Gout and Ayurveda

Gout is known as Vatarakta in Ayurveda. Here Vata dosha and Rakta dhatu gets vitiated resulting in high uric acid and in turn gout.

Causative factors like excessive consumption of dry, less, sour, fried and salty food lead to vitiation of Vatas dosha along with Rakta dhatu. These cause obstruction of body channels and get settled in joints to produce with gout symptoms. As per Ayurveda, Vata Rakta is of two types:-

  1. Uttan – Here vitiated vata dosha and Rakta dhatu get their shelter in skin (twak) and flesh (mamsa) and produce symptoms like itching, burning sensation and discoloration.
  2. Gambhir – Here vitiated vata dosha and Rakta dhatu get their shelter in fat (vasa), bone (asthi) and bone marrow (majja) to show symptoms like pain, hardness, swelling, inflammation and burning feeling.

What is Gout?

Gout, a complex form of arthritis is characterized by sudden pain, redness and tenderness of joints. Usually base of big toe is affected in gout. Gout is causes by accumulation of uric acid, a chemical present in blood. Uric acid is crystals like structure which get collected in joints to irritate them. Gout is not a serious problem and can be treated successfully.

What is High Uric Acid?

High uric acid levels in blood is termed as hyperuricemia. Purine, a substance found in many food items gets break and uric acid is produced. This is taken to kidneys so that it can be expelled out through urine.

Not everyone with high uric acid gets gout attack and not even with gout everyone has high uric acid. So it varies patient to patient.

What are Causes for Gout?

  • If your parents have gout, then you have a 20 to 30 % chance of developing it.
  • High amount of alcohol consumption especially bear.
  • Frequent use of soft drinks that is high in fructose.
  • Diets rich in red meats, internal organs, yeast, and oily fish increase the risk for gout.
  • Lack of vitamin C in diet.
  • Some medicines like diuretics, aspirin, cyclosporine A and some chemotherapy medicines.
  • People with certain other conditions have an increased risk of developing gout. These include:
    1. Obesity.
    2. High blood pressure.
    3. Kidney damage.
    4. Diabetes mellitus.
    5. Bone marrow disorders.
    6. Lipid disorders
    7. Vascular disease

What are Symptoms of Gout?

  • Sudden and severe joint pain especially big toe.
  • It may also affect ankle, knee, elbow also.
  • Inflammation with redness of affected joint
  • Tenderness of joint
  • Joint discomfort

What are Complications of Gout?

  • Recurrent gout
  • Advanced gout
  • Kidney stones

How to make Diagnosis of Gout?

  • Physical examination
  • Blood test for uric acid crystals
  • Fluid sample from joint to look for uric

Are Herbal Remedies for Gout helpful?

One can find easily herbal remedies for gout at herbal stores. Yes one can make use of them but always try to find which are authentic with pure extracts and which undergo quality quantity and potency check. Also which are formulated under GMP guidelines.

Herbal Remedies for Gout (High Uric Acid)

Planet Ayurveda offers best combination of effective herbal remedies such as Gout Care Pack for ayurvedic treatment of gout (high uric acid). These herbal remedies are prepared from using best quality herbs and strictly follow the principles of Ayurveda.

Dosage

  1. Giloy Capsules – 1 capsule twice daily, after meals, with warm water.
  2. Kaishore Guggul – 2 tablets twice daily, after meals, with warm water.
  3. Navkarshik Churna – 1 teaspoonful twice daily, after meals, with warm water.
  4. Punarnava Capsules – 2 capsules twice daily, after meals, with warm water.
  5. Dashmularisht – 2 teaspoonful twice daily with equal amount of water, after meals.

Are there Side Effects of Using Herbal Remedies?

Herbal Remedies are totally safe to use. It is recommended to consult an Ayurveda expert for proper dose and time.

What are Diet Recommendation for Gout?

  • Opt for Orange juice fasting and water fasting for 1 or 2 days
  • Take series of short fasts for 3-4 days. As the symptoms subside, adopt fruit diet for 3-4 days.
  • Later, focus on well balanced nutritional diet of natural foods with fresh fruits, steamed vegetables and sprouts.
  • Lime juice squeezed into a glass of water, should be taken twice daily. The citric acid found in lime helps to maintain healthy blood.
  • Eat fresh cherries and berries.
  • Apples are also good.
  • The juice of French or string beans, carrot, cucumber is good to have on regular basis.
  • Avoid purine and uric acid forming food such as meat, fish, eggs, coffee, tea, sugar, white refined flour, junk food and fried food.