Q. I work as a correctional officer and have to go up and down flights of stairs 12 hours a day. My gout flared up so that I could barely walk. I could have sworn I had broken my feet.
My doctor prescribed allopurinol and eventually switched me to Uloric. The side effects were worse than the original problem. The pain went from just my feet and ankles to my whole body. With raging headaches, I felt like I was 100 years old.
I searched online and decided to try black cherry extract and celery seed extract. My pain disappeared almost totally after only two days.
I have been taking them daily for eight months and have not had one symptom return. My uric acid levels are now within normal range.
When I told my doctor, he said he knew these supplements could help with gout but he didn’t feel comfortable recommending them. People need to share supplement information with each other, since doctors are unlikely to do so.
A. A study in the journal Arthritis and Rheumatism found that eating cherries or taking cherry extract lowered the likelihood of a gout attack (Dec., 2012). Luteolin, a major component of celery, blocks the enzyme that leads to uric acid formation (Food Chemistry, Dec. 15, 2013).
We are sending you a copy of our book, Quick & Handy Home Remedies, so you can show your doctor that there is science behind some non-drug approaches.
