What is Uric Acid?

What is Uric Acid?

Uric acid is a chemical naturally produced by our bodies when we digest purine-rich foods. Purine-rich foods are foods such as organ meats, red meats, seafood, and beer.

Usually, our bodies will filter out uric acid through our kidneys and pass it out in our urine. However, if we eat too much purine-rich foods or produce too much uric acid, our bodies may not be able to get rid of the uric acid fast enough, resulting in it building up in our bodies.

A normal uric acid level is ideally around 5 to 6.8 mg/dL. When our uric acid levels are above 6.8 mg/dL, it results in the medical condition known as hyperuricemia.

What is Hyperuricemia?

Hyperuricemia happens when there is a high level of uric acid in our blood.

Many people who have hyperuricemia actually don’t have any symptoms. However, if the hyperuricemia is left untreated, over time it can start to form uric acid crystals, which can develop into painful diseases like gout, which can cause severe pain, swelling and stiffness in your joints, and kidney stones, which can result in severe lower back pain, nausea, and pain and blood while urinating.

Hyperuricemia can be caused not just by our diets, but also by our genetics, or other medical conditions. It often goes hand-in-hand with conditions like obesity, kidney disease, hypothyroidism, high blood pressure and high blood glucose levels.

How do we lower our uric acid levels?

We can naturally lower our uric acid levels in our bodies by paying attention to our lifestyle and what we eat. Some foods that we should eat/drink less of are:

• Purine-rich foods, like red meats, organ meats and seafood;
• Sweet foods and beverages high in sugar, like processed foods and soda;
• Alcohol, especially beer which contains a higher purine content than other types of alcohol.

Some low purine foods and drinks that we can eat more of are:

• Fruits and vegetables;
• Whole grain foods;
• Dairy products;
• And lean proteins.

Drinking more water can also help to flush out uric acid from our bodies faster. There is also some research that shows that drinking coffee (without sugar) may help to lower the rate of uric acid production and increase the rate at which our bodies remove uric acid.

Eating more fruits and vegetables can help to reduce your uric acid levels via increasing our fiber intake and vitamin C intake. Research has shown that cherries are especially good at reducing uric acid levels in people with gout. Cherries are also a good source of fiber and vitamin C, and helps to reduce inflammation.

How do we test for our uric acid levels?

One way to test for our uric acid level is to go to a hospital or clinic, where they will get a urine sample from you and send it to a lab for testing. Usually, that can take up to 24 hours to get a result.

Another way is to use a test kit, like our Buzud Safe AQ UG Blood Glucose and Uric Acid Monitoring System. With our device, you can test for both your blood glucose and uric acid levels with one drop of blood, and get your results in less than a minute.

Buzud Safe AQ UG Blood Glucose and Uric Acid Monitoring System set

Includes 1 Safe AQ UG Blood Glucose and Uric Acid Meter, 1 box of 50 Uric Acid test strips and 1 box of 50 Blood Glucose test strips.

Price: S$243.96 (incl. GST)

Being able to test for both uric acid levels and blood glucose at the same time is beneficial, as diabetes and gout have similar risk factors, and if you have one condition, the chance of having the other goes up. Therefore, if you have either diabetes or gout, it’s important to test for both values.

DISCLAIMER

All information presented herein serves as a general guideline, and is not intended as dispensing any medical advice(s). User(s) should consult their doctor to seek further clarification for any doubt. It is recommended to refer to this guide with sole discretion, thereby we shall not be held responsible for any part of the information as presented.

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