Hawthorn Berry for Gout

Hawthorn has shown some potential for treating low-end cardiovascular problems, the University of Maryland Medical Center reports. Many herbalists and some doctors recommend hawthorn as an herbal aid to help prevent heart disease. While the National Center for Complementary and Alternative Medicine notes more research is needed for other potential medicinal uses for hawthorn, the berries of this shrub may provide some help for gout sufferers. Before you start using them, ask your physician what he thinks about the potential benefits of using hawthorn berries in the treatment of your gout.

Hawthorn Berries

The National Center for Complementary and Alternative Medicine indicates that hawthorn studies have contradicted each other on its potential for health benefits in heart ailments. The University of Maryland Medical Center also notes that hawthorn may help control your high blood pressure and may aid in the reduction of angina, also known as chest pain, related to heart problems. Hawthorn is less well-known as a potential gout treatment. Gary Null, in his book, "Get Healthy Now!: A Complete Guide to Prevention, Treatment and Healthy Living," notes that hawthorn berries contain anthocyanins that can decrease inflammation in your body.

Gout

Arthritis comes in several forms. While osteoarthritis may be more common, gout is also form of arthritis. Unlike other forms of the disease, gout does not present with constant pain, but rather in severe attacks periodically. When your body does not expel the waste uric acid produced during the digestion of purines from food, the uric acid accumulates in your joints. It can then crystallize, which in turn causes the inflammation of a gout attack. Changing your diet to decrease purine intake, drinking lots of water and taking medications usually can help control, decrease or eliminate most gout attacks. The medicines, however, can produce some bad side effects. For this reason, you may seek help from alternative treatments such as hawthorn berry.

Actions in Your Body

Hawthorn berries, like cherries, help to decrease the uric acid levels in your body. The less uric acid you have in your body, the less likely that you will suffer from gout attacks. However, other berries such as black cherries can offer more benefits than hawthorn berries in the easing of inflammation and pain from gout, state the authors of the book, "Alternative Medicine: the Definitive Guide." Still hawthorn berries may aid you in your fight to control gout. Gale Maleskey, a nutritionist, claims in her book, "Nature's Medicines: The Definitive Guide to Health Supplements," that hawthorn berries can help reduce the inflammation associated with arthritic conditions such as gout. The berries also can protect the collagen in your body that may become damaged because of gouty inflammation, Maleskey notes. Drugs.com indicates that because hawthorn can help to open your blood vessels and arteries, thus improving blood circulation, it may help to prevent uric acid from settling and crystallizing in your joints.

Side Effects

Hawthorn berries generally produce only temporary and minor side effects that should cease on their own once your body adapts to them. Drugs.com notes that hawthorn can make you feel nauseated when you first use it. The herb also may increasing sweating during the few days of adjustment, and it may make you feel tired or fatigued. If these side effects persist, get help from your practitioner.