Insulin resistance – Uric acid – Gout – connections explained

In the previous article we explained the myths and facts related to uric acid and gout. However we left out the most interesting fact, insulin resistance is directly responsible for rise in uric acid levels. Hence insulin resistance becomes the number one cause for gout attack. It is perhaps the only reason for a gout attack.

There are four main reasons for rise in uric acid. To understand better think uric acid amount in the body as a balance. Every time a cell dies, an endogenous purine is created. The other type of purine is what we get from food called exogenous purine. Both these purines combine to create uric acid. Hundred of cells die every second and new ones are created in their place. Uric acid is recycled in the kidneys, about 90% goes back in the body. There is a balance between production and elimination of uric acid.

Certain type of medication can disrupt this balance causing a rise of uric acid levels in the blood. A bad gene can also disrupt the urate transporters which move uric acid in and out of kidneys. Insulin resistance directly affects the functioning of urate transporter functions.

The last reason for rise in uric acid is the most interesting one.

Excessive production of purines by the body

We now know that certain food and behaviour will increase the production of unnecessary purines in the body. These are the unwanted purines which affect the balance between production and elimination. Modern medicine instead of acting on these focus on unwanted foods like red meat and spinach and blame the patient for eating too much fat. Here are the real problem creators.

Fructose does the most damage

Fructose is processed by the liver. Glucose is directly metabolised by the body and released in the blood stream to be used as energy source for the body cells. Fructose remains in the liver and is converted to glycogen. Once the liver is full, excess glycogen is send to the body to be stored as visceral fat.

The largest amount of fructose enters in the body from High Fructose Corn Syrup (HFCS) which is made by mixing fructose with glucose extracted from corn starch. It is an industrial grade artificial sweetener which is much cheaper that sugar. It is used in almost all processed and packed foods and beverages. Here is the detailed list.

• HFCS sweetened carbonated drinks has enormous amounts of fructose.
• Packed juices claim to be 100% natural fruit and fibre. But instead it also contains HFCS.
• Any kind of bread be it white or brown is sweetened by HFCS.
• Dried fruits which are very popular of super market shelves have high amount of HFCS. It is only the last batch of unsold fresh fruits which are dried and sweetened.
• Commercial sweets like candy, packed cupcakes, pastries and cookies contain HFCS.
• Packed fruit yogurts are sweetened with HFCS.
• Jams contain large amounts of fructose, again from HFCS.
• Syrups and Sauces contain HFCS.
• Many commercial ice creams are sweetened with HFCS.
• Desserts sold at fast food outlets and even ordinary items like chicken nuggets are laced with HFCS. It is the sweet taste and addictive nature of fructose which make children keep coming back to such outlets for more.

Next list is those items which are supposedly natural but do contain high amount of fructose. Honey tops the list, especially the version which is commercially sold. Many fruits make this list like jackfruit, banana, grapes, apple, pears, raisins, blue berries and figs. Many vegetables contain fructose but they are in negligible quantities.

The metabolism of fructose leaves behind excessive pruines which are not needed by the body and contribute to disruption of uric acid balance.

Table sugar (sucrose) breaks down into fructose and glucose. This fructose also contributes to uric acid.

Conclusion

Earlier doctors used to believe that it is fat which does the most damage in the body. However today increasingly people are believing that it is fructose and high consumption of liquid sugars like high fructose corn syrup which is doing most of the damage. Unfortunately processed foods have taken over our life completely. It is almost impossible to do anything without processed food. It is now the time to reset and go back to the drawing boards.