Cherry Juice, Cherries and Gout

Cherries and Gout is a collection of gout, cherries and cherry juice questions and comments.

Cherries and Gout Purpose

The Purpose of GoutPal.com is to help gout sufferers build better relationships with professional health advisers. However, some people are unsure about whom to consult. So I have developed a plan to guide gout sufferers about distinctions between drugs, herbal, and dietary treatments for uric acid. This Cherries and Gout page is one of many pages for Step 3 of that plan. Note that during 2020 I am renaming and reorganizing GoutPal Plan for Gout Students (formerly Seekers).

If you do not believe you are a Gout Student, leave now to answer Questions for Gout Sufferers.

Cherries and Uric Acid

I understand cherry extracts help reduce uric acid level. Are there any other derivatives from cherries in high enough concentrations to lower uric acid levels.

Cherries, raw cherries, juice, and extracts have all been reported to reduce uric acid. Nobody knows exactly why this is so. But, it is probably due to antioxidants in cherries. All dark berries, e.g. bilberries, blackberries, and black currants, should have a similar effect.

The big question is: are these effects strong enough to reduce uric acid levels low enough to prevent gout? All that I’ve read about antioxidants recently suggests positive effects on uric acid. So an antioxidant-rich diet should help.

If you are trying to lower uric acid, you should have regular uric acid tests. Because this ensures that any action you take to reduce uric acid is working. Remember, if you do this, that uric acid levels fluctuate from day to day. So you should look for an average downward trend.

Cherry Juice and Gout

Many other sites seem to indicate that lemon juice/cherry juice is helpful for gout sufferers, but, with regard to acidity and your list, it seems that these would be a mistake to ingest. I am thoroughly confused.

Cherry juice is recommended for gout sufferers for reasons other than acidity. Because some compounds within cherry juice are natural anti-inflammatories. Also, cherry juice gout treatments benefit from their anti-oxidant properties. But, natural benefits are tiny compared to equivalent anti-inflammatory drugs. Although some people might argue this is a good thing.

Commercially available cherry juices vary widely in concentration. As with most natural products, active components are also likely to vary between species. So, it is difficult to measure the exact effects of cherry juice. But if it works for you then use it.

Most other dark berries contain similar compounds. I drink them because they’re delicious. That they might be doing good is welcome. But I’ve never been able to prove this.

Suggested cherry gout cure

Gout Cure Name: fresh cherries

Gout Cure Details: 6 oz. cherry juice in A.M. and approx. 20 fresh cherries late afternoon. This along with at least 6 eight oz. glasses of water

Type: Gout Prevention

Cherry Juice For Gout Pain Relief

A reader’s comment about cherry juice:

at breakfast, lunch and after dinner – drank a 12-ounce glass of half water/half unsweetened cherry juice, a pinch of baking soda, and two tablespoons of Bragg’s ACV (Apple Cider Vinegar). Within three days, I have stopped taking my indomethacin and watched in amazement at the shrinking back to normal of my long swollen ankle.