Soda May Raise Risk of Gout, A Form of Arthritis, Study Finds

Note from Connie: On and on it goes. It seems like every week or two, we learn about another study, which suggests that sugar can be linked to one disease or ailment after another. Jennifer Moore gives you the scoop about the arthritis connection.

Researchers from a number of distinguished renowned institutions announced in the January edition of Arthritis Care & Research yet another reason that may inspire you to give sugar-sweetened soft drinks the heave-ho -- they may raise a person's risk of getting gout, a form of inflammatory arthritis.

The body makes uric acid when digesting food and usually flushes it away. But breaking down the massive amounts of sugar in sodas apparently causes a uric acid overload, and the excess uric acid floating around in our blood causes crystals to form in the joints. Those crystals can lead to gout.

Gout can trigger a host of pretty serious complications beyond aches and pains: kidney stones, problems with kidney function, nerve damage, and even disability, according to Gout.com.

Thanks to Brian White of Thatsfit.com and the Arthritis Blog on About.com for the tip about this new finding, which came from researchers at Arthritis Research Centre of Canada, Vancouver, British Columbia, Canada; Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, Atlanta, Georgia; Brigham and Women's Hospital and Harvard University School of Public Health, Boston, Massachusetts; Arthritis Research Centre of Canada, Vancouver General Hospital, Vancouver, British Columbia, Canada; University of British Columbia, Vancouver, British Columbia, Canada; and Brigham and Women's Hospital, Boston, Massachusetts.
Jennifer Moore for the SUGAR SHOCK! Blog