High Uric Acid and Gout? 12+ Natural Ways and Lifestyle Tips to Manage It

High Uric Acid and Gout? Natural Ways and Lifestyle Tips to Manage It

By Team Luke Condition Management, 2023 dehydration, fructose, fructose malabsorption, Gout, gout diet, gout lifestyle tips, high uric acid, high uric acid levels, high uric acid lifestyle tips, high uric acids food, kidney, manage high uric acid, protein, purine-rich foods, rates, uric acid, weak kidney 0 Comments

High uric acid is a health issue affecting millions as you read this. When left unaddressed, this high uric acid can become gout. It is a painful condition that can cause permanent damage to the tissues and joints it affects. Can you live without uric acid? No. Can something be done to reduce high uric acid levels? Can you make it better? Absolutely, yes.

Before we get into this, understand that your body needs uric acid – anatomically, chemically, and biologically. Uric acid is a powerful antioxidant that your body, immune system, and tissues need to function well and reduce inflammation. But remember, like I always say, anything in excess can become a problem. Don’t look at uric acid negatively. Only when it reaches excess levels due to your genetic predisposition or poor lifestyle, will it cause these issues.

What if I have high uric acid genetically?

Even if you have high uric acid genetically, you have the power to influence how it affects your health. The key is epigenetics. Which is where you take active steps to change the internal environment within the human body and the external environment around you. Genes can change the way they express themselves depending on this. You can down-regulate or upregulate your genes with your lifestyle.

If you reach a mental block and keep repeating to yourself, “Oh my parents have it, so I have to live with it,” you will not get better. Shift your mindset – “Yes, I have it. But what can I do to make it better?”

While you may be prescribed medications to treat it, but these alone will not help you. It may suppress your symptoms, manage pain, or make your blood reports look good, but it will not address your root cause. For sustainable results, you need to change your lifestyle.

We have hundreds of patients who have been on uric acid medication. After making lifestyle changes, their doctors have said, “There is no requirement for you to be on that medicine anymore because you don’t have that much uric acid in your body anymore, that’s creating a problem.”

What is gout?

Uric acid becomes urate crystals. These small crystals get in between the tissues in your toes, elbows, knees, and other body parts giving you extreme throbbing pain. You may be tempted to think it is arthritis, but it’s not always arthritis. The pain may seem arthritic in nature, but it is the buildup of urate crystals that causes it. Gout happens when you have too many of these urate crystals building up in your system. We’re going to learn how to break it down.

High Uric Acid and Gout Try This Today — Representation of a gout affected toe. Illustration Credit: Freepik/brgfx

What are some possible causes for high uric acid levels

Genetics
Obesity. The more body weight you carry, the more uric acid you produce automatically.
Poor lifestyle and diet. Overdoing certain foods that are rich in purine.
Being dehydrated. When you don’t have enough water as a medium to flush out excess uric acid.
Existing kidney conditions. Your kidneys act as filters and flush excess uric acid out of your system through urine and feces.
If you are heavily constipated or have weak kidney function, it may lead to a buildup of uric acid due to the inability to flush it out of your system.

Who else should get their uric acid levels checked?

Chemotherapy and radiation stimulate the production of uric acid. So if you are a cancer patient undergoing these conventional treatments and getting unexplained pains in your joints, toes, knees, elbows, and so on – get your uric acid levels checked immediately. Because if it is high in uric acid, you can correct these levels. Your doctor will give you the right medication to control the pain. You can make the right dietary and lifestyle changes over and above this.
Did you know diabetes can also predict or cause high uric acid? If you are a diabetic patient and you have unexplained aches and pains, get your uric acid levels checked.
Similarly, if you have hypothyroidism that is out of control and are experiencing these pains, check your uric acid levels immediately.

What are the food and lifestyle changes I can make to manage high uric acid levels?

Reduce the intake of purine-rich foods

When you eat foods rich in purine, once these get digested the waste product they generate is uric acid. When you have a buildup of these waste products caused by the breakdown of purines it creates excess uric acid in your body. But remember, food isn’t the only reason. Your body also naturally forms and breaks down purine. Sometimes even if you reduce the amount of purine-rich foods but have a poor lifestyle that can stimulate your body to create and break down purines, you can also have excess uric acid. So that’s why the process is both exogenous and endogenous. Uric acid can be formed from foods that come into your system and from outside of your body too.

What are some of these foods that are rich in purines?

Reduce the intake of these purine-rich foods:
Organ meats
Seafood
Poultry
Lentils
Legumes
Soy products, and so on.

Busting the protein myth

One of the most common myths is that when you have a uric acid problem you should stop eating protein. Let me bust this. This is not the right way to do it. Protein is the building block of every single cell in the human body. Yes, you have to reduce or limit its intake but do not cut it out completely. If you have 100% protein on your plate, reduce it to 50%.

Your doctors and your nutritionist by now would have told you to ensure you wash the legumes you wash the lentils and legumes twice or thrice.

A lot of people stop eating protein but their uric acid still doesn’t go down. Purines are not just in foods. Your body is also making purine and breaking it down. How do you stop that? By avoiding the stimulation of the breakdown of purines.

