Diet for High Uric Acid: Best Foods To Eat and Those To Avoid

Are you experiencing severe pain in your joints, especially the knees, toes, and ankles? Probably it could be related to high uric acid levels in your body.

But what is uric acid? Let us understand this first.

Uric acid is a normal waste product. It is formed when purines, which are natural substances get broken down in the blood. Purines are also found in many food items like alcohol, meat, and shellfish.

Uric acid is generally passed through the body as excretion. However, when the kidneys fail to get rid of the required uric acid, it builds up in the blood, increasing their levels.

Too much uric acid causes many chronic health problems like cardiovascular disease, kidney problems, diabetes, and hypertension.

Consulting a health care professional to seek high acid treatment is extremely crucial to cure the condition. But apart from taking medicines, some dietary measures also can help to reduce uric acid in the body.

Dietary interventions to manage high uric acid

Following dietary precautions can stabilize the levels of uric acid. They may or may not accompany the medicines prescribed by the doctor as a part of your high uric acid treatment plan.

Here are the food items that you are advised to include in your diet plan.

• High fiber foods
  Foods rich in fiber are very good for controlling the amount of uric acid in the body. They can absorb the purines quite easily and help in eliminating them. Whole grains, apples, nuts, seeds, and beans contain high fiber.
• Vitamin C
  Vitamin C is a valuable nutrient for the body. Make sure to include Vitamin C rich foods like tomato, lemon, oranges, guava, and kiwi in your diet as they are excellent sources to disintegrate the uric acid and throw it out of the body.
• Water
  Drink at least 10 to 12 glasses of water every day to keep yourself hydrated. Water is known to flush out toxins and waste from the body and transport essential nutrients to different organs and tissues.
• Green vegetables
  If you have high uric acid levels, eat a lot of green vegetables and fruits. They help to regulate uric acid levels and maintain overall health.

No matter even if you are having high uric acid treatment, avoiding these foods is a must.

• Purine-rich food
  A low purine diet is extremely crucial to lower the risk of increased uric acid levels. You can limit the intake of alcohol, red meat, seafood, and vegetables like mushrooms, asparagus, and cauliflower.
• Sugar
  When the body breaks down fructose (natural sugar in the body), it produces purine which increases the level of uric acid. So, try to avoid sugary foods and beverages. Instead, eat fresh fruits and unsweetened drinks as much as possible.
• Coffee
  If you have high uric acid, drinking excessive coffee may not be an appropriate option. Though there is no such evidence to prove the same, still drink coffee or other caffeinated beverages in moderation.
• Yeast extracts
  Yeast is a common ingredient in canned and frozen foods. They are high in purines. Hence do not consume foods that have high yeast content like hamburgers, pastries, croissants, and other baked foods.

Wrapping up

The right combination of diet, exercise, and medication is the best way to manage your uric acid in the body. You might feel that there are a lot of foods to avoid but that is not the case. You must make a weekly diet chart to keep track of your healthy meals.

If any expert suggestion is required, you can consult Dr. Amitabha Saha, a highly competent general practitioner with more than 22 years of experience in internal medicine to have appropriate high uric acid treatment.