Put The Wine Down: Historical “Disease Of The Kings” Returns To The 21st Century

It is a disease long associated with wealthy historical figures, the kind that liked their creature comforts.

We’re talking about King Henry VIII, when he wasn’t busy lopping off his wives’ heads he was coping with attacks, and when Benjamin Franklin wasn’t founding the United States of America or discovering electricity, the Renaissance man was suffering from the pain in his feet.

It is “the disease of the kings” and now gout is making a comeback, according to a study that shows its prevalence has almost doubled in a decade.

However, it’s not kings who are suffering with the disease anymore, this time the patients tend to be of a humbler stock.

Although the root of the painful condition remains the same, over-indulging in food and drink and not taking enough exercise.

Gout is the development of crystals of uric acid in and around the joint, most commonly in the big toe. It can cause excruciating pain.

It is a type of arthritis that is often due to a rich diet and too much alcohol.

One of America's founding fathers also suffered from the disease.

Researchers in Australia looked at how common the disease was in New Zealand compared to England, between the years of 1999 and 2009.

They found in England emergency admissions almost doubled from 1,875 to 3,496, an average annual increase of 7.2 per cent, faster than the New Zealand increase of 5.5 per cent per year. The study is published in the journal Rheumatology.

Anthony James, professor of neuro-rheumatology at Manchester University, told The Independent: “Essentially, gout is increasing because of bad habits.

“We drink too much, eat the wrong food, do little exercise and are overweight.”

Only a “small number” of gout patients were thin, he said.

Alcohol, and particularly beer, is a problem because it boosts the production of uric acid in the liver, and reduces how much is passed out in urine.

Gout now affects about one in 70 adults, more commonly men. A recently published article indicates eating cherries or drinking cherry juice can help reduce gout attacks.