Josie Gibson has revealed that she has been diagnosed with gout following a “health scare” while filming a new show.
After filming Channel 5 series Around the World in First Class, the 40-year-old This Morning host underwent a health check for another show, The 1970s Diet, where she was diagnosed with the disease.
Gout is a disease caused by inflammation within a joint. A chemical in the blood called uric acid works to break down a substance called purine. If there is too much uric acid in the body, it crystallises to form deposits in the joints, tendons and tissues. These deposits cause the inflammation that we refer to as gout.
Gibson admitted to overindulging while filming the Channel 5 travel show and said the health revelation forced her to change both her eating and sleeping habits.
Speaking to Bella magazine, Gibson said: “I got a bit of a health scare while filming this show, so it knocked me into submission a bit, I had to do something about myself.
"I've learnt more about my sleep as well, I had to track how many hours of sleep I was getting. I was living on four or five, six hours at a push, but now I make sure I get eight or nine hours, and I feel like a totally different human being.
"I'm a better mum, I'm better at my job, I remember things a lot more. I try and walk a lot more now than I did because I was so tired all the time I'd take the car everywhere."
Joking about the condition, Gibson added: “I thought only kings like Henry VIII got gout. I was like, I'm a 40-year-old woman, this is really embarrassing. I think when some presenters taste something, they just have a little nibble. But I love my food too much, I just can't help it.”
Thankfully, Gibson said that she is now gout free. “As soon as I stopped catching all the flights and started drinking a bit more water and less champagne, it levelled itself out,” said the star.
Gibson is one of many famous faces to have suffered from the condition in recent years with Jared Leto, James Corden and Jack Whitehall all admitting that they have struggled with the illness.
There are a number of treatment strategies for gout. They depend on whether patients are suffering from acute attacks of gout, or chronic gout, or want to prevent further attacks of gout. Vitamin C can be effective in reducing the frequency of acute gout attacks, as can regular consumption of low-fat dairy products such as skimmed milk.
There is also evidence to suggest that coffee has a place in reducing gout attacks, although this comes with caution regarding monitoring caffeine intake. Lifestyle changes bring the most benefit: Things to consider include reducing how much alcohol you drink, ensuring a healthy BMI (although crash diets can worsen gout so should be avoided), ensuring adequate hydration, avoiding fructose-sweetened drinks and reducing overall purine intake.
Your GP can offer several treatments for gout. Patients are initially offered a non-steroidal anti-inflammatory medication if permitted by their medical history. If this is not suitable or helpful, a specific treatment called colchicine is available, or a course of steroid medication may be offered.
This should be used alongside pain relieving medication. Other simple measures, such as ice treatment for the affected joint, with elevation, and resting the joint, are encouraged. If you have had more than two attacks in a year, your GP may discuss a preventative treatment called allopurinol or febuxostat.
