Originally published April 21 2009
Miracle Cure for Gout and Arthritis Pain? Six Cherries a Day
by Mike Adams, the Health Ranger, NaturalNews Editor
(NaturalNews) I bet the big drug companies wish they had invented cherries -- they've proven to be the most powerful medicine in the world for eliminating gout and reducing the pain and inflammation of arthritis. Cherries are such powerful medicine for gout and arthritis, in fact, the FDA went out of its way to try to muzzle cherry growers, preventing them from linking to scientific studies on cherries as a way to censor the information you're about to read here.
If the public finds out the truth about cherries, after all, they won't need arthritis drugs anymore (and Big Pharma will lose billions in profits). As you'll see in the collection of quotes about cherries, gout and arthritis (below), cherries are extremely safe, effective and fast-acting for eliminating swelling and pain. Eating just a few cherries a day keeps uric acid levels in check, preventing any recurrence of gout.
What's a good source for cherries? In addition to buying local organic cherries at natural grocers near you, you can also get cherry concentrates and cherry extracts from a variety of companies. As it turns out, even cooked cherry juice does the trick just as well as raw cherries!
My top recommended sources for cherry products include Brownwood Acres / www.FruitFast.com (which offers an amazing array of fruit concentrate bars and capsules) and www.Vitacost.com (which offers various cherry extract products). See search results here: http://www.vitacost.com/productResults.aspx?...
No, I don't have any financial ties with these companies. I just recommend their products. The FruitFast company, in fact, offers fruit softgel capsules, bars, liquids, concentrates and premium dried fruit, too, so you can always have cherries with you (even when traveling!). They've even introduced CherryFlex for dogs! http://www.brownwoodacres.com/pet_products/
The Bear Fruit Bar (www.MorFoods.com) is also a great source of not only cherry concentrates, but other potent fruits as well.
If you suffer from gout or arthritis, you owe it to yourself to try the therapeutic use of cherries.
The FDA, of course, says cherries aren't medicine. The FDA is lying to you! (And they know it.) Cherries ARE medicine, and it's medicine that's safer, more effective and far more affordable than Big Pharma's toxic patented chemicals. Cherries are medicine that grows on trees.
The entire pharmaceutical cartel hopes you never find out the truth about cherries. They're depending on your ignorance to keep their profits flowing. Don't let 'em sucker you into taking expensive, dangerous medications when cherries might be all you really need! Try cherries (or cherry concentrate products) first, for at least 30 days. And when your pain vanishes, you can send a thank-you email to Mother Nature for providing this natural medicine to the world.
Read the quotes below to learn astonishing facts about cherries and gout...
Authors' Quotes on Cherries and Gout
Below, you'll find selected quotes from noted authors on the subject of Cherries and Gout. Feel free to quote these in your own work provided you give proper credit to both the original author quoted here and this NaturalNews page.
No attacks of gouty arthritis occurred on a nonrestricted diet in all cases, as a result of eating about one-half pound of fresh or canned cherries per day. One doctor said: A patient of mine had heard about cherries for gout. He was, in fact, a sufferer of gout himself. He decided to give the cherry therapy a try. After following this patient's progress over the past two months, I can only say the results have been nothing less than spectacular. The patient has ceased taking the prescribed medication for his gout and has an unlimited diet. This alone should make any gout sufferer take notice.
- Rapid Healing Foods by Ben Davis
- Available on Amazon.com
He described how he had cured his crippling gout, which had confined him to a wheelchair, by eating six to eight cherries every day. Continuing to eat cherries, he claimed, kept painful gout away. He also cited twelve others who had cured their gout by eating cherries or drinking cherry juice. Soon afterward Prevention Magazine added to the mystery and mystique by publishing Dr. Blau's advice to use cherries as gout medicine.
- Miracle Cures: Dramatic New Scientific Discoveries Revealing the Healing Powers of Herbs, Vitamins, and Other Natural Remedies by Jean Carper
- Available on Amazon.com
For those with gout, life is just a bowl of cherries. Really, substances in cherries called anthocyanocides, are very effective at lowering uric acid levels, says Walter Crinnion, N.D., a naturopathic doctor and director of Healing Naturally in Kirkland, Washington. How many cherries should you eat? According to traditional healing lore and very preliminary research, eating anywhere from 1/2 cup to 1 pound (about 70) of cherries a day may help people with gout, says Laurie Aesoph, N.D., a naturopathic doctor in Sioux Falls, South Dakota.
- Alternative Cures: The Most Effective Natural Home Remedies for 160 Health Problems by Bill Gottlieb
- Available on Amazon.com
One morning he read a news item about the use of cherries for gout, and since there were some sour cherries in the freezer, he began eating a dessert dish of them at lunch and dinner. The swelling in his knee went down, and the stiffness was gone in three days. He continued eating two dishes of the cherries daily and has had no further attacks of gout in over a year.
