Improve Your Diet If You Have High Uric Acid
High uric acid problems are directly related to a poor diet, since the purines that produce it are found basically and mainly in what we eat. For this reason, in this article we suggest some foods that will help you improve this situation.
It is true that levels of this acid also appear inside our body without outside help. However, under normal conditions, 80% of uric acid levels can be controlled by following certain diets.
What does it mean to have high uric acid?
Hyperuricemia consists of having high uric acid in the blood. The most feared symptom of this disease is the attack of gout, which occurs when uric acid is deposited in the joints. Gout causes extremely high pain that should be avoided as much as possible.
With a good diet, guided by a nutritionist, it is possible to reduce uric acid levels in the blood and increase control of the situation to prevent gout attacks from appearing.
What is considered an elevated uric acid level?
According to health specialists, the correct levels of uric acid are those that are between 2.4 and 5.7 mg / dl in women, and between 3.4 and 7.0 mg / dl in men . Therefore, any value that exceeds these limits is considered an indicator of hyperuricemia and must be treated in time before the condition can worsen.
What foods should I eat if I have high uric acid?
In our diet, we must reduce those foods rich in purines, since when they break down in the body, they result in hyperuricemia. Fortunately, there are some foods that can help lower uric acid if you eat them regularly :
Low-purine foods that we can consume
There are foods with low concentrations of purines in their composition and that we can include them in our diet without problems. These foods are:
- Dairy products
- Vegetables: except for some mentioned below
- Roots and tubers
- Fruits rich in vitamin C
- Unsalted nuts
We must pay attention to all foods because they all contain purines, to a greater or lesser extent, but with proper planning, we can achieve great results in our analytics.
Foods with medium purine content
Then we have foods with lower purine concentrations and that their consumption can be a little more flexible compared to the previous list. These foods are:
- White meats
- Mushrooms and asparagus
- Legumes: except for beans and lentils
- Cauliflower
- Spinach
We can include this type of food in the diet, but its consumption should not be abusive.
What foods should be avoided?
Animal fats and foods rich in purines should be limited. These include organ meats, concentrated broths, sauces and soups made with pieces of meat. Also fish, mainly blue fish such as sardines, anchovies, anchovies, red mullet, prawns or mackerel.
The consumption of alcohol and processed products are not recommended to lower uric acid levels in the body or prevent it from rising, so it is better to eliminate them or limit their consumption a lot.
Aspects to consider with elevated uric acid
In the case of fruits, we must have them well controlled because on the one hand they are very good (they have a low amount of purines), but on the other they have high concentrations of fructose, which generate purines in the body.
The type of cooking in hyperuricemia can also be important. By boiling the food, it is possible to reduce the number of purines in the food. A boiled or cooked dish is a better option than those dishes that are fried or cooked with large amounts of oil, for example.
The drink par excellence that we must take is water. We must increase our water consumption if it is not enough. Trying to drink at least 2 liters of water a day, as indicated by the recommendations. If we eat a diet rich in fruits and vegetables, in addition to broths, soups or infusions, we also include water in our body.
Although these tips can help you lower your hyperuricemia levels, it is important that you consult with your doctor, who will perform an evaluation and will be able to prescribe the most appropriate treatment for your condition.
