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The news about a new government-funded treatment for gout has been hitting the media since yesterday. Basically, the new medication should provide an alternative to the other anti-gout medications on the market already. All of them have in common that they reduce the amount of uric acid in the blood.
New Zealand is often called the gout-capital of the world and the occurrences of gout are 2-2.5 times higher in certain groups of the population than world average. Especially high occurrences of gout are found among men of Maori descent.
Gout is caused by an accumulation of uric acid in the blood and ensuing deposits of urate crystals in and around the joints. This usually results in severe pain around the joints.
Uric acid is formed in the liver through the breakdown of a component called purine which we derive from certain foods. High-purine foods include meat, certain types of fish and alcohol. Alcohol can have an especially detrimental effect, since it tends to also inhibit the excretion of uric acid which, in turn, leads to increased levels of uric acid in the blood.
So, where does kombucha fit in with all this?
The kombucha culture requires sugar and purin for its own metabolism. And remember, purin is the the compound that's converted into uric acid. Now, kombucha takes the food-derived purin and digests it, therefore preventing the formation of excess uric acid in the body. Kombucha's metabolic products are water-soluble and discharged from the body via the bladder.
Kombucha is therefore a great aid in any treatment of gout but can also be used in gout prevention.
Recommended further reading:
C. Dufresne, E. Farnworth (2000), Tea, Kombucha, and health: a review, Food Research International 33, 409-421
Tietze, Harald W. (1995). Kombucha: The Miracle Fungus. p. 57, London: Salamander Books. ISBN 978-1-85860-029-1
New Zealand is often called the gout-capital of the world and the occurrences of gout are 2-2.5 times higher in certain groups of the population than world average. Especially high occurrences of gout are found among men of Maori descent.
Gout is caused by an accumulation of uric acid in the blood and ensuing deposits of urate crystals in and around the joints. This usually results in severe pain around the joints.
Uric acid is formed in the liver through the breakdown of a component called purine which we derive from certain foods. High-purine foods include meat, certain types of fish and alcohol. Alcohol can have an especially detrimental effect, since it tends to also inhibit the excretion of uric acid which, in turn, leads to increased levels of uric acid in the blood.
So, where does kombucha fit in with all this?
The kombucha culture requires sugar and purin for its own metabolism. And remember, purin is the the compound that's converted into uric acid. Now, kombucha takes the food-derived purin and digests it, therefore preventing the formation of excess uric acid in the body. Kombucha's metabolic products are water-soluble and discharged from the body via the bladder.
Kombucha is therefore a great aid in any treatment of gout but can also be used in gout prevention.
Recommended further reading:
C. Dufresne, E. Farnworth (2000), Tea, Kombucha, and health: a review, Food Research International 33, 409-421
Tietze, Harald W. (1995). Kombucha: The Miracle Fungus. p. 57, London: Salamander Books. ISBN 978-1-85860-029-1
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