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Does Bread Increase Uric Acid?
Does Bread Increase Uric Acid?

Most gout sufferers eat enough bread to form a significant part of their weekly food intake. Which begs the question, "Does bread increase uric acid?" So let's look at some statistical associations. More importantly, let's see how different flours affect uric acid levels.

Bread & Uric Acid Research Topics

I've selected 5 studies that investigate effects of bread on uric acid.

Eating Bread Linked to Lower Uric Acid

My first study investigates statistical links between uric acid and 30 food groups. Finding that bread consumption is one of three foods linked to lower uric acid. The other two being margarine and milk products.

Loenen, H.M., Eshuis, H., Löwik, M.R., Schouten, E.G., Hulshof, K.F., Odink, J. and Kok, F.J., 1990. Serum uric acid correlates in elderly men and women with special reference to body composition and dietary intake (Dutch Nutrition Surveillance System). Journal of clinical epidemiology, 43(12), pp.1297-1303.

SUA level was positively associated with consumption of meat and fish and negatively with consumption of bread, milk products and margarine (including low-fat margarine, i.e. 40% fat).

Gluten and Gout

The aim of my second study was to assess if gluten is as effective in reducing lipids as other vegetable proteins. But at the same time, they found that gluten is also good for gout sufferers. Because 1 month of gluten-enriched bread led to a significant uric acid reduction from 6.12 mg/dL (364 µmol/L) to 5.01 mg/dL (298 µmol/L). Compared with a smaller reduction with regular enriched wheat bread from 6.19 mg/dL (368 µmol/L) to 5.68 mg/dL (338 µmol/L).

Jenkins, D.J., Kendall, C.W., Vidgen, E., Augustin, L.S., van Erk, M., Geelen, A., Parker, T., Faulkner, D., Vuksan, V., Josse, R.G. and Leiter, L.A., 2001. High-protein diets in hyperlipidemia: effect of wheat gluten on serum lipids, uric acid, and renal function. The American journal of clinical nutrition, 74(1), pp.57-63.

a high intake of vegetable protein in the form of added wheat gluten may have benefits […] uric acid concentrations were reduced, an additional factor associated with cardiovascular disease risk reduction.

Prebiotic Bread Increases Uric Acid

The aim of my third study is to assess the effects of prebiotic and antioxidant enriched bread. So wheat-rye bread had inulin, soy, and linseed added for the prebiotic group. Or tomato paste, green tea powder, and oregano for the pre-aox group. Resulting in increased uric acid for both breads. Though, no explanation is offered for the increase in uric acid.

Seidel, C., Boehm, V., Vogelsang, H., Wagner, A., Persin, C., Glei, M., Pool-Zobel, B.L. and Jahreis, G., 2007. Influence of prebiotics and antioxidants in bread on the immune system, antioxidative status and antioxidative capacity in male smokers and non-smokers. British Journal of Nutrition, 97(2), pp.349-356.

The concentrations of a-tocopherol and uric acid significantly rose after consumption of both types of bread. This increase of a-tocopherol and uric acid was more significant for the pre-aox-bread group (P=0·000 and P=0·001, respectively) than for the prebiotic bread group (P=0·027 and P=0·006, respectively).

Lupin Bread Lowers Uric Acid

One of the aims of my fourth study is to measure the effect of 25 grams per day of lupin protein on uric acid. So lupin protein for 28 days was compared with milk protein, or milk protein with added arginine. Resulting in lower uric acid for all three protein interventions, with lupin protein providing the biggest decrease. Followed by arginine plus milk protein, then milk protein.

Bähr, M., Fechner, A., Kiehntopf, M. and Jahreis, G., 2015. Consuming a mixed diet enriched with lupin protein beneficially affects plasma lipids in hypercholesterolemic subjects: A randomized controlled trial. Clinical Nutrition, 34(1), pp.7-14.

This study showed for the first time that incorporation of modest amounts of lupin protein into variety of complex food products is capable of beneficially altering several cardiovascular risk factors such as total and LDL cholesterol, triacylglycerols, homocysteine, and uric acid.

Brown Bread Linked with Lower Uric Acid

The aim of my final study is to identify statistical links between eating certain foods with uric acid levels. It concludes that brown bread is one of eight foods linked with lower uric acid. Whereas, eating white bread is linked with an insignificantly small rise in uric acid.

Major, T.J., Topless, R.K., Dalbeth, N. and Merriman, T.R., 2018. Evaluation of the diet wide contribution to serum urate levels: meta-analysis of population based cohorts. Bmj, 363.

Seven food items were associated with raised serum urate levels (beer, liquor, wine, potato, poultry, soft drink, and meat (beef, pork, or lamb)) and eight were associated with lower serum urate levels (eggs, peanuts, cold cereal, skim milk, cheese, brown bread, margarine, and non-citrus fruit)

Does Bread Increase Uric Acid?
Does Bread Increase Uric Acid?

Does Bread Increase Your Uric Acid?

Which aspects of bread and uric acid are you interested in? Do you think bread might raise or reduce your uric acid?

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