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The
connection between drinking alcoholic beverages and
attacks of gout is a strong one for many with the disease.
THE
TRUTH: Alcohol can lead to increased production of uric
acid (and therefore, a higher risk of gout) for several
reasons:
• Alcohol
contains purines, proteins that are broken down into uric
acid. The more alcohol you drink, the more uric acid is
produced by degradation of purines.
• Alcohol
inhibits anti-diuretic hormone and that promotes water
loss from the body. As a result, mild (or even severe)
dehydration may follow, a situation that raises the
uric-acid level in the blood.
• When
alcohol is digested, a form of acid (called lactic acid)
is produced. Heavy alcohol intake leads to enough lactic
acid in the blood that it competes with uric acid for
excretion by the kidney. If levels of lactic acid are high
enough, the blood level of uric acid rises.
• Alcohol
stimulates enzymes in the liver to become more active than
usual and these enzymes break down proteins to produce
more uric acid.
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