Pain relief for gout – why you use the AA: EPA test to determine your own eicosanoids' levelsHow to get pain relief for gout has been discussed on the omega -6 page and one of the central players is arachidonic acid (AA). We are a long way from seeing "contains arachidonic acid" or "produces arachidonic acid" on food nutrition labels but that day may come. Arachidonic acid (AA) is derived from linolenic acid. Linolenic acid (LA) is found in many foods, especially in many cooking oils, and is the building block of "bad" eicosanoids. It is also the building block of "good" eicosanoids, but whether LA becomes a "good" or "bad" eicosanoid depends on many factors.
These are explained on the omega -6 page - reducing AA levels is one of the key ways of getting pain relief for gout.
You'll hear about prostaglandins. A prostaglandin is one class of eicosanoids. There are other classes (e.g. hydroxylated fatty acids and leukotrienes) but to keep this as simple as possible we'll describe just the eicosanoid basics – raising the good and lowering the bad. Remember "bad" isn't necessarily bad, but in the context of "good" and "bad," most of us (maybe 95%) definitely need to strive for more "good" and less "bad." By so doing you have a good chance of getting pain relief for gout and perhaps the frequency of gout attacks. We have read at least three testimonials where people who used the process described on the omega -6 page said their gout attacks virtually ceased. They did not unfortunately provide any information about their uric acid levels.
But uric acid levels fell in the dietary gout study where the Zone diet, which can be included in the treatment, was solely used among 13 gout sufferers.
For the Sears's approach you MUST use high quality pharmaceutical grade fish oil. This fish oil is ultra refined because, simply put, it takes 100 gallons of molecular distilled fish oil to produce just one gallon of the Omega Rx and Eico Rx, fish oils. What is pharmaceutical grade?
Read this page.
THE AA: EPA RATIO The AA: EPA ratio is the amount of arachidonic acid compared with the amount of EPA in your body. By reducing your AA: EPA ratio you can get pain relief for gout and perhaps attack reduction. You want the ratio to be lower, that is less AA, more EPA. A ratio of 15 is dreadful, above 10 is poor, 1.5 is considered very good. In other words at 10 and above, you will be producing too many "bad" eicosanoids (actually at these levels they are bad) and in Dr. Sears's theory you are possibly/likely on the road to heart disease to which gout sufferers are prone, and other health problems too. If your ratio is 1.5 – 3.0, (the best) you are producing more "good" eicosanoids. Eicosanoids themselves cannot be measured by any publicly available test, but the AA: EPA ratio is an excellent indicator of what your body is doing in this respect. If your AA: EPA ratio is below 1.5, the balance has moved too far in favour of "good" eicosanoids. If so, reduce your intake of fish oils (or high omega -3 fish) and it will rise. It's very likely your AA: EPA ratio is not good enough. On average the AA: EPA ratio of the typical Western diet is around 11. If you have gout it's probably more. We are not talking here about a herb or other substance that may or may not have delivered pain relief for gout 200 years ago without any modern scientific evidence. We ARE talking about an American researched and studied process that in many other countries is still unknown or hardly known and it's still cutting edge. If you can't get it done in your country, use the TG/HDL test (explained below) as a proxy. YOUR PERSONAL AA: EPA RATIO The AA: EPA ratio is revealing, but can you know what yours is? Yes you can. This means: 1. You get a baseline (starting) reading. 2. Follow the process (essentially high dose high quality pharmaceutical grade fish oils plus EPA and insulin reduction, and not using, or reducing in your cooking, oils that contain linolenic acid. 3. Take a second reading one or two months later.If your AA: EPA ratio has fallen, which it almost certainly will, if you follow the ideas outlined on the omega -6 page, you are on the road to a healthier heart, and probably pain relief for gout. You may also relieve gout swelling, get gout flares reduction, and be generally healthier. Moreover the DHA in fish oils has a significant amount of research behind it saying that it combats depression and improves mental ability and mood. In fact Dr. Sears thinks that about 30 days of following his fish oils, GLA, and the insulin reduction programme (program) is about enough time to begin to see changes. Fish oils and GLA will probably NOT work on their own. You need insulin reduction too. We call this process FILLIP. Gout may be different, harder, because of its intense pain and the unpredictability of when attacks occur. So to be sure you have done this correctly, you probably need to consider two months to try this. The time you require may depend too on the frequency of former gout attacks. Therefore you need to do the AA: EPA test again after one or two months. To see how well this treatment works you may have to take fish oils until your next gout attack to see if you have achieved relief for gout pain. Everyone is different and we can't be more specific than this. The numbers you get from this test will also help you and your doctor decide whether any increase or decrease in your fish oils, or reducing carbohydrate intake further, or at the Zone diet ideal of a DAILY protein: carbohydrate ratio of 0.75 should be undertaken. That means for every three grams of protein you eat, you need to eat four grams of carbohydrate, at every meal. (There is some scope to be flexible about this). In the Omega RX Zone book, Dr. Sears described an easy way to judge protein and carbohydrate intake at every meal without counting numbers. If the AA:EPA ratio has not improved it could mean you have been taking too much GLA. In that case, only use the Eico Rx product or the Omega Rx product plus oats. WHERE CAN THE AA: EPA TEST BE DONE?
