Excess metabolic waste in the body has serious consequences. And although, according to statistics, a considerable part of the world’s population faces these problems, it is dangerous to leave such alarming symptoms unattended. How to remove uric acid from the body, and what are the dangers of a high concentration of the substance?
Level of uric acid in the blood
Content
Normally present in the body of every healthy person, it is formed as a result of the metabolism of purines. When these substances break down, they form uric acid. Is it harmful? No, if its concentration is normal: acting as an antioxidant, it protects blood vessels. The main function of uric acid is to remove excess nitrogen from the body. However, in case of certain failures, when the metabolism is disrupted, uric acid salts accumulate in the body, as a result of which serious negative consequences can develop. How do you know if this indicator is normal? Studying the biochemical composition of blood in laboratory conditions provides a comprehensive answer to this question.
Uric acid levels in women by age
The concentration of uric acid in the blood of women depends on the age of the patient:
- in girls under 14 years old – 120-330 µmol/l;
- in women under 60 years of age, the normal value is 200-300 µmol/l;
- in women over 60 years of age the indicator is unstable, it can range from 130 to 460 µmol/l.
In addition, the concentration of uric acid can increase in proportion to weight and also depends on concomitant diseases. Often the reasons for the increase in uric acid concentration are fasting and high sports loads.
On the contrary, low rates are often observed during pregnancy, especially in the first trimester.
Uric acid levels in men
The normal level of uric acid in men under 60 years of age is 250-400 µmol/l. At older ages, an increase to 490 µmol/l may be observed. Higher numbers are a reason to contact a specialist.
Traditional methods
In folk medicine there are many good recipes that help remove acid from the blood and internal organs. As a rule, infusions, decoctions of various herbs or prefabricated mixtures are used for this. They can be used for already progressive diseases, such as inflammation of the joints, gout, joint problems.
- Take twenty grams of lingonberry leaves, pour one glass of boiling water into a container and infuse the herb for half an hour. We drink the resulting infusion a tablespoon of the medicine four times during the day.
- Using the same method, steam the nettle leaves, drink a small spoon three times. In addition, you can use nettle juice, one or two spoons at a time.
- Decoctions of birch leaves are effective. Pour two tablespoons of herbs with four hundred grams of boiling water and boil for ten minutes. Let it brew for half an hour and drink fifty grams during meals.
- To prevent the accumulation of acid in the blood, we use celery juice on an empty stomach. The course lasts two months. The recipe is recommended for active people.
- To remove kidney stones, we take a tincture of knotweed, one spoon of herb per glass of boiling water.
- You can also use decoctions of lingonberries, cloudberries, and cranberries. To do this, take twenty grams of berries per one hundred grams of water, boil for about ten minutes and leave to brew.
- It would be a good idea to drink a tincture of garlic and lemon every morning as a preventative measure.
- To relieve joint inflammation, we use a decoction of madder herb. The pharmacy also has medicinal tablets containing this herb.
- For sore joints, we make a herbal bath. We use herbs such as chamomile, sage and calendula. Cool the water to twenty-six degrees and lower the sore joints into the water. The effect becomes noticeable after five procedures. The full course is twenty baths every evening. We take a break for twenty days and repeat.
- Another effective recipe: one and a half liters of whey, eight hundred grams of natural honey, eight raw eggs. Mix everything and leave for nine days in a dark place. The mixture is taken fifty grams half an hour before meals, three times a day.
Many healers recommend using folk remedies simultaneously with medications prescribed by a doctor to increase effectiveness. The tendency to excess of this harmful substance is inherited, so if you are on the risk list, you need to urgently undergo examination and begin preventive actions.
Excess uric acid in the human body: causes and symptoms
In medical terminology, there is a term - “hyperuricemia”. It denotes a clinical symptom consisting of an increased level of uric acid salts in the blood. What are the reasons for this increase? There are several main ones:
- specific nutrition: eating large amounts of protein foods (eggs, meat, etc.);
- fasting (long term);
- intense physical activity;
- impaired renal function - chronic diseases, alcohol intoxication, etc.;
- hypertonic disease;
- obesity;
- endocrine system disorders;
- gout and other joint diseases;
- taking certain medications.
