Uric Acid Diet

Uric Acid Diets are generally prescribed for people who have high levels of Uric Acid in their body. High levels of Uric acid in the body may aggravate kidney stones or cause joint pains. One of the main causes of high levels of Uric acid in the body is a substance called Purine which is naturally produced by the body and eventually breaks down to form Uric acid. If there is an excessive amount of uric acid in your diet, you need to check the sources of uric acid you are consuming. A high level of uric acid in the system can only cause more damage. There are medications to control extreme cases and there are diets which may help reduce the levels of purines in your body. To follow a healthy diet, you need to keep checking the purine content in everything you eat. This kind of information is available on the back of most packed foods in the nutritional information chart. Check with a certified professional before making drastic changes to your diet and try to increase your fluid intake during the day. If you are overweight, you need to work towards bringing your body weight down to the level it should be for your height and age. If you consume alcohol, you should either stop completely or at least limit your intake to once or twice a week.

Generally organ meats like kidney, brain, heart and so on have a higher purine content. Try to limit foods with yeast such as breads, sweetbreads. Avoid sea food such as mackerel and mussels which are high in purine content. Avoid soups which use a broth or consomme as a base. A consomme is a kind of clear soup which is made by boiling meat or vegetables over an extended period of time. The meat and vegetables are removed and the water left behind is rich in the nutrients (which generally have high purine content). This water is often used as a base for a variety of clear soups. While such types of soups are low in fat – they are high in purines. Vegetables such as peas, cauliflower, mushrooms, spinach, and asparagus are not considered to be very high purine sources. But these vegetables should be consumed in limited quantities. Other food items such as cereal, red meat, oats and eggs can also be consumed in limited quantities. Fruits and juices are poor sources of purines. Skim milk and low fat milk products, rice, coffee, tea, pastas, soups without broth and nuts also have low purine content. It is recommended to consult with your nutritionist before you start a low purine or low uric acid diet.