Is Drinking Coffee Good Or Bad For Gout? Which Type Of Coffee Is Better?

To understand the link between coffee and gout, we need to rely on the recent studies. Because, they’ve tried to investigate the possible effect of coffee consumption on gout.

Nearly 70 percent of people in united states prepare and drink coffee in the morning. Some of them may even drink more than 2 to 3 cups of fresh coffee.

Several studies have shown the possible link between coffee consumption and lowering the risk of chronic and cardiovascular diseases.

As a natural product, organic coffee can help in improving several conditions. For example, it can lower the risk of type 2 diabetes, several types of cancer, and etc.

But, can coffee have an effect on the painful gout or can it prevent the its resulting bouts?

To help you learn more about the possible link between coffee and gout, we’ll try to discuss about results of several researches:

Gout – causes, symptoms, diagnosis, treatment, pathology

Does coffee help gout?

Some evidences show that as a popular and flavorful drink, coffee may help people to avoid the resulting pain of gout.

But, as coffee contain caffeine, it may actually lead to more flare-up in people who already have gout.

Therefore, it is not easy to say if coffee consumption in you daily diet can help or hurt gout. You need to either rely on new scientific evidences or try it yourself and see the result.

But, what the scientific researchers suggest?

The connection between coffee and gout

In 2007, research was conducted to investigate the possible link between coffee consumption and the risk of gout in more than 40 thousand men.

The results show that having 4 to 5 cup of coffee a day can help in lowering the risk of gout.

This study suggests that coffee lovers and those who drink it several times a day, compared to men who do not drink coffee, have a 40% lower risk of gout problems.

Read more: Why Do My Hands Shake After Drinking Coffee

Does caffeine can have an effect on gout?

Perhaps, caffeine can play a role. But, it seems that something other than caffeine in coffee is responsible for its effect on gout. Why?

Because, this study shows that decaf coffee also can lower the risk of gout.

Also, based on the results, the tea as a popular drink do not have any significant effect on gout problems. It means that something else is responsible for the effect of coffee on the gout.

Therefore, the link between coffee and gout is not mainly due to the presence of caffeine in the drink and other compounds are responsible for the change in the risk of gout.

Coffee antioxidants and gout

Even it’s not quite evident, antioxidants in coffee are the main components that are responsible for the link between gout and coffee.

Chlorogenic acid is a known antioxidant in the coffee that might be the main reason for the positive effects.

This component can reduce the insulin level in blood, and as the levels of this hormone and uric acid are related, it can have a direct effect on gout incidence.

Therefore, it may reduce the risk of gout incidence.

Read more: Drinking Coffee In Ms

Why is uric acid important in gout?

It is important to mention the main reason that causes gout. This condition is caused by hyperuricemia. How it occurs?

When too much uric acids are present in body, you will have hyperuricemia which causes gout.

How uric acids build up in our body?

It is created after a chemical compounds named purines break down in your body. It can create crystals in your joints. Therefore, it can lead to painful swelling or inflammation.

How many people suffer from gout?

Nearly 4 percent of population in united states have gout. As an inflammatory disease, gout affects the joints in your body. You will see the symptoms commonly in the toes and feet.

How do we get gout?

Conditions like metabolism disorders can lead to uric acid accumulation in your body.

For example, kidney problems can be a reason for producing uric acid in your body.

Also, thyroid problems can impair the ability of our body to eliminate this acid.

Can adding sugar to coffee can lead to gout?

Your diet can create too much uric acid in your body. For example, alcohol can increase the level of uric acid in your body.

But, as an important compound, fructose in your beverage can worsen gout.

This means that due to the fact that sugary drinks have a large amount of fructose, you should avoid them.

Therefore, in brief, having coffee with artificial sweeteners like sugar is not recommended.

Does coffee without sugar is good for gout?

As we mentioned above, the available information about the coffee consumption and its effect on gout is conflicting.

Of course, several studies have shown that either antioxidants in coffee or its component can be helpful to avoid gout.

But, others suggest that people need to be more cautious when consuming coffee.

Can coffee lower the risk of gout?

Many researchers based on their studies are in favor of coffee and say it can lower the risk of gout.

The beneficial components in coffee beans, including polyphenol, minerals, and caffeine can help us to improve our overall health.

It is recommended to read this article: Coffee and Liver

Coffee and uric acid elimination

Through several mechanisms, drinking coffee can increase the rate of uric acid elimination from our body.

It may even compete with the enzymes that are responsible for breaking purines in body. Therefore, it can lower the rate of producing uric acid in human body.

Researchers have found that drinking coffee can have inverse relationship with the level of uric acid.

In a study, those who drank up to five cup of coffee per day had the lowest level of uric acid.

Also, a systematic review supports the idea that coffee can help in improving health condition of people who want get rid of gout.

Can drinking tea lower the risk of gout?

As both coffee and tea intake and their effect on gout has been analyzed, we can say that tea consumption cannot have the same expected results.

It is just coffee that can lower hyperuricemia risk and reduce uric acid level in human body.

Why coffee can lower the risk of gout?

Gout medication by either xanthine oxidase inhibitors or uricosurics are the common approaches of prescription by doctors.

• Xanthine oxidase

By inhibiting the xanthine oxidase activity, inhibitors can help our body to metabolize purines.

Inhibiting the enzymes can help in lowering uric acid.

Caffeine is considered as a methyl xanthine. This means that it can compete with xanthine oxidase inhibitors and block the action.

• Uricosurics

By helping the body to get rid of uric acid, uricosurics function in a different way. The interesting point is that caffeine may act in similar way.

Improving sensitivity of insulin

By improving the sensitivity of insulin, chlorogenic acid may help us. It is a polyphenol that is available in coffee beans.

One study found that in people who suffer from decline in uric acid and sodium excretion, when insulin sensitivity improved, uric acid and sodium elimination via the kidneys increased.

“You can enjoy hot beverages beyond coffee. Learn about these beverages by reading the following article:
coffee substitute

Does the link between coffee and gout matter?

As we mentioned above, most of studies show a link between coffee and gout. But the important note is that does the effect of coffee on gout is significant or not?

In a review, more than ten studies were investigated. The results show that even coffee consumption can reduce the risk of gout but it is not significantly enough to be considerable or even matter in curing or reducing the pains.

Genetic variation

Some sources suggest a genetic variation in the significance of relationship between coffee and gout.

This study shows the role of certain SNPs in metabolism that is associated with the risk of gout. These SNPs are linked to reduced coffee intake.

Can coffee increase the risk of gout?

No. What we said above implies there are little evidences that can be used against coffee consumption.

In fact, there are other primary factors that are considered as risk factors for gout.

Obesity and gout

Being obese can increase the risk of gout. Also, the risk of getting the disease in male is higher. Family history and genetics are also important risk factors.

Diet and gout

The food and beverages in your diet are also responsible for the uric acid accumulation in your body.

Red meat, shellfish, sugary beverages, and the foods that have high purines are among the products that you should avoid in your diet.

But, coffee intake is not associated with increasing the risk of gout.

Can I use additives and flavor enhancer with coffee?

If you want to enhance the flavor or taste of your coffee, be careful! Several spoon of milk can provide a better taste and improve its health benefit. But, adding sugar may trigger gout and is considered as a risk factor.

Final thought

Coffee is a beneficial drink that is considered as a good drink for gout. But, if you want to drink coffee to improve your health, it is important to distinguish between regular coffee and the sweetened coffee that is served with artificial additives like sugar.