- Miracle Medicine Herbs (Reward Books) by Richard Melvin Lucas
- Available on Amazon.com
In a 1950 study, 12 patients with gout ingested one-half pound of cherries per day (or an equivalent amount of cherry juice), with no other dietary restrictions. In all 12 cases, serum uric-acid levels fell to normal, and the patients had no further attacks of gout. Cherry juice appeared to be as effective as whole cherries. While most of the results were obtained with black cherries, sweet yellow and red sour cherries were also effective. We have been impressed by the effectiveness of cherry juice as a treatment for acute gout.
- Natural Medicine, Optimal Wellness: The Patient's Guide to Health and Healing by Jonathan V. Wright, M.D. and Alan R. Gaby, M.D.
- Available on Amazon.com
Physicians prescribed cherries for epilepsy. In the 1920s in the United States, physicians touted black cherries to cure kidney stones and gall bladder ailments, and red cherries to remove phlegm. In 1950 Ludwig Blau, Ph.D., writing in Texas Reports on Biology and Medicine, claimed that he cured his crippling gout that confined him to a wheelchair by eating six to eight cherries each day. As long as he ate cherries, he avowed, the gout stayed away.
- The Food Pharmacy: Dramatic New Evidence That Food Is Your Best Medicine by Jean Carper
- Available on Amazon.com
According to research from Michigan State University, if gout attacks, chew on some cherries. Dr. Muralee Nair, lead author of the study, suggests eating about 20 or so cherries a day to reduce the swelling and ache of a sudden gout attack. "Daily consumption of cherries," Nair says, "has the potential to reduce pain related to inflammation, arthritis, and gout." Some researchers think cherries might work as well as drugs, without the side effects.
- Eat and Heal (Foods That Can Prevent or Cure Many Common Ailments) by the Editors of FC&A Medical Publishing
- Available on Amazon.com
I continued eating the sour cherries during their season and had relief the entire time. When I stopped eating them, the pain returned. I usually freeze cherries every year for pies, but instead of making pies, I resumed eating my frozen cherries. Doctors, family and lay people as well all laughed at me, but I still maintain that cherries were my cure for arthritis. Since that time if I ever get an attack I head for the freezer and my cherries. Mrs. M.G. reports: "After hearing about them, I began eating red, sour cherries for my gout".
- Miracle Medicine Foods by Rex Adams
- Available on Amazon.com
Bing and Royal Ann cherries are both sweet, but Bings have deeply colored juice, whereas the juice of the other variety is colorless. Sour cherries - the ones most favored for pies, tarts and turnovers are similarly divided: morellos have colored juice and amarelles colorless liquid. The very popular tart cherry, Montmorency, is light to dark red with red juice. Sweet cherries are available from May through August, while sour cherries go from late June to mid-August. Nothing works better for gout than either raw sweet cherries (15 per day), cherry juice concentrate (1 tbsp).
- Heinerman's Encyclopedia of Fruits, Vegetables and Herbs by John Heinerman
- Available on Amazon.com
By accident one day I heard about cherries for gout. I had gout, so after hearing this, I immediately bought several cans of cherries. I ate them for about a week, and all the swelling and stiffness disappeared! It was a miracle! "As long as I eat cherries, there is no pain. Exercise, walking, bicycling and no pain. I will eat cherries the rest of my life, they are fantastic!"
- Miracle Medicine Foods by Rex Adams
- Available on Amazon.com
The report says that "no attacks of gouty arthritis have occurred on a nonrestricted diet in all 12 cases, as a result of eating about one-half pound of fresh or canned cherries per day." This amazing fruit, often used in ice cream, cake, candy and desserts, may relieve your arthritis! Dr. Blau tells of astonishing cures by eating cherries-canned, sour, black, Royal Anne, or fresh black Bing cherries. One arthritis patient just drank the juice and the curative powers were equally effective.
- Miracle Medicine Foods by Rex Adams
- Available on Amazon.com
One item I can guarantee you'll see on the recommended list of just about any integrative medicine approach to gout is this, eat more cherries, more on that in a moment. Gout, also known as metabolic arthritis, is a painful, largely inherited disorder in which the body can't properly metabolize uric acid. Usually the bloodstream contains a small amount of the stuff, but in gout there's a lot of it.
- The Most Effective Natural Cures on Earth: The Surprising, Unbiased Truth about What Treatments Work and Why by Jonny Bowden, Ph.D., C.N.S.
- Available on Amazon.com
According to a 1950 study of 12 people with gout, eating one-half pound of cherries or drinking an equivalent amount of cherry juice prevented attacks of gout. Black, sweet yellow, and red sour cherries were all effective. Since that study, there have been many anecdotal reports of cherry juice as an effective treatment for the pain and inflammation of gout. The active ingredient in cherry juice remains unknown. Lifestyle changes that may be helpful, people who are overweight or have high blood pressure are at greater risk of developing gout.
