1. Avoid sugar
Consuming a lot of fructose (a single type of sugar found in many foods and sweet drinks) can stimulate the liver to produce more uric acid. Therefore, using foods rich in fructose can increase uric acid levels in the blood.
2. Limit purine-rich foods
Purines are abundant in foods such as red meat (beef, goat meat, pork...), seafood, animal organs, beans,... When the body absorbs purines, the liver converts them into uric acid. Therefore, limiting the supplementation of purine-rich foods is an effective way to reduce blood uric acid.
3. Drink plenty of water
This is a natural and safe way to reduce blood uric acid through a mechanism that promotes blood flow through the kidneys, creating favorable conditions to help the kidneys filter and excrete uric acid. In addition, drinking plenty of water every day also helps dilute uric acid levels in the urine, preventing uric acid precipitation and kidney stones formation.
4. Avoid alcoholic beverages
Alcohol and beer are drinks with high purine content. When using alcohol and beer, the purines in these drinks will increase the uric acid level in the liver, leading to increased uric acid levels in the blood. In addition, a large amount of alcohol in alcohol and beer can reduce the kidney's ability to filter blood, affecting the process of uric acid excretion from the body.
5. Drink coffee
Coffee is rich in antioxidants. This is a very good drink for people with gout and people with urate kidney stones. The large amount of polyphenol compounds in coffee, such as chlorogenic acid and caffeine (1,3,7-trimethylxanthine) - a form of xanthine derivative, has the ability to inhibit the activity of xanthine oxidase. This is an enzyme that can break down purines from food into uric acid in the blood, thereby helping to reduce blood uric acid levels.
Note that using non-pure coffee (such as milk coffee) may not help reduce uric acid. Not everyone can reduce uric acid with coffee drinking habits. The effectiveness of this measure also depends on genetics and many other factors.
6. Regular blood sugar checks
When the body absorbs a lot of carbohydrates, insulin levels in the blood will increase. This is a hormone that stimulates the body to break down glucose. Whenever there is an increase in insulin levels in the blood, serum uric acid levels will also increase accordingly.
7. Add fiber to your diet
Fiber are slow-absorbing sugar molecules. When it reaches the digestive system, fiber forms a layer of mucus clinging around the small intestine wall, helping the body limit the absorption of purines from food, inhibiting the process of uric acid buildup. Therefore, supplementing fiber-rich foods is a safe way to reduce uric acid, recommended by many doctors and nutritionists.
8. Supplement vitamin C
Supplementing with vitamin C can help lower blood uric acid levels by a mechanism called the "uricosuric effect" (stimulating urination). Increasing the supplementation of vitamin C-rich foods will support the kidneys to function better in the process of filtering and excreting uric acid, helping to better control blood uric acid levels, preventing outbreaks of gout.
9. Use of milk and dairy products
Milk and dairy products are safe foods for people with gout. Because milk hardly contains purines, while yogurt and cheese contain very little purines, less than 13mg of purines/100g of food. For people with gout, the safe purine consumption limit is 400mg/day.
10. Avoid stress and anxiety
Psychological stress and anxiety can cause high blood pressure and cortisol hormone levels in the blood. High blood pressure will make the kidneys work harder during blood filtration, making uric acid excretion ineffective.
Meanwhile, increasing the amount of cortisol in the blood can promote high uric acid levels. Therefore, avoiding stress and anxiety is considered an effective and healthy way to reduce uric acid.