Is it possible to independently determine that there is something wrong with the concentration of uric acid in the body? Unfortunately, it is difficult to do this without a blood test, because the symptoms of hyperuricemia are specific to many diseases.
You should consult a doctor if:
- an allergic-type rash appeared on the skin - pinpoint redness;
- joints become inflamed and painful;
- unstable blood pressure is noted;
- the frequency of trips to the toilet changes significantly (increased or decreased urination).
High levels of uric acid in the blood cannot be ignored - this can lead to serious health complications, including the development of gout.
Bananas
It has been proven that diet correction is the best prevention of gout attacks. The menu should include foods containing a minimum amount of purines. This allows you to reduce the production of uric acid, thereby preventing the development of the disease [9].
Bananas are low in purines. Therefore, they can and should be eaten by people suffering from gout. An additional benefit is due to the fact that bananas are rich in vitamin C. Scientists conducted studies, the results of which were published in the journal Archives of Internal Medicine. They found that intake of vitamin C in high doses can reduce the risk of developing gout [10]. According to the USDA, one large banana contains about 11.8 mg of ascorbic acid.
During the day, women should receive 75 mg of vitamin C, and men 90 mg. Eating one banana can provide up to 16% of the body's daily requirement for women and up to 13% for men.
How to remove uric acid from the body using folk remedies
If tests show that the blood contains a high concentration, there is no reason to get upset ahead of time. Help to correct the situation:
- nutritional control - reducing the amount of protein, salt, consuming enough foods containing calcium, fiber;
- drinking regime - you need to drink a sufficient amount of water per day (from 1.5 liters);
- normalization of blood pressure (exclusion of the cause of hypertension, correction with medications).
Traditional medicine recommends the use of herbs. Horsetail, bearberry, and rose hips have a good diuretic effect and the ability to remove uric acid. It is good to include pumpkin, carrots, and cucumbers in your diet.
Using lingonberries
A lot has been said about the healing properties of lingonberries; they are also recognized by official medicine. How can a plant help with high uric acid?
Decoctions and infusions from the leaves of this shrub are powerful diuretics. The secret is that these parts of the plant contain arbutin, a natural antiseptic that is beneficial for the urinary tract. A course of lingonberry use not only helps remove excess uric acid, but also eliminates inflammation of the urinary system, helps normalize kidney function and prevent joint diseases caused by salt deposition.
There are several ways to take lingonberries:
- Dried lingonberry leaves are brewed with boiling water: 3-4 teaspoons of raw material per glass of water. Simmer the broth over low heat or in a water bath for 15-30 minutes and allow to cool. Take warm 3-4 times a day, ¼ cup.
- Preparing an infusion in a thermos takes a minimum of effort: just pour 2 teaspoons of dried raw materials into a container, brew half a liter of boiling water and infuse the drink for a couple of hours. It should be taken, after filtering the infusion, ¼ glass before meals 3 times a day.
- Lingonberry tea is both tasty and healthy. For cooking, you can use berries, or you can use leaves and berries together. Pour boiling water over a tablespoon of raw material (per glass of water), and after a couple of minutes the drink is ready.
Lingonberries are also good in the form of fruit drinks and compotes. The fruits are excellently stored frozen or sprinkled with sugar, without losing their medicinal properties.
Sample menu for the week
The diet should be compiled by a nutritionist, taking into account the weight and other physiological parameters of the patient. But a sample menu for the week looks like this:
- Monday. Breakfast – milk and toast with jam or honey. Lunch – fried potatoes in olive or flaxseed oil, vegetable cabbage soup, preferably with fresh cabbage. Dinner – vegetable stew, maybe with fish.
- Tuesday. Breakfast – cheesecakes with cottage cheese, tea with lemon or orange. Lunch – vegetable soup and cabbage rolls, but without meat (so-called “vegetarian” cabbage rolls with zucchini). Dinner – vinaigrette, sandwich with cheese (use flatbread, not bread).
- Wednesday. Breakfast - cottage cheese with sour cream, fruit or dried fruit. Lunch – cheese soup with chicken. Dinner – vegetable stew, fruit salad and compote.
