about joint pain, which starts from the fingers and toes, firstly. And secondly, the pain in the joint is the main symptom. But when we look at the pathology, gout has nothing to do with blood vessels and blood supply, which is the main point of Vata Rakta.

This loose analogy doesn’t work much either in Ayurvedic Treatment of High Uric Acid.

The main problem in gout is, three ways –

1. High level of Uric acid
2. The inability of kidneys to flush it in the right amount and last but not least-
3. When these uric acid crystals deposit on cartilage and cause pain,

So the main thing we need to look for is a disease with impaired metabolism, where the body produces a lot of toxins. And these toxins start depositing in joints.

Here we need to know about two things in better detail- metabolism, and production of certain toxins. This will help us to dig the concept of gout in a better way.

The Low Agni/Metabolism

Ayurveda elaborates the concept of metabolism in terms of Agni. Agni is a firey concept of the body. This helps in the disintegration of the food particles. The food is broken down to the level that it can be assimilated properly.

Agni is a simple expression of the metabolic process, what we know about the human body.

When this Agni is on the lower side, it means that the body is not able to metabolize the foods properly. The same process causes a lot of by-products in the meantime.

This is the same as a malfunctioning engine. Which yields lesser energy and too much “carbon waste”.

The excess of toxins

When this “carbon waste” increases too much the same waste deposits in the parts which causes the movement for the machine. What can we expect?

A complete cessation of movement!

Something similar occurs in the case of gout. When low Agni is leading to the overproduction of the uric acid and kidneys cannot flush it. The same uric acid starts depositing in the extremities. Wherever it finds, favorable conditions.

These excess of toxins are – “Aama” result of the low metabolic capacities.

Ayurvedic Treatment of High Uric Acid

Severe pain and long-term damage from gout affect mobility, sleep, daily life, and mood. This is why it is very important to get started with proper treatment. Ayurveda therapies and medicines provide an effective treatment of high uric acid and enhance the quality of life. The treatments are holistic, natural, time tested and completely safe. The best thing is, Ayurveda treatment works on the root cause therefore every result helps you for the complete cure of the problem.

Ayurvedic treatment for high uric acid, therefore, works on the above two points, discussed above.

Bringing back the pace of the metabolic process, so that we can change the working of the body, back to normal. And the main aim of the process is to achieve two of these following-

No More production of Uric Acid

Allopathy has some drugs which can lower down the uric acid, chemically. But these never check with the production of the uric acid. Until unless we won’t address the problem of production of the excessive amounts of uric acid we cannot solve the problem from the root.

Bringing back the firey-Agni at work helps in making things better. So the first line of ayurvedic treatment of high uric acid is to ensure that your body can digest the proteins in a better way. Better metabolism of the proteins ensures- lesser by-products. This means lesser uric acid.

Certainly, the best idea of treatment is to make sure things won’t complicate further. Once we can check the overproduction of uric acid, we achieve 50%. And next 50% is all about lowering down the levels of uric acid naturally.

How to lower down the Uric Acid Naturally

Ayurveda has a strong idea of the purification of the system. This purification is not about some atypical procedures like- Vamana and Virechana always. Medicines also do the magic of purification.

In cases like gout where we need to flush out excess uric acid, the main thing is to “help the system”. Generally we all think that we can make the body to do so. But there are the least possibilities for such activities.

The body has its own capacities. The body is fully equipped with a system to flush the byproducts. Here we need to help the body in the right direction.

Treatment of the problem of gout is done on these bases at Sukhayu Ayurved.

The Ayurvedic Treatment Approach of High Uric Acid at Sukhayu

When we look for online treatment, we look for products that can say “cure of gout” or “natural supplement for gout“. But this is never an idea of Ayurveda.

With allopathy, this can be an approach- to use a pill and chill.

But when it comes to Ayurveda treatment, we need to underline the root cause of the problem-

• Why Agni is not working properly: whether diet is faulty or some other cause is there?
• What is making body not accept a type of food?
• Why the body is not able to remove the waste products?

When we have answers for these questions only then treatment can be planned for a patient of gout.

For treatment with us, you need to come in person to consult Vaidya Pardeep Sharma for this condition. After your physical assessment and after understanding your Prakriti (bio-constitution), we recommend medicines to you.

You just need to visit once, for the simple conditions and don’t need to admit with us.

But in complicated cases where gout is either critical or chronic, a patient might need to admit in the hospital for a particular duration.

NO ONLINE MEDICINES ARE SOLD BY US.

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All You want to know about Gout

Everybody has certain questions about the disease. Here are the FAQs asked by many of our patients about gout. Here are the answers to all these by our senior Vaidya, Vaidya Pardeep Sharma.