Cranberries have a long history of uses, including medicinal treatments and herbal remedies. Cranberry juice usually contains sugar or another type of sweetener to help reduce tartness. This beverage may help in the treatment of various conditions, including gout. Consult your doctor before using cranberry juice or other herbal remedies to treat or prevent medical conditions.
Gout
Gout is a disease that typically causes painful attacks of swelling and redness around your joints, usually the large joint of your big toe. This condition occurs when uric acid crystals accumulate around the affected joint. Certain foods and medicines can increase your risk of experiencing a gout attack, the symptoms of which include extreme pain, redness and swelling. You may run a fever as high as 102.2 degrees Fahrenheit and experience chills. Eating purine-rich foods, such as meat and shellfish, as well as drinking too much alcohol, can increase your risk of gout. Making dietary changes can help reduce the risk.
Cranberry Juice
The University of Maryland Medical Center recommends drinking between 8 and 16 oz. of cranberry juice each day. You can also take between 300 and 400 mg of standardized cranberry extract each day. Consuming at least eight glasses of fluids each day can help your body remove the excess amounts of uric acid. While water and other beverages are beneficial in getting rid of uric acid, alcohol can increase the risk of gout, so it's important that you avoid consuming your cranberry juice as part of an alcoholic cocktail.
Considerations
In addition to helping minimize the risk of gout attacks, cranberry juice also has properties that may help ward off urinary tract infections. According to Creighton University Medical Center, cranberry juice contains proanthocyanidins, substances that help prevent bacteria from adhering to the cells of your urinary tract. Other common medicinal uses for cranberry juice include drinking it to prevent heart disease, ulcers and cancer, although more research is necessary to confirm potential benefits related to these conditions.
Precautions
Symptoms of gout may mimic the symptoms of other medical conditions, making it important to see your doctor if you experience pain and inflammation around your joints. Although cranberry juice may help prevent gout attacks, this type of juice contains high levels of chemicals that can increase your risk of developing kidney stones in your urinary tract. Cranberry juice may interact with warfarin, a drug that helps thin the blood.
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