- Thursday. Breakfast - omelet with herbs, onions and garlic, maybe with tomatoes. Lunch – vegetable okroshka, maybe with chicken breast. Dinner – potatoes with vegetables, tea with lemon.
- Friday. Breakfast – soft-boiled egg, cottage cheese with fruit. Lunch – buckwheat soup and boiled fish fillet (can be baked, with vegetable oil). Dinner – vegetable salad and cheese slices (without smoked or rennet cheese).
- Saturday. Breakfast – pancakes with jam. Lunch – noodles and potato casserole, or maybe stewed potatoes, but without meat. Dinner – vegetable salad with sour cream, cheese and olives.
- Sunday. Breakfast - oatmeal with milk, as well as freshly squeezed carrot juice. Lunch – fried potatoes with sour cream. Dinner – dumplings with cottage cheese or cabbage (at your discretion).
You can add afternoon snacks to the menu; they should mainly consist of fermented milk products, fresh fruits, vegetables, and dried fruits.
How to remove uric acid from the body with medications
To remove excess from the body, the attending physician may prescribe medications. First of all, this:
1. Diuretics are drugs that help inhibit the reabsorption of water and salts in the kidneys, accelerating their elimination from the body, increasing the rate of urine formation and thereby reducing the concentration of fluid in the tissues. There are a huge number of diuretics with different active ingredients. Among them are based on:
- hydrochlorothiazide – Hypothiazide, Hydrochlorothiazide;
- indapamide - Indapamide, Arifon;
- torasemide - Torasemide, Diuver;
- acetazolamide;
- dorzolamide, etc.
2. Xanthine oxidase inhibitors - Allohexal, Zyloprim, Milurit. These tablets contain the active substance allopurinol, which promotes the removal of uric acid.
3. Drugs based on febuxostat used to treat gout and normalize the concentration of excess - Adenuric, Febuxostat, Azurix.
Other methods to reduce purine levels
But diet alone is often not enough to normalize purine metabolism. Treatment of gout should be comprehensive
It is important for the patient to increase physical activity, since moderate exercise stimulates metabolic processes and blood circulation. In addition, some patients require the use of medications that remove uric acid from the body.
Most often they are prescribed during an attack, but sometimes doctors recommend using them to prevent exacerbations.
The best known drug for reducing uric acid is Allopurinol. This remedy not only reduces its synthesis, but also oxidizes purine bases, preventing their accumulation in the blood. The drug should be used only after consulting a doctor and determining the initial level of uric acid. Start with small doses so as not to provoke a gout attack. Usually, uric acid begins to decrease on the second day of treatment, but lasting results are observed only after several months.
The drug Probenecid is often used to normalize purine metabolism. It helps speed up the excretion of uric acid through the kidneys. The drug must be used for a long time, at least 6 months. But it has certain contraindications, so it is taken only as prescribed by a doctor. A safer remedy is Blemaren. It does not affect the kidneys and can even be prescribed to pregnant women. This drug normalizes metabolic processes, reducing the acidity of the body. In this case, the uric acid crystals themselves dissolve.
All of these drugs are taken during remission. But there are remedies that improve the patient’s condition during an attack. They also reduce the amount of uric acid, but they cannot be taken for a long time. One of them is the drug Colchicine. In addition to the fact that it stimulates the metabolism of uric acid, preventing the deposition of its crystals in the joints, it also has analgesic and anti-inflammatory properties.
Patients are often prescribed drugs that normalize purine metabolism.
To permanently reduce the amount of uric acid, it is important to follow some rules that will help prevent exacerbation of gout and normalize purine metabolism in the body:
- It is recommended to drink at least one and a half liters of water daily, which quickly removes purines along with urine;
- try to normalize weight, since obesity can also cause disturbances in purine metabolism;
- follow all doctor’s recommendations and regularly take prescribed medications;
- do therapeutic exercises and walk more.
Purines - what they are, where they are found and what they affect in gout
Gout develops when urate is deposited in the tissues of the body. The beginning is a violation of the excretion of uric acid by the kidneys and the development of hyperuricemia. The manifestation of gout is relapses of acute arthritis and the formation of tophi (gouty nodes).
