The idea that gout can be treated with cherry juice dates back many decades. In fact, I’ve read many anecdotal stories about how this juice has helped relieve pain and inflammation. But does it really work?

Recently, I searched the Net looking some kind of proof, and yes it may help! Old reports combined with recent studies suggest cherry juice contains certain compound that can inhibit inflammation and pain caused by uric acid crystal formation. So you may want to try this!

This is a very nice site. After reading about other symptoms, I find I get shooting pains in my right leg and back, for some unknown reason. As far as I can tell I've had it all my life! LOL! Early last year I changed my diet and added supplements including cherry juice, it really helped. Gout research leads me to believe that it's mainly caused by genes. Reading bits and pieces from other internet websites helps me understand my and cope with my disorder. Keep up the work your doing a great job so your site visitors should keep coming back! M. Jennings

Gout, an arthritis affliction with its roots in antiquity, has not always been easy to treat. The traditional medicines employed for gout have been non-steroidal anti-inflammatory drugs (NSAIDS), colchicines, probenicid (Benemid), and allopurinol (Zyloprim).

Unfortunately, while effective, these drugs have their drawbacks. NSAIDS cause gastrointestinal complications; colchicines has been linked to severe neurologic and gastrointestinal problems; probenecid cannot be used in patients who do not have normal kidney function; and allopurinol has been associated with severe side effects including liver, skin, and blood toxicity.

Interestingly, drugs you may take for other medical conditions may help you with gout. Losartan (Cozaar), a blood pressure medication, and fenofibrate (Tricor), a triglyceride-lowering drug, works as mild uricosuric drugs. This means these agents help the kidneys get rid of excess uric acid- the major ingredient in the crystals that cause gout pain.

A new medicine, febuxostat, has recently undergone clinical trials. This medication is being heralded because of its safety profile. Obviously, all medicine decisions should be made in concert with your physician.

Dr. Wei (pronounced “way”) is a board-certified rheumatologist and Clinical Director of the nationally respected Arthritis and Osteoporosis Center of Maryland. He is a Clinical Assistant Professor of Medicine at the University of Maryland School of Medicine and has served as a consultant to the Arthritis Branch of the National Institutes of Health. He is a Fellow of the American College of Rheumatology and the American College of Physicians. For more information on arthritis and related conditions, go to: http://www.onlinebuffalo.com/medicine/45917.php

Are there any herbal remedies and other gout medications that help relieve symptoms? Here’s a short list of common drugs/remedies:

• NSAIDS for pain killing;
• Colchicines;
• Febuxostat;
• Allopurinol;
• Cherry juice and vitamin supplements may help.

If you have not used/tried any of the about drugs/herbal supplements it’s advisable to consult with your doctor/GP or healthcare professional first.

Hello Brad, I've visited your site quite a few times, the blog posts are excellent. I think the new gout drugs are incredibly useful. Well they really help me. Also, I tried a gout diet and some home remedies because I heard they worked for some. I wonder if the best treatment in most cases is combining drugs with diet with supplements; food for thought. Amazing how much you can glean from reading around. Thank you again, keep up the great job your doing. Mr Burton

A nice warm bath – the simplest home remedy!

I developed gouty arthritis following menopause, after trying many different remedies including drugs, the most effective is a long, warm bath. For, it soothes away the aches and pain. Sometime I put a touch of scent in to.

I would certainly recommend this to your site surfers.

Pauline Hazeldine

An excellent book I read the other day was Coping with Gout by C. Hinton.

Being overweight appears to be the most common determining factor for excess uric acid production. Not all people with raised levels of ,uric acid, and ultimately gout, are overweight - as we have seen, kidney disease or genetic predisposition are two other causes of overproduction. However, it can safely be stated that the majority of gout sufferers are overweight to some degree, as several recent studies have shown. Losing weight should, therefore, be a priority - but avoid crash dieting as it can be counter-productive, increasing uric acid levels and causing an acute attack. Ideally, you should aim to lose no more than two pounds a week.

When a person with gout begins to lose weight, they are, for the following reasons, mounting a two-pronged attack on the cause of their disorder:

• The kidneys are more able to eliminate uric acid.
• In some cases, the production of uric acid by the liver is reduced.

Weight loss can also have the happy effect of moderating blood pressure. Obviously the risk of developing the disorders that high blood pressure can lead to is then much reduced.

How can I lose weight? Starving yourself is not recommended as a means of parting with the pounds; neither is fad dieting where entire nutritional components are cut out, such as a carbohydrate-restricted diet, the `cabbage-soup diet' and so on. It is important to choose a diet that is sustainable, which means eating a wide variety of healthy foods. Happily, changing to healthy eating will naturally cause weight loss in gout sufferers who are overweight; it will reduce levels of lipids (fats) in the blood; and it can reduce raised blood pressure.

However, it is essential that you slowly retrain your palate to accept different tastes., For this reason, it is advisable to cut back gradually on the amounts of sugar, salt and saturated fat you consume. It takes only 28 days of eating a food regularly for it to become a habit.

Keeping a diary. Keeping a food-intake diary is an excellent way of monitoring your progress. I suggest that you buy a notebook and devote a page to each day, listing all the foods you eat — including snacks and drinks.

Goals. It's a good idea to set goals on the very first page. For example, you may wish to make a goal of eating two types of vegetables each day. Without the diary, you may assume you have done badly — but upon reading your entries you may see that you've actually eaten two types of vegetables three or four times a week. That's a good starting point. Now you can focus on slowly increasing that amount. As time goes by and you begin to achieve your goals as a matter of habit, list a new set of slightly more difficult ones.

Examples of long-term, general healthy eating goals are as follows:

• to eat two or three types of vegetables every day;
• to eat two or three portions of fruit every day;
• to eat nuts, seeds and dried fruit as snacks once or twice a day;
• to drink as much as 3.5 litres (6 pints) of water a day, including that in fruit and vegetable juices and green tea;
• to use vegetable oil, flower oil, corn oil or olive oil in cooking and dressing (extra virgin olive oil is best, and hemp oil, which is very nutritious, is also great for dressings); to minimize the amount of salt added to cooking and baking, and to avoid sprinkling it on food at the table;
• to reduce your intake of meat and dairy products, making sure to spread butter very thinly;
• to cut down on caffeine – coffee, chocolate, cola drinks, tea and cocoa;
• to cut down on alcohol (seek your doctor's advice if cutting down is a problem);
• to cut down on saturated fats;
• to cut' down on table sugar and other sugar-containing products, such as cakes, sweets, biscuits and sugar-coated cereals;
• to cut out junk food;
• to cut out artificial sweeteners;
• to cut out fried foods (but see p. 40).

The reasons why many of the above foods should be minimized or cut out are explained later in this chapter. I will just add that if you are ultimately unable to eliminate certain foods, don't be discouraged. Reducing your intake should have a positive effect on your weight and the levels of uric acid in your blood. Ask your doctor to check your levels after changing your eating habits for a month or so – an indication that there is already less uric acid in your blood may give you an added incentive to persevere with your diet.

The book can be purchased from Amazon – Coping with Gout by C Hinton