12/5/2023 0 Comments Tart cherry juice for arthritisNone of the volunteers actually had a history of gout. The research took 12 healthy volunteers (average age of 26 years, 11 of which were male) and gave them two different volumes (30ml and 60ml) of concentrated cherry juice mixed with water, to see what effect this had on measures of uric acid activity and inflammation up to 48 hours later – both of which are biological measures indirectly related to gout. Hence, it does not provide good evidence that the cherry juice was beneficial to relieve gout symptoms or prevent the recurrence of symptoms.Ī randomised control trial including people with gout, or people more likely to develop gout (such as older men with a family history), would be required to give us better evidence on the issue. This study did not study people with gout, but only looked at the concentration of sodium urate (uric acid) in the blood of healthy young people who did not have gout or high levels of sodium urate, suggesting that they would develop gout in the near future. People with gout usually have higher than normal urate levels in their blood, but the reasons for this may vary for example, some people may produce too much urate, while in others the kidneys may not be so effective at filtering out urate from the bloodstream. Almost everyone with gout will have further attacks in the future. After this time, the joint will start to feel and look normal again, and the pain of the attack should disappear completely. Symptoms usually last for three to 10 days (this is sometimes known as a gout attack). Symptoms develop rapidly and are at their worst in just six to 24 hours. The joint of the big toe is commonly affected, but it can develop in any joint. The most common symptom is sudden and severe pain in a joint, along with swelling and redness. Gout is a type of arthritis, where crystals of sodium urate form inside and around joints. The researchers say that nutritional research has focused more on the use of foods for improving human health, and particular attention has been placed upon foods containing high concentrations of anthocyanins – such as tart cherries. This was a single blind randomised crossover study testing the effects of two doses of cherry juice on levels of uric acid (urate) in the body. While it is plausible that cherry juice may be of some benefit to people affected by gout, this is currently unproven. The Mail on Sunday’s coverage over-extrapolates the findings of this small study involving healthy people, not gout sufferers. The study was published in the peer-reviewed Journal of Functional Foods. This obviously represents a potential conflict of interest, although the research paper says, “The funders had no role in the study design, data collection and analysis, decision to publish, or preparation of the manuscript.” The latter is a non-profit organisation, funded by cherry growers, with a brief to promote the alleged health benefits of tart cherries. The study was carried out by researchers from the UK and South Africa, and was part funded by Northumbria University and the Cherry Marketing Institute. The Mail on Sunday’s assertion that “now doctors say drinking cherry juice daily could help beat the condition” is not backed up by this research alone, nor is health advice on gout from health professionals likely to change based on this small study. It is not clear whether reductions in uric acid of the magnitude found in this study would be sufficient to prevent gout or relieve gout symptoms. So, based on this study alone, we cannot say that drinking cherry juice helps prevent the onset of gout, or the recurrence of gout in those who have had it before. A more relevant study design would have included people with a history of gout, to see what effect, if any, cherry juice had on them. Somewhat puzzlingly, the study recruited healthy young volunteers who didn’t have gout. This is of potential interest, as high levels of uric acid can lead to crystals forming inside joints, which triggers the onset of the painful condition gout. This headline is based on a small study that found drinking tart cherry juice twice a day temporarily lowered the blood uric acid levels of 12 young healthy volunteers for up to eight hours after they consumed the drink. “Daily drinks of cherry juice concentrate could help thousands of patients beat gout,” the Mail on Sunday reports.
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