High levels of purines are the main cause of gout. What are purines? These are chemical compounds that make up nucleic acids; they are necessary for the formation of DNA and RNA molecules. Purines stabilize metabolism and participate in the absorption of vitamins and microelements. But purines are destroyed, and in this chain of destruction, uric acid is the final breakdown product. Purines and gout are closely related. How?
Naturally, the more purines in the body, the higher the concentration of uric acid. The kidneys can no longer withstand the increased load, and uric acid accumulates in the body, making joints and tendons especially vulnerable. Against this background, gout develops.
How dangerous is the disease? This is not only severe pain in the joints, but also their deformation, which can lead to disability. It is believed that it is impossible to cure gout forever, but lifestyle correction, a prescribed diet, and therapy with prescribed medications significantly improve the patient’s well-being.
Traditional remedies
The benefits of ginger for the diabetic body, recipes and contraindications
If the level of uric acid (urate) is elevated, medication is prescribed. The drugs are prescribed by doctors. Based on the results obtained, they will decide how to remove the salts. Medicines can act in two ways:
- increase the release of urate from the joints;
- inhibit the development of uric acid.
Treatment begins at the time of gout exacerbation. Medicines and diet are prescribed to reduce inflammation and increase acid output. To properly prescribe treatment, the doctor will need a urine sample, which was collected throughout the day. Such an analysis will provide insight into the cause of the pathology.
Medicines that the doctor may prescribe:
- Probenecid. The medicine promotes the release of urates from the body during gout disease. The product stimulates the release of salts and deposits are reduced to a minimum.
- Allobenecid. The drug reduces the formation of urates in the blood and reduces the risk of exacerbation of the disease. The medication is supposed to be taken for a long time and is designed for combined treatment with diet and exercise. After two weeks of taking the drug, the acid level returns to normal, but the medication continues, only the dose is reduced. After six months, the dosage of the drug is reduced to a minimum and is taken only to maintain the effect obtained. Some people will have to take the drug for life. This approach gives positive dynamics.
- Blemaren. One of the effective medications in the fight against gout. The product normalizes the function of uric acid metabolism and promotes the dissolution of urates. Reducing the salt value has a beneficial effect on the health and well-being of patients. The medicine does not cause side effects on the kidneys and liver. The maximum course of taking the medication is six months.
Curing gout is a long and labor-intensive process. It is impossible to completely recover from the disease, you can only alleviate the condition and relieve the attack.
Foods containing purines
How to reduce the level of purines in the body? The simplest solution is to eat less food containing them. A low-purine diet known as Table No. 6 has been developed. The diet helps reduce uric acid concentrations by limiting the consumption of animal proteins, fats and salt. So which foods contain a lot of purines:
- 1. meat – pork, lamb, fatty beef, lard, offal;
- 2 eggs;
- 3. sausages;
- 4. fatty fish – mackerel, salmon, pink salmon;
- 5. legumes – peas, beans, beans, etc.;
- 6. alcohol;
- 7. chocolate, etc.
You shouldn’t completely exclude meat from your diet; just switch to low-fat types of meat – chicken, rabbit, veal. The same rule applies to dairy products and fish.
Fully or partially limited products
To reduce uric acid levels, sharply limit:
- Offal (lungs, liver, tongue, kidneys, brains).
- Meat, meat products and any types of canned meat. Animal protein is limited to 1 g per 1 kg of weight. The red meat of young animals contains the highest amount of purines.
- Fish dishes (especially carp, halibut, anchovies, sea bass, sardines, tuna, mussels and herring) and canned food.
- Fish/meat/mushroom broths. In rare cases, you can use secondary broth (the first one is drained after boiling for 10 minutes).
- Sorrel and legume soups.
- Vegetables rich in oxalic acid (sorrel, radishes, cauliflower, asparagus, spinach, raspberries, cranberries), pickled vegetables.
- Cheeses, broth-based sauces (you can make them using vegetable broth).
- Legumes and mushrooms (porcini and champignons).
- Oatmeal and white rice.