The biggest culprit for high uric acid is fructose.

Fructose stimulates the breakdown of purines in the body. Where is it found?

Fruits
Honey
Jaggery
Sugar
Processed and packaged foods
Aerated drinks, and so on.

If you have uric acid I can guarantee you one thing: Stop eating fruits, honey, jaggery, white sugar, processed foods, and aerated drinks. I know it’s difficult. But difficult doesn’t mean impossible. Do it for a week and I can guarantee you your uric acid levels will come down. Your flare-ups and gout attacks will also reduce.

For the longest time, we have been made to believe that protein is a villain when it comes to uric acid. But it is fructose.

“Luke, if I don’t eat fruits, where am I going to get my vitamins and minerals from?”

You will not be vitamin or mineral deficient. You will get it from your other colored vegetables.

Many people have a condition called fructose malabsorption which means their liver doesn’t know how to process it. Even when you look at improving your Grade 2 or Grade 3 fatty liver, the only way we can save that liver is to stop fructose immediately.

When you stop fructose immediately, the liver has a chance to improve its health. You can go from cirrhotic to maybe a Grade 3. But you can definitely go from a Grade 3 fatty liver to Grade 2, from Grade 2 to Grade 1, and from Grade 1 to mild until you reverse a fatty liver completely by stopping fructose.

Stop aerated drinks

The moment you have an aerated drink you are going to have a fructose dump in your liver and your body that is going to stimulate the breakdown of purines. You will have an immediate gout attack or fluctuating uric acid levels. Limit your protein. But immediately stop fructose.

To sum it up…

Get off gluten.
Get off milk. You can have yogurt which contains lactase, provided you are not allergic to it. But avoid milk that contains lactose.
Stop eating all fruits for at least a month. As your uric acid level reduces, you can slowly start moving into the berry family (blueberries, blackberries, raspberries, strawberries, etc.) Eventually, you can start eating low glycemic index fruits like apples.
Stop eating processed foods and beverages that contain high fructose corn syrup. High fructose corn syrup immediately stimulates the production and breakdown of purines in your body leading to an increased level of uric acid and a gout attack. Cut out every form of aerated drink, fruit juice, fruits, honey jaggery, white sugar, and so on.
Want to eat red meat? Reduce the quantity. I know meat eaters with uric acid who have cut down the quantity and always pair it with vegetables. This simple combination slows down the production of uric acid.
Your complex carbohydrates are good for you. Eat whole grains that are gluten-free and natural, not refined. White flour is one of your biggest culprits for high uric acid. Be careful of bad carbs. Limit their quantity. If you want to be pain-free or reverse your condition, go off refined carbs completely.
Avoid or limit alcohol. It is a no-brainer. Beer is the worst type of alcohol for uric acid. It breaks down into incredible amounts of purines. The idea behind wanting to heal a sick body is simple. Take away what makes you sick. You don’t need complications or extremes.
Increase your water intake. Most uric acid patients we meet are dehydrated. Water is the medium that will flush out excess uric acid with the help of your kidneys and through your urine. Ensure you fix your hydration levels.
Black coffee is powerful. It has an enzyme that competes with the breakdown of purines. You can have one to two cups of black coffee in a day. But remember, coffee is a diuretic. For every cup of coffee you drink, have an extra cup of water. When you have a gout attack, sip a black coffee – no sugar, no milk. It can give you immediate relief.
Some other natural ways to flush excess uric acid include having 1 tablespoon of apple cider vinegar mixed in a tall glass of water. Drink this 30 minutes before your meals. You can also have freshly squeezed lemon juice in a glass of water. You can even have barley water.
Add fiber-rich foods to your plate. Gluten-free whole grains, raw veggies, seeds, nuts – keep it balanced.
If you’re overweight, you need to start losing body fat. It is crucial to get your uric acid levels in control.
Some vitamins you need to manage high uric acid include Vitamin C, Omega-3, and folic acid. If you can get them from natural foods – that should be your first preference. Otherwise, you can supplement it under the guidance of an expert. If you have high uric acid and are on aspirin, or diuretics, have undergone a transplant, or are on immunosuppressants, these three classes of drugs can also increase the amount of uric acid in your body. So, be careful.
Exercise is important. When you have a gout attack, it can be difficult to walk. Start with gentle movements under the guidance of an expert to boost your blood circulation. Blood circulation is healing and medicine to manage uric acid levels. Do not overtrain.

To wrap it up, make these dietary and lifestyle changes and mindfully observe how your pain comes down and how your uric acid levels change.

Keep your healthcare provider in the loop before making changes or adding anything new to your lifestyle, especially if you are on medications or undergoing treatment.

It is all about holistic health. The quality of your sleep, stress levels, the kind of food you feed yourself, your exercise, and your understanding of how the human body works matter. You do not have to treat every condition symptomatically. Understand the root cause and address it.

Disclaimer: None of what is mentioned in this blog is replacement for any medical advice, medicine, or treatment. Always keep your medical expert in the loop before trying anything new especially if you are on any medication or treatment.

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