- The Natural Pharmacy: Complete A-Z Reference to Natural Treatments for Common Health Conditions by Alan R. Gaby, M.D., Jonathan V. Wright, M.D., Forrest Batz, Pharm.D. Rick Chester, RPh., N.D., DipLAc. George Constantine, R.Ph., Ph.D. Linnea D. Thompson, Pharm.D., N.D.
- Available on Amazon.com
Cherries, hawthorn berries, blueberries, and other dark red or blue berries are rich sources of compounds that favorably affect collagen metabolism and reduce inflammation of joints. Bioflavonoids found in black cherries have been used to reduce uric acid levels and decrease tissue destruction associated with gout. Gout patients should eliminate alcohol intake, which both increases uric acid production and reduces uric acid excretion in the kidneys.
- Alternative Medicine the Definitive Guide, Second Edition by Larry Trivieri, Jr.
- Available on Amazon.com
You can even find dried cherries, which are similar to raisins. Cherries boast not only great taste but also potential health benefits. With flavonoids, fiber, potassium, and traces of vitamins A and C, cherries have plenty of lookouts to guard your health. They're known to fight inflammation and, possibly, cancer. Try some cherries, and when someone asks if you're enjoying a delicious and healthy food, you won't have to tell a lie. You can easily say "yes."
- Eat and Heal (Foods That Can Prevent or Cure Many Common Ailments) by the Editors of FC&A Medical Publishing
- Available on Amazon.com
According to a 1950 study of twelve individuals with gout, eating one-half pound of cherries or the equivalent amount of cherry juice prevented attacks of gout. Black, sweet yellow, and red sour cherries were all effective. Since that study, there have been many anecdotal reports of cherry juice as an effective treatment of the pain and inflammation of gout. The active ingredient in cherry juice remains unknown. Individuals with gout should not consume nutritional yeast or brewer's yeast, as they can raise uric acid levels.
- The Natural Pharmacy: Complete Home Reference to Natural Medicine by Schuyler W. Lininger, Jr. DC
- Available on Amazon.com
History & Folklore Dioscorides, a lst-century AD physician, claimed that cherries relieve gas. The 16th-century herbalist John Gerard recorded the French custom of hanging cherries in houses to ward off fever. Medicinal Actions & Uses In European herbal medicine, cherry stems have long been used for their diuretic and astringent properties. They have been prescribed for cystitis, nephritis, urinary retention, and for arthritic problems, notably gout. Cherries can be a helpful part of an overall regimen treating arthritic problems. Cherries' high sugar content makes them mildly laxative.
- Miracle Medicine Herbs (Reward Books) by Richard Melvin Lucas
- Available on Amazon.com
A Michigan State University study found that 20 tart cherries were at least as effective as other painkilling remedies, including aspirin, ibuprofen, and other nonsteroidal anti-inflammatory drugs (NSAIDs). That's why cherries are a popular folk remedy for arthritis and gout. Like many fruits and vegetables, Dried cherries make a cherries also have fiber and potas-great snack.
- Unleash the Inner Healing Power of Foods by The Editors of FC&A
- Available on Amazon.com
Cherries are especially recommended; the patient should consume 1/2 pound of fresh or canned cherries a day. Exercise regularly and maintain a healthy body weight. Lose weight if overweight. Cherries are particularly effective in lowering uric acid levels and preventing attacks of gout. cherries, hawthorn berries, blueberries, and other dark red-blue berries are rich sources of constituents called anthocyanidins and proanthocyanidins.
- Medical Herbalism: The Science Principles and Practices Of Herbal Medicine by David Hoffman, FNIMH, AHG
- Available on Amazon.com
Cheer for cherries and berries, not all good things are off limits to people with gout. In studies, cherries (especially black cherries), blueberries, and strawberries have proven their ability to reduce levels of uric acid in studies. Black cherry juice is probably the most effective. Use it in pure juice form and drink \ to \ cup per day. shard-like crystals, this is a remedy tailor-made for people with gout. Typical dosage: 600 to 800 milligrams per day of product standardized to 1.5 percent harpagoside. Caution: Do not use if you have gastric or duodenal ulcers.
- The Herbal Drugstore by Linda B. White, M.D.
- Available on Amazon.com
Sweet cherries are a warming food that increases vital energy and tone the spleen-pancreas, liver, and kidneys. Also astringent, they treat involuntary seminal emission. Cherries remove excess body acids and blood stagnation and, when eaten regularly, are therefore therapeutic for gout, paralysis, numbness in the extremities, and rheumatic pain in the lower half of the body. Sweet cherries reduce vata and kapha and can be used in moderation by pitta. Cherries are an excellent source of iron and contain some phosphorus, potassium, and calcium, as well as vitamin A.
