Reducing Sodium Urate Build-Up: The Impact of Eliminating Red Meat on Gout

[ScrubsFan]

The digestion of some foods, such as red meat, releases the urate ion C5H3N4O3- into the bloodstream. An excess of urate in the blood can result in the formation of sodium urate crystals in joints and tissues. This leads to a painful form of arthritis known as gout.

The equilibrium involved in this process is:

NaC5H3N4O3 (s) <-----> Na+ (aq) + C5H3N4O3- (aq)

Use Le Chatelier's principle to explain why eliminating red meat from your diet can reduce the build-up of sodium urate in joints.


- An excess of urate in the blood causes "supersaturation" to occur in which urate ions in the bloodstream result in the formation of sodium urate crystals to accumulate in joints and tissues. Over time, uric acid crystalizes in the blood and settles in joint spaces. Le Chatelier's principle explains how eliminating red meat from your diet will decrease urate ions in the bloodstream--resulting from a change in the concentration of reactants (Na+ and C5H3N4O3-)--therefore, a shift in the system as a new equilibrium is established. Increasing the rate of the reverse reaction before both the forward and reverse reactions become equal again; reducing the build-up of sodium urate.

Im not exactly sure how to answer this question, or how to expand on what I have...

 

[ksinclair13]

That is great so far and is farther than many people would've gone to explain this. If you remove red meat, it is the same as removing NaC₅H₃N₄O₃, which will cause the system to shift to the left to undo that change.

 

[ScrubsFan]

Awsome, thank you for your comments.