Thursday, August 27, 2009

Purines Explained

I will try to explain 'Purines' that I mentioned in my previous blogpost.

Purines are natural substances found in all of the body's cells, and in virtually all foods. The reason for their widespread occurrence is simple: purines provide part of the chemical structure of our genes and the genes of plants and animals. A relatively small number of foods, however, contain concentrated amounts of purines. For the most part, these high-purine foods are also high-protein foods, and they include organ meats like kidney, fish like mackerel, herring, sardines and mussels, and also yeast.

Purines are metabolized into uric acid
When cells die and get recycled, the purines in their genetic material also get broken down. Uric acid is the chemical formed when purines have been broken down completely.

Because uric acid is formed from the breakdown of purines, low-purine diets are often used to help treat conditions like gout in which excessive uric acid is deposited in the tissues of the body.

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