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7 Ways to Reduce Uric Acid Levels Naturally at Home

Creator: Dr. Sneha Ganatra
Published: October 30, 2020

Dr. Sneha Ganatra

October 30th, 2020

15 mins read

Key Takeaways

if not flushed out, uric acid can cause gout, a form of arthritis that forms crystals in joints, which leads to pain
Instead of relying on expensive uric acid treatment, you can start small by adjusting your food intake and eating health
While it is possible to address uric acid build-up with these home remedies, you shouldn’t solely rely on them

Living a sedentary life has many ill effects on overall health and among those is having an excess of uric acid in the blood. This condition is called hyperuricemia. The waste product from digesting purine in foods and is usually filtered out by the kidneys. However, if not flushed out, uric acid can cause gout, a form of arthritis that forms crystals in joints, which leads to pain and swelling.

Given that the effects of high uric acid in the body can lead to serious health problems, it is in your best interest to manage it properly. So, how to control uric acid? Here, your best bet is to learn how to reduce uric acid based on your food intake and then move on to the best practices for controlling it. Below are 10 home remedies to help you know how to reduce uric acid levels in your body.

How to control uric acid

How to minimize effects of high uric acid

FAQ

How to Control Uric Acid at Home?

1. Track the Purine Content in Food

Purine is a component of food and uric acid is a natural waste product that is formed when purine is digested. Naturally, your body can filter out this by-product, but it is your responsibility to consume purine-rich foods prudently. This is because too much purine leads to a higher uric acid level in the blood, which can’t be filtered out by the kidneys fast enough. To avoid this, here are the foods that act as major uric acid causes, which you should limit consumption of.

Organ meat
Scallops
Mushrooms
Green peas
Turkey
Pork
Mutton
Cauliflower
Veal

Instead of relying on expensive uric acid treatment, you can start small by adjusting your food intake and eating healthier.

2. Incorporate Cherries into Diet

While you may have to embark on a special uric acid diet, in many cases, you may not be required to take such a drastic approach. If you’re simply looking to learn how to control uric acid then a good option is to eat cherries. These are known to reduce the risk of gout attacks by a significant amount, around 35%, as per a study. Cherries work particularly well when consumed alongside the anti-gout drug allopurinol, and the study found that the cherry-drug duo reduced the risk of an attack by 75%. Cherries are known to reduce uric acid levels and help with inflammation too.

3. Consume High-Fiber Foods

Flushing out the uric acid build-up in your body is a key part of healthy body function. Eating foods that facilitate this process can help you greatly. Foods with high fibre content absorb excess uric acid in the bloodstream and help eliminate it through the kidneys. Typical high-fibre foods that serve such a purpose include:

Oats
Apples
Pears
Cucumbers
Carrots
Barley
Oranges
Strawberries

4. Avoid Sugars in Refined and Processed Foods

Uric acid is commonly linked to the consumption of protein-rich foods, but recent studies have found that sugar may also have a role to play. These are mainly the added sugars to foods, especially fructose. This is most commonly found in processed foods and can lead to a high level of uric acid in the blood. This applies to drinks that have a high concentration of fructose too.

The reason to avoid sugars in refined foods is simple: refined sugars cause blood sugar levels to surge, which results in higher uric acid levels too. So, if you’re looking for a home remedy to curb the symptoms of uric acid, start paying attention to the sugar content in your food. Actively avoid processed foods with refined sugars and you’ll notice uric acid levels drop.

Additional Reading: Vital Benefits of Quitting Sugar

5. Drink Green Tea

Green tea’s antioxidant effect is known to have several benefits of green tea on general wellbeing. It was found to inhibit xanthine oxidase activity, an enzyme that catalyzes the oxidation of xanthine into uric acid, and decrease uric acid production. Overall, green tea has an excellent ability in controlling hyperuricemia, and this is why you should drink it if you are at risk of developing gout.

6. Eat Vegetables and Beans

So when you are looking for how to control uric acid naturally, consuming vegetables will be the most effective suggestion like tomatoes, cucumbers, and broccoli as these are a great way to prevent uric acid build-up in the blood stream. This is due to their alkaline nature, allowing you to maintain the uric acid levels in your blood. To add to that, pinto beans, lentils and sunflower seeds can also be added to your diet plan. Pinto beans are especially good for you as they are rich in folic acid, which is known to reduce uric acid levels naturally.

food that control uric acid

7. Maintain Normal Insulin Levels

Along with a uric acid test, you should also have your blood sugar levels checked. Whether you’re a diabetic, prediabetic or have no signs of the disease, there is data that links high insulin with uric acid build-up. Here, having too much insulin causes excess uric acid in the body and leads to weight gain as well. Ideally, you want to ensure that your sugar and insulin levels are in check to limit any uric acid build-up whatsoever.

Additional Reading: Normal Blood Sugar Level Range

How to Control Uric Acid with Vitamin C Supplements

Foods rich in vitamin C are also widely known to help reduce uric acid levels in the blood. Moreover, a study revealed that people taking vitamin C supplements had significantly lower uric acid levels than those who were given a placebo. So, there may be some merit to upping your vitamin C intake to keep gout at bay. However, excess vitamin C in the bloodstream can lead to problems and it best to seek medical advice from a specialist regarding this.

