Is Vinegar Good for Gout?

Many gout sufferers believe vinegar can help their gout. Others just want to be assured that sprinkling vinegar on meals won't make gout worse. So here, I explain some benefits of vinegar for gout sufferers. As revealed by recent studies.

Remember, if vinegar or any other food is powerful enough to help gout, it's also powerful enough to cause problems. So you should only change your vinegar consumption in consultation with a qualified health professional. But at least you now have some relevant science to discuss with them…

Vinegar & Uric Acid

There are many foods that have the potential to change uric acid levels. But that doesn't mean that we have reliable proof. And until recently, vinegar fell into the category of “traditional gout remedy with no proof”.

However, recent investigations have shown how vinegar can affect uric acid levels in different ways. So let's look at some recent uric acid studies relating to vinegar.

Vinegar & Uric Acid Levels

Early studies failed to find any significant change in uric acid after vinegar consumption^[1-2]. But I remember seeing many experiments where substances only reduce uric acid when the starting point is high. So where we see no change in uric acid, it might just mean that we don't yet have enough data.

Vinegar & Uric Acid Excretion

I found a study showing that vinegar might encourage uric acid excretion^[3]. But this was only a component in an alkaline diet experiment. However, later studies have repeated the finding that alkalizing urine by consuming foods with a negative acid load does encourage the kidneys to excrete more uric acid.

Vinegar & Uric Acid Production

More recently, scientists have found that vinegars have the ability to inhibit uric acid production^[4-5]. With the most recent study I've found so far describing vinegar as a potent uric acid lowering agent^[6]. Yet, as they note, we need human clinical trials before vinegar might safely be prescribed as a uric acid treatment.

Vinegar and Inflammation

At the time of writing, I found little evidence to support vinegar as an anti-inflammatory for gout. But I will keep checking.

If you are aware of any studies about the anti-inflammatory effects of vinegar, please let me know.

Is Vinegar Good for Your Gout?

Vinegar is unlikely to affect your gout. Unless you're taking concentrated extracts. In which case, you should seek medical advice to check your compatibility and monitor any side effects.

Please tell me your vinegar story in the Gout Forum.

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Vinegar & Uric Acid Related Topics

Please remember: to find more related pages that are relevant to you, it's usually faster to search for your biggest vinegar concern.

I'm planning a new hub page for vinegar & gout. In the meantime, please see Balsamic Vinegar & Gout. Or Apple Cider Vinegar & Gout.

Vinegar & Uric Acid References

1. Kondo, T., Kishi, M., Fushimi, T., Ugajin, S. and Kaga, T., 2009. Vinegar intake reduces body weight, body fat mass, and serum triglyceride levels in obese Japanese subjects. Bioscience, biotechnology, and biochemistry, 73(8), pp.1837-1843.
2. Hosseini, Z.S.M., Hosseini, J., Nabati, S., Hasanshahi, G. and Mahmoodi, M., 2011. Survey on the anti-diabetic effects of vinegar on some biochemical factors in type 2 diabetic patients. Clinical Biochemistry-New York, 44(13), p.2.
3. Kanbara, A., Hakoda, M. and Seyama, I., 2010. Urine alkalization facilitates uric acid excretion. Nutrition journal, 9(1), pp.1-5.
4. Lin, S.M., Wu, J.Y., Su, C., Ferng, S., Lo, C.Y. and Chiou, R.Y.Y., 2012. Identification and mode of action of 5-hydroxymethyl-2-furfural (5-HMF) and 1-methyl-1, 2, 3, 4-tetrahydro-β-carboline-3-carboxylic acid (MTCA) as potent xanthine oxidase inhibitors in vinegars. Journal of agricultural and food chemistry, 60(39), pp.9856-9862.
5. Chiu, H.F., Cheng, Y., Lu, Y.Y., Han, Y.C., Shen, Y.C., Venkatakrishnan, K. and Wang, C.K., 2017. Anti‐mutagenicity, hypouricemic and antioxidant activities of alkaloids from vinegar and mei vinegar. Journal of Food Biochemistry, 41(4), p.e12373.
6. Pyo, Y.H., Hwang, J.Y. and Seong, K.S., 2018. Hypouricemic and antioxidant effects of soy vinegar extracts in hyperuricemic mice. Journal of medicinal food, 21(12), pp.1299-1305.