The digestion of some high-protein foods such as red meat, beans, lentils, and …
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The digestion of some high-protein foods such as red meat, beans, lentils, and shell-fish, releases uric acid, HC5H3N4O3(aq), which ionizes into hydrogen ions, H+(aq) and urate ions, C5H3N4O3-(aq) in the bloodstream. People whose kidneys do not function properly cannot excrete urate ion sufficiently quickly, leading to an increased concentration of urate in the blood. This sometimes leads to a painful form of arthritis known as gout, characterized by the formation of tiny needle-like crystals of sodium urate, NaC5H3N4O3(aq), in joints and tissues according to the equation:
NaC5H3N4O3(s) ⇌ Na+(aq) + C5H3N4O3-(aq)
a) Suppose you are a nutritionist. What advice could you give to your patients who suffer from gout? Explain why the advice would be effective [2]
b) Many women take calcium supplements on a daily basis to prevent the loss of bone mass (a condition known as osteoporosis). If a woman suffering from osteoporosis has gout too, she may also develop kidney stones (which can consist of calcium urate). Write a chemical equilibrium equation for this reaction and explain why it happens. [2]