No relationship between food and sickness has been examined more than the one between cherries and gout. Ask any gout patient about the advice they have received in terms of what food they can eat to minimize the symptoms they are feeling, and many will tell you that cherries and cherry products are a fairly common recommendation. All these anecdotes have only served to lend credence to the value of cherries as a great food for managing gout pain.

Of course, the connection between cherries and gout does not come without a viable medical explanation to support the claims. In this regard, there have been many reputable studies done to back the claim that cherries indeed offer substantial benefits for gout sufferers by helping them reduce the symptoms of pain and inflammation.

The most important of these researches indicated that regular consumption of cherries can lower gout flare-ups by as much as 75% when fresh cherries or cherry products are consumed in tandem with gout medication. The study also noted that the effects were consistent over patients from varying demographic backgrounds including sex, weight, purine intake levels, and even the use of alcohol and diuretics. This suggested that there was a verifiable common trend in the way cherries can help reduce gout attacks for all patients across the board.

More statistics support this promising finding. First, cherry concentrate offered the most effective means for taking advantage of the cherries and gout connection. Patients involved in the study responded that there was as much as 45% reduction in their gout attacks purely from consuming cherries alone without the benefit of medication. Fresh cherries alone accounted for 35% reduction in the risk of gout recurrence.

The effects were also extended over a few days after cherry was consumed by the patients. Data showed that the risk of gout attack continued to decrease as cherry intake was increased. The studies determined that cherry servings of up to 3 rounds over the course of two days provided maximum benefit while there were no expected additional gains from increasing cherry intake beyond that.

The reasons for these surprising findings are best summarized by looking at the antioxidant concentrations of cherries and their corresponding effects. The antioxidants found in cherries perform a myriad of functions that are crucial to negating the effects of gout.

Anthocyanins and bioflavonoids are particularly effective in neutralizing the inflammatory effects of uric acid in the blood so there is no excessive uric acid crystallization in the joints. These antioxidants are also adept at cleansing the blood from other potential sources of gout pain so suffers are less likely to report recurring gout attacks if they increase their consumption of cherries.

Overall, this study and many others only served to cement what we already know about cherries and gout; that eating cherries in fresh or concentrate form can provide a number of therapeutic effects to gout patients. What is crucial is reinforcing this diet even further until it becomes a habit rather than a plea for relief. When cherries and other fruits or vegetables that contain a large amount of antioxidants becomes a more permanent fixture in anyoneEUR(TM)s diet, doctors hope that the gout symptoms will continue to go down, ultimately leading to a permanent cure for gout. Until then, doctors hope they can continue studying the cherries and gout connection in order to learn more about this amazing and inspirational cure that nature provides for gout sufferers.

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