People who either suffer from, or worry about contracting, kidney stones or gout need to reduce the amount of uric acid in their blood. A diet consisting of foods that help reduce uric acid is essential. This diet can include healthy amounts of water consumption, complex carbohydrates, tofu and foods low in purines.
Fluids
Drinking plenty of fluids, such as vegetable and fruit juices or teas, helps reduce levels of uric acid in the blood. However, at least half of your daily fluid intake should be in the form of plain water, preferably eight to 10 glasses per day.
- Drinking plenty of fluids, such as vegetable and fruit juices or teas, helps reduce levels of uric acid in the blood.
Juices made from almost any vegetable help dilute the urine in the blood and flush out toxins from the body, while juices made from cherries help decongest the arteries clogged with uric acid crystals. In addition, green tea is rich in oxalic acid, which promotes the excretion of uric acid in perspiration and urine.
Complex Carbohydrates
Complex carbohydrates also help flush uric acid from the body by preventing ketones from forming in the body and combining with uric acid to form kidney stones. Examples of complex carbohydrates include potatoes, rice, soy, pasta and whole grains.
Tofu
Tofu is a product made from soybeans and has the ability to change the plasma protein concentration in the blood. This characteristic of tofu increases the clearance of exaggerated amounts of uric acid from the blood and aids in its excretion. Combining tofu with a complex carbohydrate, such as rice, and raw vegetables, makes for a healthy, uric acid-reducing meal.
Low-purine Foods
Purines are substances found naturally in many foods and are broken down by the body into uric acid. Since consuming foods high in purines increases uric acid in the blood, eating low-purine foods is essential to your diet. Foods that are low in purines include eggs, low-fat and fat-free milk, cheese, ice cream, nuts and peanut butter.