United States Go to yourfuturehealth.com
Enter AA: EPA ratio (or test) into an internet search box and the name of your country. You can use the search box at the bottom of this page. You may find it difficult to get the AA: EPA ratio test done in your country. If so use the TG: HDL test, explained below, as a guide to your current and future eicosanoid and insulin levels. TWO OTHER TESTS YOU NEED BEFORE YOU START THIS RELIEF FOR GOUT COURSE TG: HDL test First, you need to know your baseline (starting) ratio of triglycerides (blood fats) to HDL cholesterol. (TG: HDL). If this blood test doesn't show it, ask your doctor to divide the TG figure by the HDL figure. Or do that yourself. You want a high number for HDL "good" cholesterol and a low number for triglycerides. If this ratio is under 2.0, that's good. If it's above 3.0 it isn't. This ratio is considered by many the leading indicator of heart disease, more meaningful than simple LDL or HDL cholesterol readings. If you have a high number you probably have too many "bad" eicosanoids and a high insulin level. Whilst the AA: EPA test and the insulin test will tell you this, this test also shows whether markers of heart disease are improving. Full details are in the Omega RX Zone book. After six weeks or so of the Zone diet or carbohydrate restriction plus fish oils and GLA, you can expect it to fall considerably. Insulin levels test Second, a baseline (starting) fasting insulin blood test. Remember, later on you need to know that your insulin level is controlled or falling – and hopefully it will – because improving eicosanoid balance also requires a lowered insulin level. The numbers that are good, poor and bad for this test are ones your doctor will know, or you can find them in the Omega Rx Zone book. If you live in a country where it's difficult to get the AA: EPA and insulin tests done, use the TG: HDL test results to judge your insulin level. A poor TG: HDL result probably means elevated insulin and a poor eicosanoid balance. Overweight gout sufferers are very likely to have an insulin level that is too high. Elevated insulin may also mean you have insulin resistance, which is a cause of gout because studies have found that insulin inhibits uric acid excretion. The baseline (starting) tests are VITAL because without their results subsequent tests will not tell you whether progress is being made. What is the reason for producing more "good" than "bad" eicosanoids? You should immediately know the answer. If you don't you probably haven't grasped this yet. You need to study this process more from the omega -3 and omega -6 pages. However, as a refresher, "good" eicosanoids are the ones that have an anti pain, anti inflammation action. "Bad" eicosanoids are pro-pain and inflammation. This is why you can get pain relief for gout from this method.
How much fish oil do you need to take daily for a pain relief for gout dosage ? Read this page
You will need to work with a doctor who is familiar with these ideas. Do NOT attempt to do-it-yourself. For just four reasons, you may have a medical condition which precludes the use of high dose fish oil. For example, it may thin the blood too much and it may cause a rise in blood glucose levels. It may be contraindicated with a medicine you are already taking. And cheap fish oils may have too many impurities at the levels Dr.Sears talks about.
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