- The New Whole Foods Encyclopedia: A Comprehensive Resource for Healthy Eating by Rebecca Wood
- Available on Amazon.com
Consuming the equivalent of one-half pound of fresh cherries per day has been shown to be very effective in lowering uric acid levels and preventing attacks of gout. Cherries, hawthorn berries, blueberries, and other dark red-blue berries are rich sources of anthocyanidin and proanthocyanidin. These flavonoid molecules give the fruits their deep red-blue color, and are remarkable in their ability to prevent collagen destruction. Flavonoid-rich grape seed and hawthorn extracts are the best herbal recommendations for gout.
- The Healing Power of Herbs: The Enlightened Person's Guide to the Wonders of Medicinal Plants by Michael T. Murray, N.D.
- Available on Amazon.com
Many people with gout swear that eating cherries helps quickly resolve attacks. Only one study, though, published in 1950, found that eating about a half-pound of fresh or canned Royal Ann or black Bing cherries a day helps lower uric acid levels. But it's worth a try. "Cherries, hawthorn berries, blueberries and other dark red-blue berries are rich sources of anthocyanidins and procyanidins," Dr. Pizzorno explains.
- Prevention's Healing With Vitamins : The Most Effective Vitamin and Mineral Treatments for Everyday Health Problems and Serious Disease by The Editors of Prevention Magazine Health Books
- Available on Amazon.com
Blood-sugar balance-blood study of twelve people with gout found that eating one-half pound of fresh or canned cherries or drinking a full quart of cherry juice prevented gout attacks. In all twelve people, uric acid levels returned to normal, and the gout attacks ceased.
- Prescription for Natural Cures: A Self-Care Guide for Treating Health Problems with Natural Remedies Including Diet and Nutrition, Nutritional Supplements, Bodywork, and More by James F. Balch, M.D. and Mark Stengler, N.D.
- Available on Amazon.com
"Old country doctors would tell patients to eat black cherries to stop having gout attacks, and the remedy usually worked," he says. Auricular Therapy: Instant Natural Pain Relief for a gout Attack Lend an ear if you want fast relief from gout. "I don't know of any noninvasive remedy that works as quickly or as well for the pain of gout as ear acupuncture, or auricular therapy," says Jay M. Holder, M.D., D.C., Ph.D., a chiropractor and addiction specialist in Miami and Miami Beach. In Chinese medicine, a healthy person's life-energy, or chi, flows along subtle lines called meridians.
- Alternative Cures: The Most Effective Natural Home Remedies for 160 Health Problems by Bill Gottlieb
- Available on Amazon.com
The red in raspberries and cherries, the blue in blueberries, and the orange in peppers all contain powerful plant chemicals that have antioxidant, anti-inflammatory, and frequently anticancer activity. The secret to the benefits of cherries and cherry juice are compounds called anthocyanins. These are the particular pigments in cherries that give them their bright red color and are considered to be the key to helping the body relieve inflammation. It's believed that the anthocyanins in the cherries cause the decrease in uric acid and the relief from the pain of gout.
- The Most Effective Natural Cures on Earth: The Surprising, Unbiased Truth about What Treatments Work and Why by Jonny Bowden, Ph.D., C.N.S.
- Available on Amazon.com
Cherries' anthocyanidins have been shown to inhibit the activity of xanthine oxidase, the enzyme involved in the production of uric acid. Clinical studies have shown that consuming the equivalent of Vi pound of fresh cherries per day is very effective in lowering uric acid levels and preventing attacks of gout. The cherry season is brief, slightly more than three months long. Bing cherries usually appear at the end of May, peak in June and July, and are available through August, while Lamberts and other sweet, dark cherries arrive in mid-August.
- The Encyclopedia of Healing Foods by Michael Murray, N.D. and Joseph Pizzorno, N.D.
- Available on Amazon.com
Boon from berries - help in another form comes from bioflavonoid molecules, which are found in cherries, blueberries, and other fruits. In the 1950s, researchers discovered that cherries could decrease uric acid levels and prevent a gout attack. You'd have to eat a lot of cherries, a half-pound a day to make a dent in gout. For the same results, you can take a bioflavonoid supplement or 2,000 milligrams of berry extract a day, says Dr. Maes. The best are those that have a combination of all the bioflavonoids or the extracts of several different berries, he says.
- Nature's Medicines : From Asthma to Weight Gain, from Colds to High Cholesterol -- The Most Powerful All-Natural Cures by Gale Maleskey
- Available on Amazon.com
It seems that there may well be, and that alternative is to eat cherries. Yes, plain cherries-sour or sweet. They can all do the trick, and it doesn't matter much if they're fresh, canned or frozen. The cherries-for-gout story seems to start with Ludwig W. Blau, Ph.D., whose big toe at one time gave him so much torment that he was confined to a wheelchair. One day, quite by accident, he polished off a whole bowl of cherries, and the next morning the pain in his foot was practically gone.
