Vancouver: Just two cans of a carbonated drink can increase a man’s chance of getting the painful joint disease gout by a staggering 85 per cent, according to new research from Canada.

The study, published online by the British Medical Journal, looked at more than 46,000 men and found those who had two or more cans a day were 85 per cent more likely to get gout compared to those who had one a month or less.

The risk also significantly increased among those who drank five to six a week.
Gout is characterised by severe attacks of joint pain followed by long periods of remission and is caused by the formation of urate crystals, within the joints.

It is thought that fructose, a naturally occurring sugar found in tree fruits that triggers gout by increasing the levels of uric acid in the blood. Other sugars also increase levels of the acid.

In the United States, a doubling of the number of people with gout over the past few decades has coincided with a substantial increase in the consumption of soft drinks.