If you have been diagnosed with high uric acid levels or gout, your doctor must have informed you about the precautions that you need to take while choosing your food. The best way to reduce the uric acid levels is to control your diet and it will show effects within a month.
For patients with high uric acid in blood, it might seem to be difficult to pick the right foods but believe us all the extra effort that you will put to select your diet will help in reducing the uric acid levels quickly making you feel more fit and hence the extra effort is absolutely worth.
This article will provide you with a guideline about what you should do and what you should not do while choosing your food, if you have high uric acid.
Fibers can help
Opting for a diet rich with fibers is suggested to be very helpful to lower the uric acid levels. Oats, whole grains, vegetables like broccoli, pumpkin and celery should be your primary choice for diet.
These foods are filled with dietary fibers that can help in absorbing the uric acid and eliminate it from the body with bowel. So, fill your diet with high fiber foods.
Vitamin C can break down uric acid
Consumption of 500 mg of Vitamin C everyday has been found to reduce uric acid levels within months. Instead of taking supplemental vitamin C, it is best to include vitamin C rich fruits in your diet to get the best effects sans the side effects.
Glasses of orange or sweet lime juice can be most helpful to provide you with the required amount of vitamin C that you need for lowering blood uric acid.
Green tea can be a good choice
Green tea might be helpful to lower high uric acid levels. Green tea has high catechize content which is a potent antioxidant.
Catechize is believed to slow down the production of the particular enzymes of the body that are related with uric acid formation and thus reduces the uric acid levels. So, if you have high uric acid, include sufficient amount of green tea in your daily diet.
Cherries and berries are great for uric acid
When you are thinking about the right fruits to take for uric acid except the citrus fruits, you can blindly pick any type of berries or cherries.
Strawberry, blueberry, raspberry and cherries all have anti-inflammatory properties and moreover they are high in fiber that helps in promoting reduction of uric acid in blood.
Carrots and cucumber for uric acid control
Carrots and cucumber are some of the best vegetables that you can pick if you have high uric acid content.
Carrots are not only filled with antioxidants that can control the production of the enzymes promoting the synthesis of uric acid in blood, but due to their high fiber content they also help in expelling uric acid from the body.
Cucumber is also great for people with high uric acid in blood.
Eating moderate amount of tomatoes is not a bad idea
Having high uric acid levels does not mean that you have to stop eating tomatoes altogether. In fact tomatoes are good for your body and their high vitamin C content can help in reducing the uric acid levels.
However, make sure that you do not eat a lot of it and you pick a balanced diet.
Pick low fat dairy products
Dairy is good for uric acid patients, but the high fat content of the dairy products is not suitable for them.
So, if you have uric acid, opt for low fat dairy products instead of the high fat ones. Skimmed milk and low fat yogurt can be included in your daily diet without any worry.
Drink plenty of fluids
Drinking plenty of fluids can be highly helpful to lower high uric acid levels.
Fluid helps in the removal of the uric acid from the body through excretion and hence drinking more fluid will help in reducing the uric acid levels.
Having provided with some idea about the foods that you should choose if you have high uric acid, now let us take a look at what you should not pick in this case.
In fact, having a clear idea about the foods that you should not include in your diet will make it much easier for you to come up with the right diet chart that is effective in lowering uric acid.
Reduce your purine consumption
Purines are one of the primary sources of uric acid in the body and these are supplied through your foods. Hence opting for a diet with low purine is important to control uric acid levels.
Animal meat, fishes like sardines, mackerel and beans are high in purine and hence if you have high blood uric acid, it is best to stay away from these.
Bakery and brewed products should be avoided
Any type of bakery product and brewed items that comes with brewer’s yeast or baker’s yeast can work as a source of uric acid to your body. So, it is best to stay away from bakery as well as brewed products as a whole.
Opt for a low fat diet
A high fat diet is directly related to higher cholesterol and triglyceride in the blood, which will only increase the problems of higher uric acid.
Maintaining a healthy body weight if you are suffering from high uric acid has been found to have a positive effect on the total blood uric acid level. So, opt for a diet that is low in fat.
Stay away from alcohol
Often consumption of excessive alcohol works as a primary reason for gout or high blood uric acid levels. Alcohol is not a uric acid rich drink, but it stops the elimination of uric acid from the body, which naturally results into building up of uric acid in the body.
So, if you have been diagnosed with high blood uric acid, stop drinking or at least limit it.