- The Practical Encyclopedia of Natural Healing by Mark Bricklin
- Available on Amazon.com
Celery and cherries appear to be very effective in lowering uric acid levels and preventing attacks of gout. Celery contains the compound 3-n-butylpthalide, while cherries are a rich source of flavonoids. Both of these compounds are beneficial in gout via several mechanisms, including the ability to inhibit the formation of uric acid by inhibiting the enzyme xanthine oxidase. The pain of an acute attack of gout is absolutely excruciating. In this situation, heroic measures are clearly appropriate.
- The Encyclopedia of Healing Foods by Michael Murray, N.D. and Joseph Pizzorno, N.D.
- Available on Amazon.com
It is reported that you can use sweet or sour cherries and they can be fresh, frozen, or even canned to achieve Dr. Blau's results. Cherries (and blueberries and other dark red or blue berries) are rich sources of substances that have a powerful ability to prevent collagen destruction. It is certainly worth a try. About a half-pound of cherries daily for a week could give you some positive results.
- Natural Prescriptions: Dr. Giller's Natural Treatments & Vitamin Therapies For Over 100 Common Ailments by Robert M. Giller, M.D.
- Available on Amazon.com
Eat more blueberries and cherries, because they're rich in substances that counteract purines, which cause gout, says Julian Whitaker, M.D., founder and president of the Whitaker Wellness Center in Newport Beach, California. He says that some gout patients report finding relief by eating from a handful to up to l pound of cherries each day. He also advises people with gout to avoid anchovies, asparagus, mushrooms and organ meats such as liver and kidney, since they're high in purines.
- New Choices in Natural Healing: Over 1,800 of the Best Self-Help Remedies from the World of Alternative Medicine by Bill Gottlieb
- Available on Amazon.com
They may also help reduce uric acid levels, according to some research. Cherries and strawberries are popular folk remedies for gout. Go easy on vitamin C and niacin. Large doses of vitamin C and niacin can raise uric acid levels. The typical multivitamin/mineral supplement doesn't contain enough of either nutrient to trigger a gout attack. But don't take more than 2,000 milligrams of vitamin C a day, and limit niacin supplementation to 35 milligrams a day.
- The Green Pharmacy Anti-Aging Prescriptions: Herbs, Foods, and Natural Formulas to Keep You Young by James A. Duke, Ph.D.
- Available on Amazon.com
Eat cherries or take cherry extract. Eating half a pound (225 grams) of canned or fresh cherries a day has been shown to be a very effective means of preventing gout attacks. When fresh cherries are out of season, use cherry extracts or concentrates in tablet or tincture form, available from many health-food stores. It is likely that cherries inhibit compounds that cause inflammation. This reduces inflammation after uric acid builds up in a joint. To flush uric acid from the body, drink no less than eight glasses of water daily.
- Prescription for Herbal Healing: An Easy-to-Use A-Z Reference to Hundreds of Common Disorders and Their Herbal Remedies by Phyllis A. Balch, CNC
- Available on Amazon.com
Many people claim to stave off gout attacks by eating eight ounces a day of canned or fresh cherries. I have one friend, for instance, who claims to have great luck in staving off gout when he eats black cherries. This therapy has never been scientifically demonstrated to work, but since so many people swear by it, I think it's probably worth trying. (One caveat, though: Buying this many cherries might be even more expensive than my allopurinol.) I'm going to give my Cherry Cocktail a try.
- The Green Pharmacy: New Discoveries in Herbal Remedies for Common Diseases and Conditions from the World's Foremost Authority on Healing Herbs by James A. Duke, Ph.D.
- Available on Amazon.com
For maximum benefit, nutritionists recommend organically grown cherries that are bottled or canned without the addition of sugar and chemicals, available from manufacturers of health food store products. Additional case studies, one woman reported that her husband obtained complete relief from gout in his toe and that the pain in his back and shoulders had eased within two days of eating sweet cherries. Another gout sufferer drank cherry juice daily for one week and reported that the pain in his knee, which had tormented him almost beyond endurance, was gone.
- Miracle Medicine Herbs (Reward Books) by Richard Melvin Lucas
- Available on Amazon.com
Popular thought holds that black cherries, especially in the form of black cherry juice concentrate, are far better than red cherries. But all of this is modern folk medicine in the making. BRAD'S MIRACLE No More Pain, No More Drugs gout was ruining his life, and Brad McAdams, a forty-four-year-old draftsman in an oil refinery in Corpus Christi, Texas, was worried. Diagnosed about seven years earlier, the gout had become so painful primarily in his knees, but also in his ankles, that he could barely walk. "It really hurt to move. There would be times when I just couldn't get out of bed."
