Issue Date: June 22, 2008
Caution on sugary soft drinks
If you worry about gout -- the painful arthritic condition much more common in men than in women -- give up sugary soft drinks. In new Canadian research, men who drink two or more sugary sodas a day are 85% more apt to get gout than men who drink less than one a month. Even one a day ups risk by 45%. Reason: Fructose (a sugar) in soft drinks boosts blood uric acid, leading to uric acid crystals around the joints, along with swelling and pain. Note: Diet soft drinks don't promote gout. And in earlier research, coffee (four cups a day) cut risk.
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