The uric acid symptoms of gout - redness, warmth, swelling, inflammation, stiffness and horrible pain - can be prevented if you can lower your uric acid levels and keep them there. Here you'll discover a popular fruit that can help you achieve that aim...

High uric acid is the precursor to gout because urate crystals can form and settle in your joints, thus causing your painful gout attacks.

Now, if this is your first gout attack, you need to know that your are most likely to have more. And as these occur they can become more frequent and more intense.

You must prevent this happening to you, not just because these attacks are so debilitating, but because recurring gout can actually leave you with permanently damaged joints and kidney problems such as painful kidney stones.

So, by reducing these acid levels in your body, you can help to prevent your gout reoccurring time and time again and prevent some serious health issues in the future.

When you have a gout attack the usual thing is to take NSAIDs - non-steroidal anti-inflammatory drugs - either over-the-counter or through prescription. And these can work over time to reduce inflammation and relieve pain. What they don't do is prevent future attacks.

For future attack prevention your physician sometimes prescribes drugs to lower your uric acid. These can also be very effective. But they are only effective whilst being taken. If you stop them they cannot work and your gout can come back. This is why they are a long-term solution, sometimes being taken for life.

Not everybody wants to take drugs and even those who do can suffer side effects from taking these medications. Luckily, there are many natural remedies for gout which more and more gout victims are turning to today.

One such home remedy to lower uric acid symptoms is to consume cherries on a daily basis...

Cherries contain anthocyanins which have natural anti-inflammatory properties. And studies have shown that they can also lower uric acid levels.

So not only are cherries excellent for reducing inflammation and relieving the pain of an actual gout attack, they can be very effective in reducing your uric acid levels and so helping to prevent those dangerous recurring attacks.

Some research points to 20 cherries a day as having the same effect as taking one NSAID. In terms of lowering uric acid levels for gout prevention, suggestions for the correct daily 'dose' varies anywhere between 6 and 40...

In the 1950s a certain Dr. Blau recorded that he had 'cured' his gout by consuming 6 cherries per day. But more recent studies seem to suggest you probably need more than that. Of course everyone's metabolism is different, so you need to use trial and error to discover what works for you.

One report suggests 30 to 40 cherries every 4 hours to help relieve uric acid symptoms during an actual gout attack. For gout prevention through lowering uric acid you might want to consider 30 to 40 cherries per day.

Studies have also pointed to the effectiveness of cherry juice. So, where you can't get fresh cherries, you could use cherry juice as an alternative. But don't use the juice you get in cans of cherries you get in the supermarket. You need to get this juice from a health food store or perhaps the pharmacy.

For even more effective tips on how to lower uric acid symptoms of gout I encourage you to take a minute to visit http://gout-relief-today.blogspot.com.