Gout is an inflammatory arthritis associated with elevated uric acid levels. Painful disease attacks occur as urate crystals form in the joints. Diets high in a protein, purine, and alcohol consumption have been linked to gout. Haibo Wang at Michigan State University notes that cherries have been used as a folklore treatment of gout.
Anti-inflammatory
In 1999, Wang analyzed cherries for anthocyanins and cynadin and assessed the anti-inflammatory and anti-oxidant properties. Anthocyanin is an antioxidant giving fruits including cherries the red color. Wang found anthocyanins and cynadin in cherries are effective anti-oxidants. He found the cynadin in cherries was better than aspirin, naprosyn or indomethacin in disrupting the prostaglandin mediated inflammatory process.
Reduced Attacks
MedPagetoday reports that at the 2010 European League Against Rheumatism conference, Naomi Schlesinger, MD, associate professor of medicine at the University of Medicine and Dentistry of the New Jersey-Robert Wood Johnson Medical School presented her research on a group of 24 patients who took a daily tablespoon of cherry juice concentrate, the equivalent of 45 to 60 cherries, daily for four months had over a 50 percent reduction in gout attacks. Her laboratory also found decreased secretion of interleukin 1-beta, an inflammatory marker elevated in gout attacks, in these patients.
Vitamin C
Data from the U.S. Department of Agriculture shows a pound of fresh cherries or 90 cherries contains 50 to 75 percent of the RDA for vitamin C. Oregon State University Linus Pauling Institute reports higher vitamin C levels are associated with decreased incidence of gout in diet studies and supplementing diet with vitamin C lowers uric acid in patients with gout.
References
- MedPageToday: EULAR: Cherry Juice Seems to Bring Some Gout Relief
- Journal of Natural Produce: Antioxidant and Antiinflammatory Activities of Anthocyanins and Their Aglycon, Cyanidin, from Tart Cherries; Haibo Wang, Muraleedharan G. Nair, Gale M. Strasburg, Yu-Chen Chang, Alden M. Booren, J. Ian Gray, and David L. DeWitt: 1999
- University of Michigan Medical School: newsroom: Clinical Study Reinforces Heart Benefits of Tart Cherries
- Oregon State University: Linus Pauling Institute: Vitamin C
- USDA Nutrient Laboratory; Food composition
