Have you been wishing for a great remedy for arthritis? We have heard from a lot of different readers that gin-soaked golden raisins are surprisingly helpful, at least for some people. What should you know about raisins and gin?
Golden Raisins and Gin as an Arthritis Remedy:
Q. I am totally confused about this raisin remedy I keep reading about in your column. Why golden raisins and not black raisins? How much gin do you use and how long do you wait for the raisins to dry out? What happens if you eat more than nine raisins a day? How much alcohol is left in the raisins after it evaporates? Most important, does it really work against arthritis?
A. The gin and golden raisin recipe for arthritis is a home remedy. Like most such alternative approaches there is no science to explain the phenomenon.
Who knows how golden raisins were selected and why someone decided nine a day was the right dose? You empty a box of raisins in a bowl and pour just enough gin to cover them. Wait about a week or so for most of the gin to evaporate. We had the daily dose analyzed and found that nine raisins contain about a drop of alcohol.
History of Raisins and Gin for Arthritis Pain:
The first time we heard about the “gin and raisin remedy” was in 1994.
A reader sent us this message:
“A neighbor gave my wife a recipe for arthritis relief that involves soaking golden raisins in gin. When the gin has completely evaporated, she is to eat nine raisins a day. She’s just starting to eat these raisins, so we don’t know yet whether it will make any difference. Our neighbor says it has helped his shoulder pain. What do you think?”
Because this was the first time we had heard about this remedy we didn’t have an opinion.
Our answer was lame:
“Gin is flavored with juniper berries, but the concentration is not very high. Juniper has been used historically for treating stomach problems, as an inhalant for bronchitis, and even for arthritis. We could find no research confirming that juniper is helpful in arthritis, let alone gin-soaked raisins.”
As for the effectiveness of the raisin remedy, all we have are testimonials.
One recent message offered the following:
“My husband had severe pain in his legs and hip. A friend told us about using white raisins soaked in gin. He started taking this and immediately saw a remarkable improvement. He also has diabetes and hypertension. We were not sure if the pain was from traumatic arthritis (he had had a pretty major accident in the past) or perhaps peripheral neuropathy from diabetes.
“I hope you will share the raisins and gin remedy with your readers. It has been a miracle for my husband. You only eat 9 raisins per day in the evening. He could barely get out of a chair before he started taking this home remedy.”
Not everyone benefits, though. Why some get relief and others do not remains a mystery.
Learn More:
You can learn more details about the raisins and gin and read about other unusual remedies for arthritis pain in our eGuide to Alternatives for Arthritis. If you prefer paper to electronic media, you might also be interested in our book, Graedons’ Guide to Alternatives for Arthritis.
