Gout is an inflammatory rheumatism that causes pain and swelling in the joints, due to the build-up of uric acid crystals. Resulting from the degradation of dead cells and our diet, uric acid is normally eliminated in the urine, a mechanism which does not always take place in patients who are obese, diabetic or have kidney failure.
British and South African researchers set out to find a solution to prevent gout attacks, and found that the juice of Cherry taken daily could lower the level of uric acid in the blood, thus preventing gout attacks.
The study was carried out on 12 volunteers of 26 years on average, in good health and without problem of gout. These participants were put on a specific diet, excluding any other intake of anthocyanins (colored pigment) apart from that from cherries. They then drank either 30 ml or 60 ml of concentrated cherry juice diluted in water each day.
The researchers then measured their rate ofUric acid in the blood up to 48 hours after taking cherry juice.
The results showed that a drop in blood uric acid concentrations occurred for two doses of cherry juice ingested, and that uric acid was mainly eliminated in the urine two to three hours after intake.
On the other hand, the researchers found that a marker of arterial inflammation was less present in the blood after taking it.
Published in the scientific journal The Journal of Functional Food, these results are consistent with a study conducted in 2012, which showed that the taking cherries reduced the risk of seizure by 35% in patients with gout.
It is the anthocyanins contained in cherries that influence the elimination of uric acid, through their important antioxidant effect.
Other additional studies on a larger scale will be necessary to confirm these results and to calculate more precisely the dose to consume in order to obtain significant effects.
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