While it is possible to address uric acid build-up with these home remedies, you shouldn’t solely rely on them. Gout is a serious disease that can have an immensely negative impact on your life. This is why it is important to get medical care as this ensures that you don’t overlook important signs of declining health.

How to Minimize the Effects of High Uric Acid at Home

1. Keep your Body Weight in Check

Given that gout affects the joints and causes inflammation, it is important to maintain healthy body weight. This way, you reduce the risk of flare-ups and other critical health conditions associated with being over or underweight. Further, being overweight is linked with increased blood uric acid levels.

body weight & uric acid

On the other hand, rapid weight loss due to fasting may also increase the uric acid levels in the blood, making it a bad option to go with if you’re overweight. The ideal solution is to consult a professional who can lay out a long-term and sustainable diet plan that can help you achieve your targets safely.

Another option is to exercise, as daily exercise is important to maintaining health. In this case, not getting enough exercise can cause inflammation and this can lead to high uric acid levels. So, exercising enough can also help keep your levels in check.

2. Add Coffee to Daily Beverages

Research has found that consuming coffee reduces the risk of developing gout. In fact, a study found that women who consumed more than 4 cups of coffee in a day reduced their risk of developing gout by a staggering 57% as compared to those that didn’t drink coffee. Moreover, gout is also known to increase the chances of a person developing cardiovascular disease. Here, coffee was also found to be a helpful solution as a study found that people consuming 3 to 5 cups of coffee a day had the lowest risk of developing cardiovascular disease.

Additional Reading: Caffeine Benefits and Side Effects

FAQs

Q: What are the early symptoms of uric acid?

A: Some of the symptoms you can watch out for include:

Swollen joints
Intense joint pain
Warm joints
Discolored, shiny skin around the joints
Joint discomfort
Redness and inflammation
Limited motion

Q: Which food can reduce uric acid?

A: Here are some foods that help reduce uric acid:

Banana
Apple
Cherries
Coffee
Citrus fruits
Berries
Green tea
High-fibre foods
Tomato
Oranges
Lemon

Apart from these, foods like rice, pasta, potato, skim milk, and chicken are low-purine foods that are safe to consume.

Q: Which food increases uric acid?

A: Here is a list of foods that are high in uric acid. Try to reduce your consumption of them to lower your risk of gout.

Organ meat
Scallops
Mushrooms
Green peas
Turkey
Pork
Mutton
Cauliflower
Veal
Seafood
Alcohol

Q: What vegetables are high in uric acid?

A: Here is a list of vegetables that have a moderate to a high amount of uric acid:

Cauliflower
Spinach
Mushroom
Green peas
Asparagus

Q: What is the best drink for uric acid?

A: Here are some of the best drinks to control the build-up of uric acid in your body:

Water
Coffee
Green tea
Skim milk
Tart cherry juice
Sweet-lime mint drink
Pineapple Colada
Strawberry smoothie
Cool cucumber soup
Spiced buttermilk

Q: What causes high uric acid?

A: Here are some of the factors that lead to high uric acid:

Diuretics
Consuming too much alcohol
Genetics
Hypothyroidism
Immune-suppressing drugs
Obesity
Psoriasis
Purine-rich diets such as seafood and organ meat
Renal insufficiency where the kidneys are unable to filter waste

Q: How can I flush out uric acid naturally?

A: Here are some ways to naturally lower the amount of uric acid in your body:

Avoid consuming purine-rich foods like organ meat and seafood
Consume low-purine foods like bread, potatoes, and coffee
Avoid medicines such as diuretics and immune-suppressing drugs that raise uric acid
Maintain a healthy body weight
Limit alcohol consumption and sugary foods and beverages
Take vitamin C supplements
Drink a lot of water every day
Add fiber-rich foods to your diet
Balance your insulin levels
Lower your stress

Q: Can drinking water remove uric acid?

A: Yes, staying hydrated can help flush uric acid from your body. You should drink a sufficient amount of water every day.

Q: Why does uric acid increase?

A: In most cases, the uric acid level increases when your kidneys fail to remove uric acid efficiently. Other things that may lower down the process of removing uric acid include purine-rich foods, diabetes, obesity, alcohol, and medications like diuretics.

Q: What happens if my body has a very high level of uric acid?

A: If your body has a very high level of uric acid, it leads to a condition called hyperuricemia. It causes crystals that can settle in the joints and cause gout. These urate crystals can also settle in the kidneys causing kidney stones. If left untreated, a high level of uric acid can lead to further complications. These include permanent bone, joint, and tissue damage, kidney disease, type 2 diabetes, high blood pressure, heart disease, and fatty liver disease.

Q: Does a high intake of protein increase uric acid?

A: A diet with a high amount of protein contains large quantities of purines. Such a diet can increase the excretion of uric acid in urine. It can further lower levels of serum acid.

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