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3 Tips To Lower Uric Acid, The Most Underrated Metabolic Health Marker

Jason Wachob
Author:
October 19, 2024
Jason Wachob
mbg Founder & Co-CEO
By Jason Wachob
mbg Founder & Co-CEO
Jason Wachob is the Founder and Co-CEO of mindbodygreen and the author of Wellth.
Man in blue suit smiling on red and beige background
Image by mbg creative
October 19, 2024
We carefully vet all products and services featured on mindbodygreen using our commerce guidelines. Our selections are never influenced by the commissions earned from our links.

When it comes to important metabolic health markers, you likely think of factors like blood sugar levels, waist circumference, and cholesterol. But according to board-certified internal medicine doctor Richard Johnson, M.D. (who has researched obesity and diabetes for over 20 years), we need to give uric acid more attention. 

Uric acid, in case you're unfamiliar, is a waste product found in the blood, created when the body breaks down chemicals called purines. When your levels are high, it may pose a problem: "When it's high, it predicts the development of kidney disease. It predicts the development of high blood pressure. It predicts the development of obesity. It's a bad, bad player, and I think it has a role in actually causing some of these conditions," Johnson says on this episode of the mindbodygreen podcast

The question becomes: How can we lower uric acid levels for the sake of optimal metabolic health? Johnson has a few ideas, which we've shared below: 

1.

Hydrate

"You want to keep your uric acid levels around four or five," says Johnson. One of the big ways to do just that? "Drink more water," he suggests. 

See, dehydration causes your urine to concentrate, as your body holds on to as much water as possible. That causes the calcium and uric acid in the urine to go up, which can ultimately lead to kidney stones (not to mention poor metabolic health). 

So getting your daily water quota is important—especially considering you're at higher risk for dehydration as you get older1 because of changes in body composition and kidney function. While there isn't a magic number of glasses to guzzle down, you can take a look at your urine: A dark yellow color is a surefire sign you need to drink more water. 

2.

Cut back on sugar

Your body releases purines when it breaks down fructose (aka sugar), and when those purines break down, they produce uric acid. So by limiting fructose, you can limit purines and therefore limit uric acid. Makes sense, no? 

Now, that's not to say all forms of fructose are inherently bad. Fruit, for instance, contains fructose, and whole fruits can certainly be part of a healthy diet. But "Fruit also has other things, like fiber, vitamin C, [and] flavonols like quercetin," says Johnson.

"The fructose in fruits is neutralized by a lot of these other things. [For example], the fiber will slow the fructose absorption, so it doesn't come as a big wave." And certain fruits have way less sugar than you think (kiwis, Johnson says, don't have much sugar). 

So go ahead and eat your fruit. Fruit is not the enemy here! "I think people should just avoid liquid sugar, period," says Johnson. Meaning, limit artificially sweetened coffee creamers, sugary cocktails, and soft drinks. Cutting back on those alone should help you get to a good place in terms of uric acid. 

3.

Limit high-purine foods

We already discussed how uric acid gets created when your body breaks down purines. So, says Johnson, you'll want to avoid eating a ton of foods high in purines

One of the main purine culprits is alcohol, namely beer. "It's not from the alcohol. It's from the brewer's yeast, which really is filled with purines, and it raises uric acid," he shares. 

Another big one is shellfish—shrimp, lobster, and the like. Don't get Johnson wrong, he loves shellfish! Shrimp and lobster have plenty of healthy omega-3s! "But if you eat a lot of them, they will raise your uric acid," he shares. "So, you don't want to be eating shrimp every day." 

Again, this is not a problem if you have relatively low uric acid already. But if you're trying to actively reduce your levels and you eat a lot of shrimp, perhaps try to scale back and see how you fare. Of course, you should talk to a doctor or health care professional before making any drastic changes, so try bringing up the shrimp conversation and see what they say. 

The takeaway 

According to Johnson, you can't have optimal metabolic health without paying attention to uric acid. In terms of specific measurements, "A uric acid level of 4.5 [milligrams per deciliter] is a dream," he shares. "Once it starts going over 5.2, your risk for diabetes and obesity starts going up." The good news? You can get it relatively low through lifestyle interventions, like hydration and diet. Just take it from Johnson.

We hope you enjoy this episode! And don't forget to subscribe to our podcast on iTunes, Google Podcasts, Spotify, Amazon Music, or YouTube!

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