More cherries, less gout

27 Nov 2012

Cherries have been found to help with flare-ups of one of the more painful forms of arthritis - gout. 

Eat more cherries and you'll suffer less from gout. So says a recent study in the USA. People with gout, who ate cherries for two days lowered their risk of attacks by 35 per cent compared to those who hadn't eaten any. 

It was also found that combining cherries with their gout medication could reduce the risk of flares by up to 75 per cent. 

Dr Yuqing Zhang, Professor of Medicine and Public Health at Boston University led the study and along with colleagues, followed 633 gout patients online for a year. Participants were asked to communicate with the scientists about the start of their gout, their symptoms and medications. This included their cherry intake in the days leading up to the gout attack. 

“Our findings indicate that consuming cherries or cherry extract lowers the risk of a gout attack,” Dr Zhang said. “The gout flare risk continued to decrease with increasing cherry consumption, up to three servings over two days.

According to the findings, three is the ultimate number with people eating less than three portions of cherries a day suffering a higher risk of a recurring gout attack than those who ate three. 

Want to reduce your risk of gout? Follow these easy steps:

1. Lose weight gradually - it will reduce the stress on weight-bearing joints.

2. Avoid purine - uric acid is formed from purine and is a key factor to gout. It is found in a range of foods including meat and seafood.

3. Eat a balanced diet including lots of fruit and veges.