What is Uric Acid

What is uric acid and why is it giving me this pain? Many people end up in the doctor’s office because they are having pain and don’t know why.  I was one of them.  The doctor told me I had gout.

So of course the first thing I asked was, “What causes gout?” The doctor told me high levels of uric acid in your body. I bet you can guess my next question, “What is uric acid?”

Uric acid is a waste product your body creates when it breaks down purine. Your body produces purine naturally and it’s found in a lot of the foods we eat. Around 1/3 of the uric acid in our bodies comes from the foods we eat.

Uric acid is water soluble so it makes its way into your blood steam and sent to your kidneys. Here it is filtered out and disposed of mostly in your urine, but a little may end up leaving in your stool. If the kidneys are not removing the uric acid like they are suppose to it will build up in your body and problems can occur.

Gout and kidney stones are two common effects of high uric acid.

Uric Acid – Good For You?

Gout patients will surely cry NO to this question knowing that uric acid is the cause of gout but believe it or not uric acid is indeed important for the body. It is actually its excess and deposition into the joints that cause gout. In itself uric acid is a powerful antioxidant that is produced naturally by the body.

Uric Acid, an Antioxidant

Uric acid is the final product of the breakdown of the protein purines. Final product because humans (also higher primates) do not have the enzyme urate oxidase (also called uricase) to break it down further. Uric acid is produced when the enzyme xanthine oxidase breaks down purine. While it is dissolved in the blood, it accounts for over half the antioxidant capacity of blood plasma. Same with another metabolic product ascorbic acid, uric acid is also a potent reducing agent and antioxidant. It has the highest concentration among all antioxidants in the blood.

Studies of uric acid’s antioxidant properties have linked it to its possible use in multiple sclerosis (MS), an inflammatory disease causing nerve damage resulting to muscular symptoms such as muscle spasms and problem in moving the arms and legs.

In general, antioxidants protect the cells from harmful free-radicals that cause conditions such as cancerous tumors. Antioxidants also prevent the oxygenation of lipids and fats that can cause damage to organs, muscles, bones and connective tissues.

Uric Acid Becomes Detrimental

Uric acid becomes a problem when it is produced excessively by the body. This happens when defective genes result in the enzyme xanthine oxidase, responsible for its break down, having too much catalytic activity. This is aggravated by inefficient removal of uric acid by the kidneys. High uric acid, a condition medically known as hyperuricemia can lead to gout. Gout occurs when excess uric acid is crystallized and deposited in the joints resulting to joint inflammation and pain.

Uric acid has also been linked to autism. In surveys conducted on autistic children, 11 to 28% excrete excessive uric acid in the urine, a condition known as hyperuricoscuria. There are still no definitive studies establishing the exact link between autism and excessive uric acid excretion. Early studies suggest that all of these may be linked to a deficiency in purine nucleotide inter conversion.

Uric acid is among the most complex metabolites produced by the body. Its antioxidant properties are still not largely understood. The same is true for its role in many metabolic diseases. One thing is for sure; our body will not produce it if it does not serve some kind of purpose!

If you have problems with high levels of uric acid like I do, don’t worry too much. It’s not the end of the world. People can make miner adjustment to their eating habits and this will not be a major problem. I have changed a few things in my life and haven’t had any problems since.

I will explain how to lower uric acid levels, and how to avoid high uric acid foods. You are doing the right thing figuring out the route of your problem and finding out what uric acid is.

The number of people developing levels of high uric acid is increasing every year. Due to this there is an increase in the problems associated with high levels of uric acid.

Men suffer from this more often than women. Sorry guys, it’s a fact. But ladies, the gap begins to close after menopause. Some women that may have gone their whole lives without any problems could encounter some after menopause.  Uric acid can increase with old age in men and women.