This article focuses on “beer a red flag for gout”. For centuries gout has been known as the affliction of the affluent. The Greek physician Hippocrates first described it as “the disease of the kings”. In the meantime the illness has jumped social boundaries. The reason is that the over consumption of meats and alcohol will occur in all population groups.
A British publication said: beer a red flag for gout
In its April 17 issue the British medical paper”The Lancet” mentioned a link between alcohol and gout. Dr. Hyon Choi of the rheumatology unit of the Massachusetts General Hospital, Harvard Medical School, headed a study. It showed that moderate amounts of wine did not pose a risk for gout. It was the beer drinkers who had a problem. Those who drank more than two 350 ml cans or bottles of beer per day had a 2.5 times higher risk of developing gout than nondrinkers. People who had 2 shots of liquor a day ran a risk that was 1.6 times higher than those who did not drink. Moderate wine drinkers had the same risk of developing gout as nondrinkers, as long as they did not overindulge: 1 to 2 glasses of wine per day were the limit! It is not clear at this point, which would be the noxious substance in beer and spirits that is responsible for attacks of gout, and moderation is still in order for all wine lovers!
Beer A Red Flag For Gout
Reference: National Review Of Medicine, May 15,2004, pg.10
Last edited Oct. 26, 2014
