Tart Cherries As An Effective Treatment For Gout?

Content

• Are Dried Cherries Okay As Well?
• How Should You Consume The Cherries?
• Tart Or Sweet Cherry For Gout?
• Common Myths About Gout
• Other Gout Treatments

Look out for tart cherry juice without added sugar, additives, preservatives and any other chemicals. This ensures that you get the juice or concentrate in its purest form. This is when plastic molecules are drawn into food packed in plastic containers. Opt for tart cherry juice or concentrate in glass bottles to avoid the issue of plastic leaching.

U.S. Montmorency tart cherries are one of the new known food sources that contain significant amounts of melatonin, a powerful antioxidant that is considered more potent that vitamins C, E and A. Whether it stems from unbalanced hormones, excess stress, a busy mind or unhealthy habits, U.S. Montmorency tart cherry juice can provide improved sleep time and sleep efficiency.

Are Dried Cherries Okay As Well?

So what makes tart cherries so good for your post-exercise muscles? Inside those bright red orbs are more than 30 phytonutrients that have an anti-inflammatory or antioxidant effect. "It's probably the diversity of phytonutrients in cherries that sets it apart from other foods and fruits in terms of the beneficial recovery effects," McHugh says. Collectively, evidence is accumulating indicating the efficacy of tart cherry products to reduce sUA and inhibit inflammatory processes via, in part, inhibition of enzymatic activities. Some researchers have concluded that Montmorency tart cherries have more inflammation-fighting potential than any other food.

Half were taking the uric acid-lowering medication allopurinol, and continued to do so during the study; the others were not taking medication meant to lower uric acid. The researchers were hoping to determine a precise “dose” of tart cherry juice, so everyone in the study was randomly assigned to drink a placebo or anywhere from 7.5 ml to 30 ml of cherry juice twice a day for 28 days. This small study found that drinking tart cherry juice twice a day temporarily lowered the blood uric acid levels of 12 young healthy volunteers without gout, up to eight hours after they consumed the drink. The effect of 100% tart cherry juice on serum uric acid levels, biomarkers of inflammation and cardiovascular disease risk factors. In fact, Montmorency tart cherry juice contains up to 25mg of anthocyanins per serving.

How Should You Consume The Cherries?

Both cherries and cherry juice contain natural melatonin, which can help you sleep better. Tart cherry juice is also an excellent source of potassium. Studies have shown that potassium may help keep blood pressure in a healthy range and reduce the risk of stroke. The doctor may be able to diagnose gout by using a blood test to look at a person’s uric acid levels and kidney function.

We host blogs from some of the leading voices in natural health and wellness. The opinions and advice expressed are those of the authors, and do not necessarily reflect those of Taste For Life Magazine. Please contact Cheryl Myers with any questions about this content. Most of the time, these "gout attacks” come from nowhere. You may not experience any symptoms at all, then before you know it – usually in the wee hours or first thing in the morning – trouble arises.

The investigators are aiming to recruit 120 participants who have had at least one gout flare in the previous 12 months. Using the work of Rothenbacher et al., 2011, the chance of these individuals experiencing at least one attack in the next 12 months has been calculated at 11%. It is predicted that treatment with daily cherry juice consumption will reduce gout flare recurrence to 1/4 of the rate of the actual recurrence i.e. to 2.7%. Using these figures, a sample size of 93 participants would provide power of 0.95 at a significance level of 0.05. A sample size of 120 participants allows for an approximate 20% attrition rate.

What foods make gout worse?

A 2016 study found that reducing the glycemic index lowered uric acid levels in participants. Limiting foods with a high glycemic index such as white bread, pasta, and white rice may help to reduce uric acid levels and possibly prevent gout onset or flares.

As McHugh points out, it's not just that we have strong evidence that we can benefit from tart cherry juice for arthritis, inflammation, pain relief, recovery, and sleep. "The key is that we know how many cherries you need to eat to have medicinal effects," he says. That medicinal amount is 16 ounces, or two 8-ounce bottles, of 100% fresh tart cherry juice a day, which is the equivalent of eating 100 tart cherries. "That dose has been used to good effect in multiple studies," McHugh says. He adds, "In practice, if taking the drink habitually, one bottle may suffice." In the study, Montmorency tart cherry juice reduced blood levels of uric acid and C-reactive protein, a measure of inflammation.

Tart cherries really do seem to reduce chronic joint pain and inflammation, improve sleep, and help prevent gout flare-ups. I was as surprised as anybody, but when I researched the tart cherries it started to make sense. Vitamin C decreases uric acid levels and can help prevent gout attacks. Since fruit also contains fructose, which is linked with increased uric acid levels, opt for lower-fructose options. Grapefruit, oranges, pineapples and strawberries are high in vitamin C, but lower in fructose. Lack of effect of tart cherry concentrate dose on serum urate in people with gout.

They are called anthocyanins 1 and 2 and there is increasing evidence that they may be anti-inflammatory and reduce oxidative stress in the body’s cells — they are effective antioxidants. I heard that tart cherries might help, so I bought tart cherry juice and a big bottle of tart cherry concentrate from the health food store. Another option may sound a little silly, but it has scientific support. Consider tart cherry supplements, either as juice or extract in capsules.

I’m on prednisone for a week now and that’s started to really punch out the inflammation and pain. I’ll definitely be incorporating more cherries into my diet generally (they’re delicious anyway!) and up that consumption if I’m unfortunate enough to get another attack. The cherry is also a very low calorie fruit, only 63 calories for 100g, pigment rich food that have powerful anti-oxidant properties and anti-inflammatory agents helping reduce heart disease risk. Furthermore, they don’t only help us gout sufferers but may also help people with fibromyalgia, a painful muscle condition and sports injuries.

What are the side effects of drinking cherry juice?

Possible Side Effects
Consuming large amounts of cherry juice may lead to indigestion and diarrhea, and the calories and sugar may be a problem for some people.

You can drink tart cherry juice but I’m not a big fan since there is so much sugar, prefer he takes Tart Cherry Extract, doesn’t have to be mine, you can find it anywhere. You can eat a cup of fresh cherries daily, drink as much nettle leaf tea as he likes. If doctor prescribed medication, give it a couple more days, the pain should decrease daily, if it doesn’t, please go back and ask to see if they can elevate the dosage. Soak his foot in warm water and Epsom salt to help relieve him of some pain. If you have gout, it’s imperative to restrict your fructose/sugar intake to below 25 grams a day, including from fruit, as fructose/sugar may drive up uric acid levels in your body.

Richmond, Montmorency and English Morello cherries are some of the most popular tart cherry species. Sedimentation affects the taste and general enjoyment of tart cherry juice. This happens when the bottle has thick residue at the bottom of the bottle. The Nutriana Uric Acid Tart Cherry Capsules are made to offer organic support for uric acid. The supplement balances the levels of uric acid in your body to help your kidneys to function optimally.