- Miracle Cures: Dramatic New Scientific Discoveries Revealing the Healing Powers of Herbs, Vitamins, and Other Natural Remedies by Jean Carper
- Available on Amazon.com
Blau published the information on the use of cherries for gout so that "it might offer a merciful means of relief to hundreds of thousands of American victims who suffer the agonizingly painful torture that drives many to thoughts of suicide. Later Evidence Eight years after Dr. Blau's report was published, an article in the Food Field Reporter 5 cited new evidence that gouty arthritis, gout, and similar ailments may be relieved by drinking canned cherry juice. It was reported that the cherry juice was taken by a number of residents of Sturgeon Bay, Wisconsin, who participated in the study.
- Miracle Medicine Herbs (Reward Books) by Richard Melvin Lucas
- Available on Amazon.com
Black, sweet yellow, and red sour cherries were all effective. Gout Super Prescription #1 Homeopathic Colchicum, take a 30C potency every waking two hours for two days. This homeopathic remedy is specific for gout pains that are worse with any motion. Super Prescription #2 Celery seed extract, take 450 mg two to three times daily to treat and prevent gout. Celery seed extract has anti-inflammatory effects and may reduce uric acid levels. Super Prescription #3 Nettle root (Urtica dioica), encourages the elimination of uric acid from the kidneys.
- Prescription for Natural Cures: A Self-Care Guide for Treating Health Problems with Natural Remedies Including Diet and Nutrition, Nutritional Supplements, Bodywork, and More by James F. Balch, M.D. and Mark Stengler, N.D.
- Available on Amazon.com
We have been writing about the value of cherries (fresh, dried, or frozen cherries; cherry juice; and even cherry extract capsules) against gout for many years. This is another one of those remedies about which the old wives were way out in front of the scientists. In 2003, investigators at the University of California at Davis conducted a little study on 10 healthy women between 22 and 40 years of age. They measured the urate level and other inflammatory markers in blood samples before and after a dose of bing cherries (280 grams).
- Best Choices From the People's Pharmacy by Joe Graedon, M.S. and Teresa Graedon, Ph.D.
- Available on Amazon.com
Cherry juice is another way to get the gout-relieving benefits of cherries. In my book The 150 Healthiest Foods on Earth, I shared one of my favorite desserts: frozen cherries. (You can get them in almost any grocery.) I take them directly from the freezer, put them in a bowl, and mix them with raw milk or yogurt, which promptly freezes on the cold cherries, forming a kind of cherry-flavored sherbet. Top with slivered almonds and enjoy!
- The Most Effective Natural Cures on Earth: The Surprising, Unbiased Truth about What Treatments Work and Why by Jonny Bowden, Ph.D., C.N.S.
- Available on Amazon.com
If he forgot to take the cherries, while traveling, it took only a few days for the stabbing pain in his big toe to return with a vengeance. More than 20 years after Dr. Blau wrote up his experiences in a medical journal (his research at that time revealed that there were 12 other case histories of people whose gout or arthritis had been helped by eating cherries or drinking cherry juice), he told us that he was still eating six to eight cherries every day and was still in good health.
- The Practical Encyclopedia of Natural Healing by Mark Bricklin
- Available on Amazon.com
Cherries are a well-known remedy for gout, arthritis, and rheumatism. They also help overcome numbness in the limbs and paralysis as a result of rheumatism. Part of their action in rheumatic disorders occurs from their ability to eliminate excess body acids. Cherries are most beneficial for treating disorders accompanied by coldness, such as when the person feels perennially cold. Richly supplied in iron, cherries are often used to improve the blood and treat anemia.
- Healing with Whole Foods: Asian Traditions and Modern Nutrition by Paul Pitchford
- Available on Amazon.com
Just three dried cherries a day could end your gout pain. It may sound like a miracle, but this delicious, vitamin-packed fruit is proven to relieve arthritis pain even better than aspirin, ibuprofen and other drugs with no stomach upset or other side effects. The secret lies in anthocyanins. These natural compounds not only give cherries their luscious red color, they also stop your body from making prostaglandins, the hormone-like substances that cause pain and inflammation.
- Unleash the Inner Healing Power of Foods by The Editors of FC&A
- Available on Amazon.com
Nutritionally minded health-care professionals and other healers have known for eons that cherries help relieve the pain of gout, but now we have a scientific explanation for why. Compounds in cherries lower levels of uric acid in the blood. Less uric acid, fewer disposal problems, fewer crystals, less pain. A study at the University of California-Davis showed that consuming two servings' worth of cherries daily (280 g total) after an overnight fast significantly lowered the blood uric acid of women by as much as 15 percent.
- The Most Effective Natural Cures on Earth: The Surprising, Unbiased Truth about What Treatments Work and Why by Jonny Bowden, Ph.D., C.N.S.
