High uric acid can be detrimental to health. It is the main cause of the development of a disease known as gout, characterized by the accumulation of purines in joints, where it causes inflammation and intense pain.
However, excess uric acid is also a risk factor on its own. The problem is that not many people are aware of this serious problem.
Experts explain that gout patients have a poorer quality of life and reduced survival compared to the general population, due to vascular and renal problems. Likewise, arterial hypertension and hypercholesterolemia are also common in this type of patient.
However, the rheumatologist Mariano Andrés Collado, of the Hospital General Universitario de Alicante, explains that «it is easy to reduce the risk, provided that patients with gout are consistent in taking the medications recommended by their rheumatologist and follow a healthy lifestyle in which they maintain a Mediterranean diet, control their body weight and exercise regularly».
How to reduce uric acid levels
Uric acid is a substance that arises in the organism after the breakdown of purines. In addition, the consumption of certain foods rich in purines can also cause an increase in the levels of this substance.
Normally, the organism eliminates 80% of the uric acid generated during the day. There is a balance between what is generated and the disposal of this substance, to regulate the levels in the body.
However, when this balance is broken for a prolonged period of time, an accumulation of uric acid can occur and lead to gout, with a consequent increase in the risk of cardiovascular disease.
Thus, when a medical specialist detects excess uric acid levels after a corresponding blood test, he tends to establish a treatment based mainly on a series of dietary modifications, which can be complemented with the intake of certain medications.
Fruits that should not be taken in case of uric acid
Therefore, to avoid an increase in uric acid levels and to favor its decrease in case of excess, it is key to carry out a diet that limits or eliminates, at least temporarily, the consumption of foods rich in purines.
In this sense, the least recommended foods are all types of seafood, red meat, offal, sausages, blue fish, meat broths or industrial sauces. In addition, it is also important to avoid the intake of alcoholic beverages.
Thus, fruits with peel and natural fruits are allowed, although it is necessary to moderate the consumption of peas, lentils, corn, soybeans, chickpeas, asparagus, cauliflower or spinach. That is to say, it is also necessary to be cautious with a series of fruits, vegetables and legumes.
Similarly, it is also recommended to moderate or limit the consumption of different varieties of mushrooms and fungi. All these foods, to a greater or lesser extent, contribute purines to the organism, making it difficult to reduce the harmful levels of uric acid.
