Purines are substances that we find in some foods, and they can cause problems when they are excessive. What are they and what are their effects?
The purines are substances found in certain foods, and that once absorbed by the body, tend to leave as residue uric acid.
For this reason, when a person has high uric acid and needs to lower its levels, they should follow a diet low in purines, since high uric acid values can lead to a disease classically known as gout, or cause kidney stones.
Basically we could indicate that uric acid would be the degradation of toxins in our body, which are mainly eliminated through our urine (find out more about how to purify the kidneys).
But that high uric acid levels are harmful to health does not mean that our body does not need uric acid, since its deficiency causes kidney disease.
What Causes Excessive Purine Consumption?
We tend to consume too many purines when we eat a high-protein diet and drink a lot of alcoholic beverages. And that excessive consumption of foods rich in purines is one of the main risks of high protein diets, so dangerous to health if they have not been prepared by a dietician.
Among the foods richest in purines, shellfish, oily fish, game products and organ meats stand out. And, among the drinks, mainly alcohol.
Of course, if a person must follow a diet low in purines, it is best to maintain a balanced diet, and can also eat a moderate amount of legumes, meat and fish.
The health effects of purines:
It is necessary to be very clear that purines, when absorbed by our body, leave uric acid as a residue. So purines, by themselves, do not tend to cause harmful effects on health.
Be that as it may, following a diet based on foods mainly rich in purines, can cause an acute crisis, which, extending over time, causes diseases such as gout, or related disorders such as kidney stones.
But for the health effects of purines to be clearly harmful, it is not only due to excessive consumption of foods rich in purines, but also due to the consumption of alcoholic beverages.
Of course, unlike what you might think, it is not bad to consume seafood, meat or organ meats, nutritious and healthy foods, but always in moderation and without overdoing it.
The same occurs with beverages such as coffee or tea, which although they contain caffeine (a substance, by the way, with a chemical structure quite similar to that of purines), does not transform into uric acid.
How to lower or reduce the consumption of purines?
The fundamental thing is to follow a balanced diet, since a healthy diet based on natural and healthy foods helps us lower the levels of uric acid in the blood.
Foods such as dairy, eggs, vegetables, fresh fruits or pasta do not contain purines. Therefore, the key is to follow a healthy, natural, but above all balanced diet.
What are the foods that do not have purines?
If we want to enjoy good health and have optimal uric acid levels, the most appropriate, in addition to following a balanced diet, is to opt for foods without purines, especially if you must follow a diet low in purines.
The truth is that we can find a wide variety of healthy and natural foods that do not have purines, so that the risk that they can be transformed into uric acid is practically zero.
Here we summarize the main ones:
- Milk and its derivatives.
- Eggs.
- Fruits, vegetables and greens.
- Potatoes.
- Food pasta.
- Honey.
- Drinks like tea and coffee.
Therefore, as we can see, although foods with a higher purine content do not have to become a problem, especially when they are not consumed in excess, they should be avoided by all those people who have a high level of uric acid in the blood.
