21 Comments

Yet ANOTHER fantastic newsletter, Maryann! I always thoroughly appreciate what you do for us midlife women!!!

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Thanks so much Tara!

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Does a normal blood panel done at physicals test for uric acid levels?

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Not usually from my experience. It’s something you can ask for.

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sharing with my Mom,who has giut, kidney issues heart issues, high blood pressure, high triglycerides and type 2 diabetes. this is super helpful

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Thanks Lisa. She might check her uric acid already as many people with gout do.

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also so glad I found you. Mom had a total hysterectomy at 29, so lucky me, first and only one to go thru the pause with no idea how it affected Mom. Playing guinea pig and sharing all info with my daughter so she's informed when the time comes.

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they do but not consistently.

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At one point you wrote, “Her diet shifted to more animal protein, less plant-based protein, and no dairy.’ A bit further down you said she shifted her diet to more plant food and dairy to correct the high uric levels. Am I reading it incorrectly? (I haven’t had my coffee, so That’s very possible 😊☕️

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Yes she was eating high animal protein and after finding out about her uric acid included more plants and brought back dairy/vitamin C which brings down uric acid.

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Hi, I was also confused by this, so to be sure, plants and dairy are good? Thanks!

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Yes. I’ll edit to be more clear.

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Thanks, I was also confused by this! I clicked on the PubMed article linked, and though I cannot understand much of it, the abstract concludes: "Conclusions: Collectively, a plant-based dietary pattern is negatively associated with SUA (serum uric acid) levels and hyperuricemia. Therefore, a plant-based dietary pattern should be recommended for the management of SUA levels and the prevention of hyperuricemia." As far as I can tell..... High SUA bad; eat more plant proteins to lower SUA. Correct?

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We need a lot more research which makes it hard. But yes, we can look at our diet and make changes and see what works. So far it seems plant based, vitamin C, dairy (calcium) and coffee helps lower UA/and or linked with lower UA but limited research for sure.

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Does NO affect cholesterol levels?

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Thank you.

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They are related with research showing that high cholesterol levels can decrease nitric oxide production. Some research shows beetroot juice can decrease LDL cholesterol and increase HDL but more studies are needed. https://mlj.goums.ac.ir/article-1-1224-en.pdf

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Oh my goodness this was such a helpful article. I really wish we saw more such as these. I’m gonna go back through my most recent labs to see if I have that tested. You did not mention this, but if this is related to a decrease in estrogen, would hormone therapy address it?

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Women on hormone therapy show lower uric acid but because the amount of estrogen is less than before, I think it's good to monitor levels.

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I recently had a ton of labs done, but I could only find urea nitrogen. Is this a good stand-in or does it need to be uric acid specifically?

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No it needs to be uric acid.

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