You got your uric acid tested and it is high. Confused how that happened and what to do now? What is okay to eat and what's not? Whether you can continue eating protein and gym? We've got you covered.
Today we will discuss what is uric acid, why does it increase and the changes you can make to keep it under control.
What is uric acid?
Uric acid is a chemical that gets released when the DNA inside cells is broken down. It can be the cells of your own body or the cells your food is made up of.
Usually the normal levels of uric acid in the body remains around 6mg/dL.
Uric acid keeps getting made all day and night and our kidneys like a faithful watchman, keeps catching it's molecules and throwing it out of us.
Why does uric acid increase?
Before we talk about causes, we should know what the normal levels are, ideally normal uric acid levels are upto 6.8mg/dL (Some labs write it as mg%, that's the same as mg/dL). But don't worry yet, upto 9 mg/dL only 0.5% of people have any problems, after 9 mg/dL usually diseases start.
So, there are 2 causes of uric acid levels increased in you body -
The kitchen is producing extra garbage ( increased production)
The garbage collector isn't doing his work properly ( kidneys not excreting it out)
Increased production
Diet - It plays a major role, as whatever we eat, the DNA inside it will be broken down into uric acid
As we say DNA, we can expect that nonveg food, with more DNA will cause more uric acid production. Foods like Liver, Red meats (Lamb, Mutton, Pork), Sea foods, all have high purines (DNA is made of them) and so lead to more production of uric acid.
Alcohol also causes more production of uric acid
Obesity and metabolic syndrome: If someone is overweight or obese, the total cells in their body are more than average, also they probably consume more food. In all, the total cells in their body that die everyday are more than someone who is not overweight, so uric acid produced is more.
Breakdown of the body's cells
If someone smokes, or has diseases or is running a fever, the cells that die in their body each day increase in number, so uric acid is produced more. Also activities like exercise, weight lifting etc. also increase uric acid as cells die and get renewed more than normal, but in doing so produce more uric acid too.
Medications
Some medications also increase uric acid. Like drugs used to treat TB ( Tuberculosis), Anti cancer drugs, Vitamin B3 (Niacin).
Reduced excretion
For more than 90% of people who have high uric acid, it's because of decreased excretion by kidneys. Any disease like AKI ( short term acute kidney injury) or CRF (long term chronic renal failure) may reduce the kidneys' ability to filter out uric acid. Also, not drinking enough water makes the situation worse.
Prevention and treatment
Before talking about treatment, here are some facts
21% of all population has some degree of increased uric acid but they are at no clinical risk
Testing of uric acid, without any symptoms of any disease is not recommended
Even for people with high uric acid, no treatment is recommended if they have no symptoms and their uric acid levels are under 9 mg/dL unless they are about to start anti cancer treatment
That's right, no medical treatment or even test is needed before you have symptoms. Yet, if you want to reduce your uric acid, you can try out these steps given by our team of doctors:
Increase fluid intake. Whatever amount of water you drink, try to drink a bit more. You don't need to stop exercising either, just ensure you're well hydrated.
Stop smoking, even hukka, not just cigarettes
Stop drinking alcohol
Eat more of low fat dairy
Eat more grains, nuts, legumes ( green veggies like pea, beans etc)
Try switching out your tea habit with coffee
Eat fruits and veggies rich in vitamin C
Reduce consumption of red meats, sea foods, this by itself will reduce your uric acid levels by 1 mg/dL
If you are overweight, work on reduction of your weight
High uric acid is also associated with a disease called metabolic syndrome, where there are many different problems and so if you have one of these, we recommend getting tested for others as well:
Obesity - BMI calculation
Hyperlipidemia- Lipid profile test
Diabetes - Random blood sugar test
Hypertension - BP measurement
Getting these diseases treated will also lead to a reduction in uric acid levels.
If you have joint pains, specially near big toe of foot, or decreased amount of urine, you should consult a nearby doctor and get a prescription for uric acid decreasing drugs. These are prescription drugs and can't be bought without it, that's why we are not mentioning them here.
We hope this article was useful for you, share with your friends and family, so that they can take advantage too. Knowledge is power. Stay smiling.
If you have have any doubts or queries, use the comment box below.
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