Gout History
I had always thought of gout as being a disease from eating too many rich foods, a disease of gluttony. I was surprised to find out this is not really true.
Throughout history gout has been known as the disease of kings. Royalty could afford foods ordinary people could only dream about eating. This was part of the reason gout developed such a reputation.
Gout also had the odd reputation of protecting its victims and giving them long life. This was another misinterpretation of the facts.
Gout only develops in middle age or later, which is what led to its association with old age. Consider that two hundred years ago people in England only lived to be about thirty years old, so someone old enough to develop gout was already rare.
In this day and age, and many people, mostly men, have this disease. However, in older people women can be as much affected as men. The disease results from the body not getting rid of uric acid, not from a rich upper class diet.
In the sixteenth century Charles V apparently had gout, which led him to abdicate his throne when it became too painful. Interestingly enough, his little finger has been tested and had the characteristic needle-like uric acid crystals, so he really did suffer from gout.
Thomas Jefferson and Benjamin Franklin were both gout sufferers, which continued the association of class and privilege with the disease in the Americas.
While these men were highly privileged, they did not have access to useful care for gout pain. One can only imagine the agony of having gout in a time when cold water was the main remedy!
Fortunately for those of us who want freedom from gout pain in our own lives today, many more options are available. We are not trapped by our gout as much as our ancestors.
Posted by admin / History
