“Don’t forget to bring my "Tailam" (medicated oil) while coming back…” is a familiar dialogue iterated by the Grandmother to the handsome dashing hero or to his father in some of the poignant South Indian films.

You might have heard your grandparents complaining of joint aches or pain in the big toe . Old age is a time when you suffer from all kinds of medical conditions. Gout is the swelling of joints that affects thousands of people across the world. During a gout attack the sufferer can’t even tolerate the weight of a bed sheet over the affected area. Keeping warm towel to applying medicated herbal oils are practiced over most regions of India for Gout relief.

Do you think you can’t beat the gout that has been annoying you for a long time?

The Bout of Gout

The inflammation of the joints or gout is the result of uric acid built up in the body. A normal human body contains small amounts of uric acid in its bloodstream. In some people the metabolism rate of uric acid might be on a higher side. The excretory system does not remove this excess of uric acid ( hyperuricemia) . Then the crystals of uric acid accumulate in the body tissues (tendons) over the years causing arthritis. When in larger quantities this ruptures the skin to form sinuses and the resultant discharge is a white substance. This metabolism of uric acid is inborn and hence the disease is also congenital or inborn. Other than Gouty Arthritis the abnormal metabolism can also result in uric kidney diseases.

Gout arthritis is one of the hundred types of arthritis. It affects five percent of the people with arthritis.

Primary Gout

Majority of the gout cases are idiopathic or have no known reasons. They are either innate or hormonal.

Secondary Gout

This is a condition that occurs only to 1% of the gout patients. It is mainly triggered off by medications.

The Medical Condition

• Swelling
• Sudden pain while moving the joints
• Lasting joint pain in some people
• Redness and tenderness
• Warmness
• And stiffness of the affected area

Factors Contributing To the Increase in the Level of Uric Acid

• Food items containing purine generally trigger a bout of gout. Eatables like shellfish, dried beans, peas, organ meats like liver, kidney etc. are not recommended to gout patients.
• Intake of alcohol especially beer. The alcoholic content in the bloodstream interferes with the body’s ability to get rid of uric acid.
• The over weight of the body
• Some drugs also result in increased levels of uric acid in some. (Eg: some blood pressure medicines like Diuretics, Aspirin etc.)
• Renal insufficiency causes gout in older people. The kidney fails to remove the uric acid content of the body.
• Patients with medical conditions like Leukemia, Lymphoma and Psoriasis may also get gouty arthritis.
• Gout can also arise due to a surgery, chemotherapy, a joint injury or by a crash diet.

Medications

This form of arthritis is diagnosed through blood tests and x-rays. During an attack, sample fluid from the joints maybe taken to identify the disease.

• Doctors advise gout patients to rest the affected area in an elevated position.
• Water is the cheapest and most effective home remedy for gout. Drink lots of water so that the waste gets flushed out of the system.
• Avoid alcohol and foods with high purine-content. Make a habit of taking herbal teas.
• Check blood pressure and diet. Slim down and avoid over weight.
• Avoid wearing tight shoes or slippers to prevent hurting the joints and ankles.
• Some people find relief by icing or warming the area. But there is no scientific evidence on how it helps.
• The easiest and commonly available home remedy is turmeric. Turmeric is anti-inflammatory and is used in Ayurvedic medicine for treating gout, arthritis, diabetes, for healing purposes and so on. Ingesting 250 to 500 milligrams of turmeric three times a day would provide relief from gout attacks.
  

-Aparna K V

Disclaimer: The statements here are suggestions and we do not offer any medical advice. You should always consult your doctor or any qualified medical practitioner before buying any of our products.

Tags: Natural Remedies, Kitchen Tips, Herbal Supplements, Ayurvedic Medicine, Natural Cures

More than 11 million people are suffering from cancer today in the U.S and the number is growing every year by approximately 30%.

These are not numbers arising out of the blue but have been extracted from one of the reports written by the National Institute of Cancer, U.S . The surveillance epidemiology and end results (SEER) is the software used to statistically analyze and report the numbers.

Doesn’t this alarming number of 11 million and growth rate of 30% cause turmoil in your mind? Cancers in form of breast cancer, uterine cancers are affecting any postmenopausal women today and colorectal cancer, prostate cancer are widely diagnosed among the elder men above sixty years. Apart from these, ovarian cancer, leukemia and multiple myeloma of the skin are some other deadly conditions growing in prevalence. Also, we are aware that once diagnosed, there are risks associated with the treatment of cancer even in modern medicine. Moreover, even if the treatment is successful, it is definitely painful. Chemotherapy and radiations exposed to the patient literally transform the man into a bundle of flesh and blood. What are we then doing to prevent this deadly disease? Are we still sleeping saliently with an ardent desire and expectation that this would never affect us or are we actively doing something to reduce the risk? No more can we rely on reports which do not contribute to the reasons and risk factors of cancer on the pretext that the subject is poorly researched. The lives of the patients and their families turns into a misery and sometimes death is more welcome than therapy. Such is the brutality of cancer. We as enlightened human beings need to understand the intricacies and the criticalities of cancer as a disease and swear to take measures to eradicate this disease soon from the world!

For eradication, we first need to protect ourselves. After all, charity begins at home. To our enormous help, the prevention is as simple as vitamin supplementation. According to many research papers today, Vitamin D plays and important and active role in the prevention of many cancers, practically all of them. To substantiate this claim: 60% risk reduction in all cancers and 77% reduction in actual cancer rates have been documented in research papers on consumption of vitamin D. Hence from now on we are not on God’s mercy to protect us from cancer but the almighty has enabled us to help ourselves!
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Tags: Herbal Supplements, Natural Cures, Kitchen Tips, Natural Remedies, Ayurvedic Medicine

Having a kidney stone wouldn’t be a pleasant experience.

Medical history shows that at least 10% of the population suffers from Kidney disorders every year. In India, the number of people referred to the Nephrology department by the GP is not small. A good majority of people frequenting hospitals are bothered by urological disorders like Renal failure, kidney stones etc.

Renal calculus or Kidney stone is one of the most painful urological disorders that have been upsetting millions of people across the world since centuries. Kidney stones are found more commonly in developed countries like America than others. But it is not any uncommon in India. It is usually found among people between the ages of 20 and 40.

An Insight in to a Kidney Stone

A kidney is a hard worker. Its job is to sift our body’s waste products from the blood and pass it out through urine. While eliminating the waste it also has the responsibility to conserve the body’s proteins, minerals and most importantly water. Kidney’s functions also include maintaining the appropriate haemoglobin, producing red blood cells and regulating