Nighttime gout attack risk more than two times higher than in the daytime
Thursday, December 11, 2014 - 15:31
in Health & Medicine
Novel research reveals that the risk of acute gout attacks is more than two times higher during the night or early morning hours than it is in the daytime. The study confirms that nocturnal attacks persist even among those who did not consume alcohol and had a low amount of purine intake during the 24 hours prior to the gout attack The body produces uric acid from the process of breaking down purines -- natural substances in cells in the body and in most foods -- with especially high purine levels found in organ meat, seafood, and alcohol (yeast). Acute gout flares are triggered by the crystallization of uric acid within the joints, and experts believe these flares are “among the most painful events experienced by humans.”