- Chocolate, cocoa, red wine, tea and coffee, which contain purines.
- Confectionery products, brewer's yeast.
- Dried fruits (prunes are possible).
- Foods that stimulate the nervous system (spicy snacks and spices).
- Alcohol, the consumption of which can provoke gout attacks.
Table of prohibited products
| Proteins, g | Fats, g | Carbohydrates, g | Calories, kcal | |
Vegetables and greens | ||||
| spicy vegetables | 2,8 | 0,5 | 5,3 | 36 |
| vegetables legumes | 9,1 | 1,6 | 27,0 | 168 |
| cauliflower | 2,5 | 0,3 | 5,4 | 30 |
| green onion | 1,3 | 0,0 | 4,6 | 19 |
| bulb onions | 1,4 | 0,0 | 10,4 | 41 |
| canned cucumbers | 2,8 | 0,0 | 1,3 | 16 |
| pickles | 0,8 | 0,1 | 1,7 | 11 |
| radish | 1,2 | 0,1 | 3,4 | 19 |
| white radish | 1,4 | 0,0 | 4,1 | 21 |
| turnip | 1,5 | 0,1 | 6,2 | 30 |
| celery | 0,9 | 0,1 | 2,1 | 12 |
| tomatoes | 0,6 | 0,2 | 4,2 | 20 |
| canned tomatoes | 1,1 | 0,1 | 3,5 | 20 |
| horseradish | 3,2 | 0,4 | 10,5 | 56 |
| garlic | 6,5 | 0,5 | 29,9 | 143 |
| spinach | 2,9 | 0,3 | 2,0 | 22 |
| sorrel | 1,5 | 0,3 | 2,9 | 19 |
Fruits | ||||
| avocado | 2,0 | 20,0 | 7,4 | 208 |
| pineapples | 0,4 | 0,2 | 10,6 | 49 |
| kiwi | 1,0 | 0,6 | 10,3 | 48 |
Berries | ||||
| cranberry | 0,5 | 0,0 | 6,8 | 26 |
| raspberries | 0,8 | 0,5 | 8,3 | 46 |
Mushrooms | ||||
| mushrooms | 3,5 | 2,0 | 2,5 | 30 |
| marinated mushrooms | 2,2 | 0,4 | 0,0 | 20 |
Cereals and porridges | ||||
| white rice | 6,7 | 0,7 | 78,9 | 344 |
Confectionery | ||||
| pastry cream | 0,2 | 26,0 | 16,5 | 300 |
| cake | 3,8 | 22,6 | 47,0 | 397 |
Cakes | ||||
| cake | 4,4 | 23,4 | 45,2 | 407 |
Chocolate | ||||
| chocolate | 5,4 | 35,3 | 56,5 | 544 |
Raw materials and seasonings | ||||
| mustard | 5,7 | 6,4 | 22,0 | 162 |
| yeast | 12,7 | 2,7 | 0,0 | 75 |
| brewer's yeast | 12,7 | 2,7 | 0,0 | 75 |
| ginger | 1,8 | 0,8 | 15,8 | 80 |
| ketchup | 1,8 | 1,0 | 22,2 | 93 |
| cinnamon | 3,9 | 3,2 | 79,8 | 261 |
| mayonnaise | 2,4 | 67,0 | 3,9 | 627 |
| ground black pepper | 10,4 | 3,3 | 38,7 | 251 |
| dried parsley | 22,4 | 4,4 | 21,2 | 276 |
| caraway | 19,8 | 14,6 | 11,9 | 333 |
| dried dill | 2,5 | 0,5 | 6,3 | 40 |
Meat products | ||||
| salo | 2,4 | 89,0 | 0,0 | 797 |
| beef | 18,9 | 19,4 | 0,0 | 187 |
| beef liver | 17,4 | 3,1 | 0,0 | 98 |
| beef kidneys | 12,5 | 1,8 | 0,0 | 66 |
| boiled beef tongue | 23,9 | 15,0 | 0,0 | 231 |
| beef brains | 9,5 | 9,5 | 0,0 | 124 |
| veal | 19,7 | 1,2 | 0,0 | 90 |
| calf liver | 19,2 | 3,3 | 4,1 | 124 |
| lamb | 16,2 | 14,1 | 0,0 | 192 |
Bird | ||||
| smoked chicken | 27,5 | 8,2 | 0,0 | 184 |
| duck | 16,5 | 61,2 | 0,0 | 346 |
| smoked duck | 19,0 | 28,4 | 0,0 | 337 |
| goose | 16,1 | 33,3 | 0,0 | 364 |
Fish and seafood | ||||
| dried fish | 17,5 | 4,6 | 0,0 | 139 |
| smoked fish | 26,8 | 9,9 | 0,0 | 196 |
| canned anchovies | 20,1 | 6,1 | 0,0 | 135 |
| black caviar | 28,0 | 9,7 | 0,0 | 203 |
| salmon caviar granular | 32,0 | 15,0 | 0,0 | 263 |
