High uric acid levels may be caused by:

Individual differences in the way your body produces or gets rid of uric acid.
Conditions, such as:
Kidney disease or kidney damage.
The increased breakdown of body cells that occurs with some types of cancer (including leukemia, lymphoma, and multiple myeloma) or cancer treatments, hemolytic anemia, sickle cell anemia, or heart failure.
Other disorders, such as alcohol dependence, preeclampsia, liver disease (cirrhosis), lipid disorders, obesity, psoriasis, hypothyroidism, and low blood levels of parathyroid hormone.
Starvation, malnutrition, or lead poisoning.
A rare inherited gene disorder called Lesch-Nyhan syndrome.
Medicines, such as some diuretics, vitamin C (ascorbic acid), lower doses of aspirin (75 to 80 mg aspirin daily), niacin, and some medicines used to treat leukemia, lymphoma, or tuberculosis.
Eating foods that are very high in purines, such as organ meats (liver, brains), red meats (beef, lamb), game meat (deer, elk), some seafood (sardines, herring, scallops), and beer.
Drinking a lot of alcohol, especially beer.


Purines are a class of organic molecules consisting of an asymmetric fused double ring that contains substantial nitrogen. When these molecules are metabolized, they produce copious uric acid, which must be removed from the blood by the kidneys. If the kidneys can't handle it, the uric acid crystalizes out to produce kidney stones and/or gout.

In short, eating meat rich in internal organs, like the preserved hard sausages, and washing them down with beer, is a stress test for your kidneys.