- Available on Amazon.com
Consuming one-half pound of fresh or canned cherries per day has been shown to be very effective in lowering uric acid levels and preventing attacks of gout. Cherries, hawthorn berries, blueberries, and other dark red-blue berries are rich sources of anthocyanidins and proanthocyanidins. These compounds are flavonoid molecules, which give these fruits their deep red-blue color, and are remarkable in their ability to prevent collagen destruction.
- Textbook of Natural Medicine 2nd Edition Volume 2 by Michael T. Murray, ND
- Available on Amazon.com
Finally, cherries are particularly useful in the treatment of gout. Gout is a type of arthritis associated with an abnormally high concentration of uric acid in the blood. Uric acid is produced in the liver and enters the bloodstream. Under certain circumstances, the body produces too much uric acid or excretes too little. As uric acid concentrations increase, needlelike crystals of a salt called monosodium urate form. In time, these crystals accumulate in the joints, causing the inflammation and pain typical of gout.
- The Encyclopedia of Healing Foods by Michael Murray, N.D. and Joseph Pizzorno, N.D.
- Available on Amazon.com
Relieve gout, prevent a variety of cancers. Reduce the risk of heart disease and stroke with their hard little pits and rich, shirt-staining colors, cherries take a bit more work to eat than many fruits. But research suggests that cherries, which contain a compound called perillyl alcohol, are worth the bother and then some. "Perillyl alcohol is about the best thing we've ever seen for curing mammary cancer in laboratory animals," says Michael Gould, Ph.D., professor of human oncology at the University of Wisconsin Medical School in Madison.
- Prevention's New Foods for Healing: Capture the Powerful Cures of More Than 100 Common Foods by Prevention Magazine
- Available on Amazon.com
Juicing about four handfuls of pitted cherries with 1/2 cup of strawberries can help neutralize excess uric acid and may help prevent gout attacks, says Cherie Calbom, M.S., a certified nutritionist in Kirkland, Washington, and co-author of Juicing for Life. She says people prone to gout attacks should drink this juice every day as a preventive. Work the kidney reflexes on both feet, recommends St. Petersburg, Florida, reflexologist Dwight Byers, author of Better Health with Foot Reflexology.
- New Choices in Natural Healing: Over 1,800 of the Best Self-Help Remedies from the World of Alternative Medicine by Bill Gottlieb
- Available on Amazon.com
Enjoy cherries and cherry juice often. Cherries are an old nutritional remedy known to help reduce uric-acid levels. Drink at least eight 8-ounce glasses of pure water daily to help flush toxins from your body. Take a good multivitamin and mineral supplement daily, but read the label first to be sure it contains no more than 5,000 international units of vitamin A and that the form of vitamin B3 it contains is niacinamide rather than niacin. In amounts greater than this, vitamin A can worsen gout.
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The secret to the benefits of cherry juice are compounds called anthocyanins, which are the pigments that give cherries their bright red color and are also believed to be the key to helping the body relieve inflammation. As an added bonus, these same anthocyanins may significantly reduce your risk for colon cancer, the third leading cancer in America. Doctors and scientists believe that it's the anthocyanins in the cherries that cause the decrease in blood urates and the relief from gout pain. Anthocyanins act like natural COX-2 inhibitors.
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Eating large quantities of cherries, from one-half pound and up daily, has been found to bring relief to sufferers of gout, a disease that is characterized by an excess of uric acid in the blood and attacks of arthritis. Preparation: When being eaten for medicinal purposes it is best to take the cherries uncooked, freshly picked when possible, and very ripe. Also, cherry juice is a very healthful drink, cherry concentrate being available in all health food stores. A favorite of everyone is cherry pie, especially when homemade and right from the oven.
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Eating around twenty cherries a day may help with reducing headaches, according to researchers from Michigan State University. Men who drank tart cherry juice after performing weight-training exercises had less muscle pain and strength loss. (Women may also benefit but this particular study looked exclusively at men.) Gout, Arthrithis, Inflammatory Pain: Black or Bing cherries have both antioxidant and anti-inflammatory properties, specifically a substance called cyanidin, which may shut down the pain caused by uric acid crystals.
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Liberal consumption of celery, cherries, and blueberries. A low-purine diet has long been the mainstay of dietary therapy for gout. Foods with high purine levels should be omitted entirely. These include organ meats, yeast (brewer's and baker's), herring, sardines, mackerel, and anchovies. Intake of foods with moderate levels of protein should be reduced to one serving every two to three days as well. These include dried legumes, spinach, asparagus, fish, poultry, and mushrooms. Low-purine foods may be eaten in small amounts.
