5 Simple Tips to Lower Uric Acid Levels
Are you searching for remedies or ways to lower uric acid levels? If yes, then you have certainly come to the right place as here you will get to know detailed information about some of the possible ways of controlling high uric acid levels. It is true that physicians advice to avoid eating a long list of food items to patients who have high levels of uric acid. But you need not lose hope as maintaining a regular diet and taking proper medications will help you in bringing back the level to a normal range.
What is uric acid?
Before knowing about the ways to lower uric acid levels, you need to have an idea about what uric acid is. It is a waste product, which occurs naturally. Uric acid is formed when purines break down. Purines are certain crystalline compounds that are present in some particular foods. In a normal condition, this waste product dissolves in the blood and passes via kidneys, which are lastly thrown out of the body through the urine. If your diet contains food that is rich in purine or your kidneys are ineffective in removing an excessive amount of uric acid, then the level of uric acid rises. Such a situation is referred as hyperuricemia.
Some of the purine-rich foods are spinach, peas, mushrooms, anchovies, dried beans, beer, etc. Your physician will be able to detect whether you are suffering from high levels of uric acid or not, just by doing a blood test. Due to this reason, it is essential for all individuals to go for check-ups at regular intervals. Once you observe the symptoms for a prolonged time- period, you must consult a doctor at that point.
Symptoms of high uric acid level
In accordance to one of the reputed clinics, the warning signs are as follows:
- Swelling of joints along with redness and tenderness
- Severe pain in the joint, which is more intense in the first 24 hours.
- The joint pain stays for a few days or weeks and after that spreads to other areas gradually.
- Almost all physicians suggest in taking plenty of water for flushing out excessive uric acid from a person’s body. Besides this, they also instruct to consume an adequate amount of fresh green vegetables and fruits.
Tips to lower uric acid levels
- Adjust diet
The first and foremost thing that you need to maintain to control and lower uric acid levels is to eliminate such food items from your regular diet that are rich in purine. You must try to avoid refined carbohydrates as well as vegetables like peas, asparagus, cauliflower, etc. Thus, you will be able to control the level of uric acid by adjusting your diet under the supervision and guidance of your physician.
- Limit alcohol
Alcohol has the potential to dehydrate the body, and so it is better to restrict the consumption of such products. You need to minimize the intake, especially when you have other foods that are purine-rich. However, surprisingly wine does not seem to have any such effect on the uric acid level. General advice for beer drinkers is that they need to control the intake or eradicate such consumption to balance or lower uric acid levels.
- Apple cider vinegar
An effective home remedy to lower uric acid levels is to mix a teaspoon full of apple cider vinegar into one glass full of water and make it a practice to drink the solution daily. Apple cider vinegar plays the role of a natural detoxifier and cleanser. Besides this, it also possesses malic acid that is quite helpful in breaking and eliminating uric acid from your body. Even apples contain malic acid, and thus you should consume one every day.
- Lime juice
To lower uric acid levels and flush out the waste product from the body, you may also drink lime water twice each day. Lime consists of citric acid that is efficient in dissolving uric acid. Hence, it is recommended that you eat foods that are rich in vitamin C such as guava, amla, oranges, etc.
- Celery seeds
Such seeds are full of diuretic oils and Omega-6 fatty acids. Being diuretic in nature, celery seeds are useful in flushing out the extra uric acid. Besides this, celery seeds are also helpful in alkalizing blood as well as lowering body inflammation. You may consume one-half of a teaspoon of such seeds (dried) once every day. Do remember to drink lots of water along with it.
The high uric acid level is the cause of many other problems like kidney stones. For men, the normal uric acid range is 3.4-7 mg/dL and for women is 2.4-6 mg/dL. If the report of the blood test detects that you possess more uric acid in your body than the normal range, then you may try the above-mentioned tips to lower uric acid levels or get in touch with medical expert.