| carp | 16,0 | 5,3 | 0,0 | 112 |
| boiled crabs | 16,0 | 3,6 | 0,0 | 96 |
| mussels | 9,1 | 1,5 | 0,0 | 50 |
| sea bass | 15,3 | 1,5 | 0,0 | 79 |
| boiled halibut | 14,0 | 17,8 | 0,0 | 216 |
| canned fish | 17,5 | 2,0 | 0,0 | 88 |
| sardine | 20,6 | 9,6 | — | 169 |
| herring | 16,3 | 10,7 | — | 161 |
| cod | 17,7 | 0,7 | — | 78 |
| cod (liver in oil) | 4,2 | 65,7 | 1,2 | 613 |
| boiled oysters | 14,0 | 3,0 | — | 95 |
| fresh oysters | 14,0 | 6,0 | 0,3 | 95 |
| pike | 18,4 | 0,8 | — | 82 |
Oils and fats | ||||
| animal fat | 0,0 | 99,7 | 0,0 | 897 |
| cooking fat | 0,0 | 99,7 | 0,0 | 897 |
Non-alcoholic drinks | ||||
| cocoa powder | 24,2 | 17,5 | 31,9 | 374 |
| * data is per 100 g of product | ||||
Doctors' advice for treating gout
In the past, gout was called a disease of aristocrats, and was even boasted about. But the point is not at all about blue blood, but about the fact that the poorer sections of the population had a more moderate lifestyle in terms of nutrition. The rich were fed up with fatty foods and alcohol, which is why they suffered from illness.
Gout’s “favorite” body parts are the joints of the feet and big toes. But elbows, knees, and hands are also vulnerable. More often the disease affects men, most of them after 40 years. Women get sick somewhat less frequently, mainly after menopause.
How to improve the quality of life of gout patients? Doctors advise:
- At the first symptoms, get examined;
- strictly follow dietary recommendations;
- exclude alcohol;
- do not neglect drug therapy even when the pain is minor.
It is not known for certain which factor is decisive in the process of deposition of uric acid salts in the joints and in the formation of tophi. Research has shown that the disease can be genetically determined or acquired.
What kind of nutrition should there be?
It is important to create a diet so that the diet contains the most foods low in purines. To remove uric acid from the body, exclude: alcoholic drinks, spicy and salty foods, sugar, fatty sausages and smoked meats, mushrooms, animal fats, asparagus and spinach, peas, sorrel
In extremely limited quantities you can consume: cafes and tea, chocolate and cocoa, tomato pastes and sauces, flour products. Of all vegetable oils, the most suitable is olive oil. It is recommended that meat and fish be boiled, baked and stewed to remove urea, but not fried, and served no more than 2 times a week.
The healthiest foods: eggs, brown bread, caviar, garlic, potatoes, onions, eggplants, dairy products, citrus fruits, nuts, pears, cherries, apples, watermelons, blueberries. Seasonings should be subject to the strictest restrictions. You can leave only the bay leaf, as well as vanilla and cinnamon.
For gout, 3 meals a day should be replaced with 5-6 meals a day. It is recommended to regularly alternate kefir-curd, fruit, and vegetable diets. Weekly fasting days help remove uric acid salts from the body.
