Researchers have found that more than two cans of sugary drinks a day (soda, lemonade) can ‘substantially’ increase the risk of developing gout. Gout is a form of inflammatory arthritis, leading to pain and swelling. Its symptoms occur when uric acid crystallises out of the blood into the joints, normally affecting the big toe or lower limbs.
Uric acid is a normally harmless waste product, which the body produces naturally to break down substances known as purines. Purines can be found in beer, stout and port. For this study, experts in the US and Canada studied 46,000 mean aged 40 and over with no history of the disease asking them questions about their intake of more than 130 food and drink products.
After 12 years, 755 new cases of gout were identified, and researchers found a strong link between the amount of sugary soft drinks consumed and the likelihood of getting the disease. In their paper, published in the British Medical Journal, the researchers said, “The risk of incident gout was 85 per cent higher among men who consumed two or more servings of sugar sweetened soft drinks daily compared with those who consumed less than one serving monthly.”
Source: The Times (London), 1 February 2008