Perhaps of interest:

http://www.iht.com/ihtsearch.php?id=515544&owner=(NYT)&date=200404201 91130

I have several friends with the condition, we all share hypertension, so I have
been concerned about developing it. Perhaps as mostly a wine drinker
I will be spared. (Although I did have a guinness or three with me fish and chips
yesterday.)

-E
--
Emery Davis
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>I have several friends with the condition, we all share hypertension, so I
>have
>been concerned about developing it. Perhaps as mostly a wine drinker
>I will be spared. (Although I did have a guinness or three with me fish and
>chips
>yesterday.)

Emery,
As someone who has suffered with severe gouty arthritis for years, I can
chime in on this one. I have been to specialists at the Mayo Clinic, The
Cleveland Clinic, Ohio State Medical School and Duke University Medical School.
All of them describe a very complex bio-chemical reaction that eventually
involves the formation of uric acid crystals. They all urged me to stop
drinking alcohol in any form due to it's dehyrading effects which causes a
spike in serum uric acid levels. I've been gout free for about three years
even though I still continue to consume wine on a daily basis and still have an
occasional beer, or cocktail. I limit my intake of foods high in purines and
take 300mg of Allopurinol every day and it works.
Bi!!

Emery Davis wrote:

> Perhaps of interest:
>
> http://www.iht.com/ihtsearch.php?id=515544&owner=(NYT)&date=200404201 91130
>
> I have several friends with the condition, we all share hypertension, so I have
> been concerned about developing it. Perhaps as mostly a wine drinker
> I will be spared. (Although I did have a guinness or three with me fish and chips
> yesterday.)

This comes from a study recently published in The Lancet. It's mostly
noteworthy for confirming conventional wisdom (that alcohol
promotes/exacerbates the condition), although the exemption of wine from
the list of offending drinks is gratifying.

Mark Lipton