By Rachel Morton
New Zealand has the highest rate of gout in the world, but Kiwi researchers have come up with a new product which helps relieve the symptoms.
New evidence shows a glass of fortified skim milk a day can help keep the gout away.
Ken Hayes is among the 3 percent of New Zealanders who suffer from gout, which is the third-most common form of arthritis. He says it feels like cutting your finger and putting it in hydrochloric acid.
Luckily for sufferers like Mr Hayes, Fonterra and Auckland University have come up with a product that helps reduce symptoms – a 12-month clinical trial found most patients had one less flare up of gout a month when they drank a fortified milk product.
The product was enriched with a protein called GMP and a fat called g600, which both naturally occur in milk.
While the milk helps it isn’t a cure, and sufferers should continue with medical treatments like allopurinol – but the new research is promising.
Arthritis New Zealand is calling the research a breakthrough, and Mr Hayes is praising the findings, saying “anything that will help people cope with their problem is worthwhile”.
Fonterra hopes to have the product on the shelves within the next two years.
3 News