Q: I am a 45 years old male, 172 cm tall and weigh 80 kg. I have been suffering from left shoulder pain and pain in hand fingers joints for long. My Clinical Chemistry reports reveals uric acid - 10.4 mg/dl and rheumatoid factors - 30.9 U/l. Good medical facilities are not available where I am posted for my work right now. How do I control my uric acid through diet?

A:There are three things I would like to convey. 1. Your most important problem is that you are grossly overweight possibly because you are eating much more than your body's requirements - and you are not doing regular intensive exercises for at least 1 hour every day. My guess is that your symptoms are related to mechanical-structural problems related to overweight. 2. High uric acid levels indicate that you are ingesting (eating) too much calories and not doing any exercises - confirming that your problem is only overweight and lack of exercises. 3, Rheumatoid factor test need not be done unless there is swelling in the small finger joints in both hands, wrist swelling and early morning stiffness that tends to improve once you start using the hands. It is strongly recommended that you immediately contact a Rheumatologist.