Do soy products increase uric acid? Can soda water lower uric acid? What you know may not be the truth!

Author: Wang Hailong, Chief Physician, Dongzhimen Hospital, Beijing University of Chinese Medicine

Reviewer: Wu Xueyan, Chief Physician, Peking Union Medical College Hospital

Deputy Director of the Gonadal Group of the Endocrinology Branch of the Chinese Medical Association

According to epidemiological statistics, it is estimated that there are approximately 130 to 140 million people with high uric acid in my country, which means that perhaps one in every ten of us has this condition.

This uric acid builds up and it gets deposited in the soft tissues of our body.

For example, if it accumulates in the joints, it is gouty arthritis.

For example, if it is deposited in the kidneys, it will cause the kidney function to decline. Severe patients may need dialysis treatment or even a kidney transplant.

For example, it deposits in our blood vessels, leading to the onset of cardiovascular and cerebrovascular diseases, and hyperuricemia is also an independent risk factor for cardiovascular and cerebrovascular diseases.

…

Therefore, when uric acid levels rise, it has a great impact on our human body, and everyone must pay attention to it.

1. Should people with high uric acid drink more water?

First of all, we say that drinking water is very important, because uric acid is excreted through urine. If we want to lower uric acid, we must ensure a certain amount of water intake.

Generally speaking, we require drinking 2000-2500 ml of water every day, more in summer and less in winter. Drinking this amount every day can ensure that uric acid is excreted from the urine.

Figure 1 Original copyright image, no permission to reprint

Of course, the more is not necessarily better. Some people drink water constantly in order to excrete uric acid faster. This will increase the burden on the kidneys and be harmful.

So generally speaking, our usual requirement is not to drink more than 4000 ml of water per day to avoid increasing the burden on the kidneys.

2. Can drinking soda water lower uric acid?

Nowadays, people are paying more and more attention to their physical health. Everyone believes that soda water is alkaline and can promote the excretion of uric acid, but there are two misunderstandings here.

First, the principle of alkalizing urine and promoting uric acid excretion requires the use of drugs. For example, we routinely use drugs such as benzbromarone to promote uric acid excretion, and then alkalize urine to achieve results. If you only use a drug that alkalizes urine without a drug that promotes excretion, its effect on lowering uric acid is actually very weak.

Of course, there is another factor. The soda water on the market now has sugar added to make it taste better, so when you drink it, the calories are actually still very high.

If you are more accepting of soda water and are willing to drink it, just take a look at the ingredient list. If it is sugar-free, we think it is fine and you can drink it.

Some people can't drink plain water because they think it has no taste. If they want to drink soda water or something like that, that's fine too.

3. Can people with high uric acid drink milk and eat eggs?

Can.

Because studies have shown that milk can reduce uric acid to a certain extent, so if the patient drinks water every day and feels uncomfortable drinking water, it is okay to replace water with milk.

However, some Chinese people are lactose intolerant and always have diarrhea after drinking milk, so these people cannot drink milk.

In addition, gout patients can eat eggs, a protein-rich food, without any problems.

4. Can people with high uric acid eat soy products?

Soy products have no effect on gout and can be eaten.

The onset of gout is actually mainly related to the abnormality of animal purine, such as seafood and animal offal. If uric acid is elevated, these foods must be avoided.

In fact, purine is found in animals, plants, and our human body.

Plant purines have nothing to do with gout, so gout patients can eat common high-purine plants, such as soy products, mushrooms, etc.

Of course, some people may have some abnormal conditions. For example, if they feel uncomfortable after eating, there is no need to eat it. If they do not feel uncomfortable after eating, there is no need to restrict the intake of these foods.

5. Can sweat steaming help excrete uric acid?

The main channel for uric acid excretion is urine.

A large amount of uric acid is excreted through urine, a small portion is excreted through feces, and an even smaller, very small amount is excreted through sweat, which can even be ignored.

So if we want to excrete uric acid through sweating, the probability of this happening is not high.

So from this perspective, sweat steaming is not helpful for gout patients to excrete uric acid, but may cause gout attacks. Why? The more you sweat, the more uric acid in the blood will be concentrated. After the concentration, the uric acid fluctuates, which may cause gout attacks.

Figure 2 Original copyright image, no permission to reprint

Therefore, we recommend that patients, if they particularly like sweat steaming, should prepare some water and drink some water to replenish some water while sweating. This will be safer.