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Cherries are an effective cure for gout
Last reviewed: 01.07.2025
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This disease is called "the disease of kings" because it once targeted rich and noble people. But now it is well known that not only aristocrats suffer from attacks of joint pain, but also quite ordinary people.
Gout is partly considered a disease caused by lifestyle, when a person drinks alcohol, is subject to frequent stress and is not restrained in consuming smoked, meat and fatty foods.
Web2Health reminds that gout is a disease caused by the deposition of uric acid salts in tissues. The symptoms of this disease are sudden and severe attacks of pain in the joints, which are accompanied by redness and swelling. Excess alcohol and animal proteins provoke an increase in the level of uric acid, which forms salts - urates. According to statistics, 8.3 million Americans suffer from this disease.
There are currently many treatment options for gout, but science continues to search for new ways to treat gout because effective treatments have not yet been found.
However, there is good news, as it turns out that cherries are a real find for people suffering from gout. A new study by scientists from the American College of Rheumatology shows that eating cherries in combination with drugs that lower uric acid levels reduces the risk of gout attacks by 75%.
A team of scientists, led by Professor Yuqing Zhang, monitored the health of 633 patients suffering from gout for a year.
The patients were surveyed, during which specialists found out when they were diagnosed with the disease, what symptoms they had, and what medications they were taking.
The participants were 54 years old, 88% were European, and 78% were men. 35% of the patients consumed fresh cherries, 2% consumed cherry extract, and 5% combined both.
The experts recorded 1,247 gout attacks during the entire observation period. Most patients complained of pain in the big toe joint – 92%.
"Our findings suggest that patients who included cherries, either fresh or extracted, in their diet felt significantly better. Pain attacks decreased, and increasing the amount of cherries consumed up to three times over more than two days showed a reduction in the risk of pain flare-ups," the researchers commented on the study results.
However, it was found that further increasing the dose did not improve the results already obtained. But the effect already obtained was maintained even if the patient stopped taking the medication.
Experts recommend not to abandon standard treatment methods, but to include cherries in your diet, which will provide an additional protective effect.
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