When you get your blood checked at your physical you've noticed you get back a report on about 20 some blood parameters- glucose, bilirubin, SGOT, SGPT, albumin, cholesterol, triglycerides, etc. One of those readings is "uric acid". In the report I have the reference range is 3.3-7.9 which means an aver-age of about 5.6 (add high and low and divide by 2). You want LOW normal levels and not merely normal levels. 3.3 to 4.5 would be an ideal low normal, low quintile result here.
If you eat little or no meat, poultry, eggs and dairy foods in your diet, you should have a low uric acid level. If you eat a lot of meat, you probably have a very high level. If you are on the Atkins or "keto-genic" diet you probably have a stratospheric level of uric acid.
What does that mean? It means you will probably get a very painful form of arthritis called gout. It means you are at much higher risk for arthritis of all kinds and inflammation. Most of all it means you are at high risk for coronary heart disease (CHD), heart attack, and early death. High uric acid is a very accurate marker of illness and early death. CHD is the leading cause of death by far.
There is a very interesting study in the Journal of the American Medical Association (vol. 283, 2000). At the Einstein College of Medicine in NY 5,926 people from 25 to 74 years of age were studied for their blood uric acid levels. They followed these people for almost 17 years. They looked at their results and said, "Increased serum uric acid levels had a positive relationship to cardiovascular mortality in men and women and in black and white persons." They further said, "Our data suggest that increased serum uric acid levels are independently and significantly associated with risk of cardiovascular mortality."
The traditional wisdom says that the “purines” in foods cause high blood uric acid levels. Reality tells us that animal foods per se (except seafood in moderation) cause high uric acid. This means no or only oc-casional meat, poultry, eggs, or dairy foods. You will almost never see a vegetarian or a seafood eater with high uric acid levels. This pathology is purely a result of eating animal foods.
This column has warned you repeatedly about the Atkins diet, ketogenic diet and glycemic index. People on these diets have hideous levels or uric acid as well as CRP, and homocysteine. Here's your proof straight from a purely medical journal. JAMA is certainly not promoting natural health much less vegetarianism; it is purely an allopathic journal for medical doctors.
The next time you go for your annual check up be sure to look at the uric acid result and compare it to the reference range. You should be in the lowest quarter to be safe. If the range is 2-10 for example you'll want to be 2-4 to live the longest and not be concerned about heart and artery disease- the largest killer by far in the Western nations. If you aren't, then cut down on the meat you eat. Eat seafood in moderation instead of red meat. Eat more beans, more green and yellow vegetables, more fruit, more salad, and more whole grains especially.
Animal foods break down into uric acid. This also is a major cause of kidney stones. You do not want to drink alcohol if you have high uric acid levels as the alcohol furthers the breakdown. Being overweight is also a big factor in uric acid conditions. Men are ten times more likely to suffer from gout for some reason. Diet and lifestyle is the answer as always. Uric acid levels are a valuable and accurate health marker. Keep your level low.
