My family is trying to get me to eat less lentils because they said it’s full of uric acid. But they curiously don’t say the same thing about eating meat everyday. How much uric acid is even in lentils compared to meat? Is meat worse on uric acid altogether or is there a nuance I’m missing?
As with many things nutrition related, there’s often not a direct line between the contents of a food and the resulting concentration in our blood stream. Foods with cholesterol do not directly cause high cholesterol in the blood it’s the same with purines and uric acid.
Speaking as someone who has/had gout, my weight and how much sugar I eat is really the only thing that correlates with my uric acid results.
I’ve eaten 70g of lentils and 170g of cauliflower for breakfast everyday, 100g of spinach for lunch, and often asparagus and/or broccoli for dinner. Apparently these are veggies that are high in purines and “should” result in a raised uric acid level, but I’ve actually seen my levels reduced. A study can be found here.
If your family is concerned about uric acid (which is valid as high levels can lead to adverse health outcomes), I’d recommend getting a blood test and seeing what your levels are actually at and what foods actually drive that number in you.
Thanks! This is helpful.