What is Uric Acid?

Uric acid is a waste product from the breakdown of purine which is found naturally in both our body and diet.

It builds up in our body which is then transported in the blood to the kidneys and excreted out in the form of urine.

The purine-rich foods that we love to eat such as beef, duck, anchovies, prawn, scallop, mushroom, cauliflower and spinach will increase the uric acid level in the blood.

What Is Gout?

Gout is a form of painful arthritis which mainly caused by high uric acid level in the blood. A gout attack is caused by abnormal uric acid metabolism and precipitation of urate crystals in extracellular space that irritate the joints.

60% of gout patients have a second attack within a year of diagnosis.

Besides this gout is associated with a number of health issues including metabolic syndrome, diabetes, obesity, hypertension and kidney diseases.

What Is Considered As High Uric Acid Level And Causes

Hyperuricemia or high uric acid level is defined as a serum uric acid level more than 6.8mg/dL and is the most important risk factor for developing gout.

Hyperuricemia can be caused by consuming foods and drinks that are high in purine content, overproduction of uric acid in the body or by far more commonly due to inefficient excretion of uric acid by the kidneys.

Inefficient excretion of uric acid by our kidneys is the cause for more than 90% of hyperuricemia.

When the uric acid becomes concentrated in the urine, it can settle and form kidney stones by itself or along with calcium.

Controlling High Uric Acid Level and Gout

According to American College of Rheumatology (ACR) gout treatment guidelines, the new “Treat-to-Target” approach is to bring down the uric acid level of less than 6mg/dL to reduce the risk of gout.

People with high uric acid may take urinary alkalinizer as an alternative therapy or in combination with gout treatment to reduce the uric acid level.

Both sodium bicarbonate and sodium citrate increase the urinary pH in patients with normal renal function.

By maintaining alkaline urine, it increases the solubility of uric acid and facilitates uric acid excretion, thus reducing the uric acid level in the blood.