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

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. 

"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). 

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). 

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."