How to get rid of urates
If a blood test shows the presence of a small amount of urate, it is too early to panic: this is possible due to errors in nutrition, exacerbation of certain diseases, or the use of certain medications. To exclude pathologies, you need to take repeated tests.
If, nevertheless, urates are found in the body in high concentrations, the rules of action here are the same as for reducing purines:
- diet;
- treatment of concomitant diseases;
- as prescribed by the doctor - drug therapy.
If urate deposition leads to the appearance of kidney stones, it is important to promptly identify the pathology. Stones are clearly visible on ultrasound; a doctor can suspect the disease based on the patient’s medical history, as well as test results.
Protein shakes
Before deciding whether it is allowed to take protein-containing products for gout, you should familiarize yourself with the properties of protein shakes.
What's included
The main component is a water-soluble protein extract from whey, eggs or plants (soy), which is easily absorbed by the body. There are several types of drinks:
- Whey. The basis is a by-product of dairy production - whey. Quickly helps replenish energy costs.
- Casein. It is produced on the basis of milk proteins, contains calcium gluconate and phosphorus, but is absorbed slowly. It is necessary to take for recovery after excessive stress.
- Soy. One of the most inexpensive. Popular with vegetarians and people suffering from lactose intolerance. Helps quickly restore strength.
- Egg. Despite the fact that the cocktail is an ideal supplier of protein and minerals for cells, its production requires financial costs due to the peculiarities of purifying the raw materials, so the powder for preparing the drink is expensive. It is not popular among athletes because of the price.
Often added to cocktails:
- vitamins;
- mineral complexes (potassium, magnesium, sodium);
- simple carbohydrates (sucrose, fructose).
Vitamins and minerals are necessary to replenish salts that are excreted through sweat during physical activity, and carbohydrates allow you to increase the amount of energy supplied to the cells.
Benefits and harms
Protein drinks are useful for intense long-term training (skiing, marathon running). In this case, the benefits are undeniable - cocktails will help provide:
- maintaining physical fitness;
- acceleration of the regeneration process at the cellular level;
- increasing resistance to heavy loads;
- increased strength and endurance;
- acceleration of metabolic processes.
But you shouldn’t get carried away with drinks to restore energy costs. Excessive protein intake can be harmful to health:
- Obesity. The myth that sports nutrition does not lead to obesity also applies to protein drinks. But in reality, the human body stores any excess energy intake “in reserve” in the form of adipose tissue.
- Increased purine content. One of the products of the breakdown of protein compounds is uric acid, and an excess of this element causes gout.
- Metabolic disease. After consuming proteins, the feeling of hunger disappears - this feature is used by bodybuilders when preparing for performances. But to ensure the normal functioning of cells, proper nutrition is necessary, so the intake of only protein into the body will provoke a lack of important elements, which will negatively affect health.
- Digestive problems. An unbalanced diet consisting of sports mixtures provokes dyspeptic disorders.
It’s worth mentioning soy protein drinks separately. The protein extract from the product contains phytoestrogens, which are similar in action to female hormones. Abuse of this type of cocktail provokes hormonal imbalances in both men and women.
In addition, there is still a danger of receiving unwanted “supplements” (steroids), which negatively affect the body’s condition and will become a problem when passing doping control at competitions. These components are sometimes found in the products of little-known companies involved in the production of sports nutrition.
Contraindications for protein drinks
Protein-containing drinks, regardless of the type of raw materials used for production, are prohibited in the following cases:
- renal failure;
- bladder diseases;
- diseases of the digestive tract;
- problems with liver function;
- intolerance to the components of the cocktail.
Neglecting contraindications can seriously harm your health. If you cannot drink drinks with protein, then you should take care of a balanced diet that ensures muscle growth and restoration of expended energy after a hard workout.
Protein shakes for gout
If purine metabolism is impaired, protein shakes are not prohibited, but when taking medications, a number of recommendations should be followed:
Do not abuse. Excess protein compounds increase the level of uric acid, provoking an exacerbation of the disease. Choose only soy or whey drinks - they contribute less to the formation of purine compounds in the blood. Use only for emergency restoration of energy costs
During normal training, attention should be paid to a balanced diet, and drinks should be used during increased loads.