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Hawthorn berries, like cherries, are particularly effective in the treatment of gout, as their flavonoid components are able to reduce uric acid levels as well as reduce tissue destruction. Crataegus extracts are effective in reducing blood pressure, angina attacks, and serum cholesterol levels, preventing the deposition of cholesterol in arterial walls and improving cardiac function. Hawthorn extracts are widely used in Europe for their antihypertensive and cardiotonic activity.
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Another reader shared this experience: "I used tart cherries to cure a gout attack and it worked." The real news is that the pain from osteoarthritis of the hip joint diminished also. I've been able to reduce my use of Celebrex from 400 milligrams per day to 200 milligrams per day and still have less pain. Celebrex (celecoxib) is not only expensive (400 milligrams costs more than $4 per pill), it also has potential side effects. You will find this kind of story sprinkled throughout this book. We can think of no better way to share the wisdom of our readers than to let you read their stories.
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One can lower uric acid levels by eating cherries, blueberries, or other dark red or blue berries every day. Folic acid, part of the B-complex family of nutrients, inhibits the production of uric acid, and vitamin C is valuable because it expedites excretion of uric acid. Other forms of prevention include eating a low-fat, high-fiber diet and watching one's weight, because obesity aggravates gout symptoms. Avoid these foods, which trigger attacks: organ meats, sardines, anchovies, dried peas, lentils, and other legumes.
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The easiest herbal way to control uric acid production may be to eat cherries, drink green tea, and watch your diet. Herbal strategies to enhance excretion of uric acid promoting excretion of uric acid through urination is a bit more problematic. You cannot simply use any diuretic, you would have to use one that expels the uric acid. Thiazide diuretics, for example, commonly used to control high blood pressure, can increase gout risk and uric acid blood levels if prescribed in high doses. The minidoses of aspirin used to prevent heart attacks can slow uric acid excretion by 15%.
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The body uses collagen to form connective tissue, which is damaged by gout. For some people, he writes, eating a half-pound of cherries (about 34) daily for a week will help relieve the symptoms. Donna Weihofen, R.D., a clinical dietitian at the University of Wisconsin Hospital and Clinics in Madison. "Just eliminate those foods highest in purines," Weihofen says. "It will enhance the effects of the drugs and perhaps prevent some of the severe symptoms."
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Herbal strategies to inhibit production of uric acid anecdotal reports indicate that eating large amounts of flavonoid-rich cherries (up to Vi pound per day) can be beneficial for gout. Several patients in the past have come in and told me this works for them. This makes sense, because numerous naturally occurring flavonoids have been tested that inhibit the effects of xanthine oxidase. These include those found in bupleurum root, green tea, capillaris root, tangerine peel, perilla leaf (zi su ye or P. frutescens), and kudzu. Quercetin has also been shown to do this.
- The One Earth Herbal Sourcebook: Everything You Need to Know About Chinese, Western, and Ayurvedic Herbal Treatments by Alan Keith Tillotson, Ph.D., A.H.G., D.Ay.
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In the Ukraine cornelian cherries are a frequent ingredient in bottled soft drinks, conserves, wines, and liqueurs. In folk medicine the fruit is used to combat gout, anemia, skin diseases, painful joints, and disrupted metabolism. Fruit, leaves, or bark have been employed for gastrointestinal disorders and tuberculosis. Russian scientists have reported that the fruit contains components that leach radioactivity from the body. Sugar content ranges from 4 to 12 percent, and the acidity ranges from 1 to 4 percent.
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Cherries are a good "spring cleaner" to stimulate and cleanse the digestive system, the darker ones being all the more valuable to the system as they contain a greater quantity of magnesium, iron, and silicon. They are a well-known remedy for gout, arthritis, and rheumatism; part of their action in rheumatic disorders occurs from their ability to eliminate excess body acids.
- Whole Foods Companion: A Guide For Adventurous Cooks, Curious Shoppers, and lovers of natural foods by Dianne Onstad
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Berries, especially cherries, strawberries, and blueberries, neutralize uric acid. Eat fresh berries as snacks or for dessert, and drink a glass of cherry juice every day. Flaxseeds are a highly concentrated source of essential fatty acids, the "good" fats that reduce inflammation. Add flaxseeds to juices, salads, or fruit plates, or use the oil as a salad dressing. One of the most important foods you can eat to prevent gout is fish. Eat fish such as salmon, cod, halibut, and sardines, as they reduce inflammation.
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Black cherry juice is excellent for gout, and prevents tooth decay by stopping plaque formation. Cherries benefit the glandular system, remove toxic waste from tissues, and aid the functions of the gallbladder and liver. The ellagic acid content has cancer-preventing properties. The parts eaten are the skin and the flesh.
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Consuming one-half pound of fresh or canned cherries per day has been found effective in lowering uric acid levels and preventing attacks of gout.
- Encyclopedia of Natural Medicine, Revised Second Edition by Michael T. Murray, N.D., Joseph E. Pizzorno, N.D.
- Available on Amazon.com
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