Gout Remedies: 12 Natural Treatments You Can Try at Home

Gout can be a very painful condition for anyone to have and for most people, even prescriptions that they get from their doctor isn’t enough to cure the pain.  Gout is a type of metabolic arthritis and for a lot of people can put a strain and a painfully constant reminder to everyday life activities.  However, many people with gout have found that home remedies have become more reliable to use than any doctor’s prescription and relieve their aches and pains due to gout.

Here are a few home remedies that you can try to help your pain as well as your frustration to gout.

Cherries and Cherry Juice

These are a great home remedy to help neutralize the uric acid that causes gout.  Cherries are also very high in magnesium and vitamin C, which are two minerals that not only promote circulation but also help in digestion.

You can consume cherries in virtually any form such as canned cherries, dried cherries, fresh fruit cherries, sweet yellow cherries, black cherries, and cherry juice and all forms have been proven to dramatically prevent gout attacks as well as helps eliminate inflammation during a gout attack.

Through a recent study, people who ate a half pound of cherries were shown to lower their uric acid levels down to the normal range in every person they studied. Although this does seem like a lot of cherries to consume, I am sure that many people would choose that alternative rather than deal with the aches and pains that gout causes them.

Eating at least 10 cherries daily or consuming at least 16 ounces of cherry juice 1-2 times daily has been proven to be standard guidelines to prevent gout flare-ups.  Keep in mind, that although cherries have no known side effects, eating too much of one food can cause you some major stomach distress such as constipation or diarrhea.  Therefore, while you should consume the above guidelines for cherries and cherry juice, you should also ingest the amount that your body is comfortable with also.

Water

Water plays a big factor in the reduction of uric acid in your body and also eliminates it from your system at a much faster rate.  Not only is water safe and natural to drink and is also side effect free, but also drinking plenty of it daily helps in proper digestion.

You can also add a high PH to your water such as alko-pro, can also help neutralize the acids in your body.  You can also try using chlorella, wheatgrass, and spirulina which all help in the alkalinizing of the body.  This also works the same way as drinking high PH water levels. Consuming at least 2-3 liters of water per day is an efficient amount to flush your whole system clean.

Keep in mind that it is important to lower your intake of beverages that cause dehydration such as caffeinated and alcoholic drinks.  You will want to stick to hydrating drinks such as water, herbal tea, and fruit juice.

Charcoal

I know it sounds crazy to even use charcoal besides in your grill, however, charcoal has become one of the top home remedies for relieving gout pains for a person.  Using activated charcoal poultice has been studied and shown to dramatically reduce inflammation as well as helps eliminate uric acid.

Simply mix a half of a cup of activated powdered charcoal with 3-7 tablespoons of grounded flaxseed.  Once the mixture becomes mealy, warm water can then be added to turn this mixture into a paste.  The paste is then placed on the joint that is inflamed and covered with a cloth or plastic dressing.

You will have to change your dressings periodically every 4 hours and can be left on overnight.  Keep in mind that charcoal poultice will stain virtually any fabric that it touches, so handle with care when using this home remedy to help ease your pains with gout.

Low Purine Diet

Along with home remedies you will also want to control your diet by eliminating foods that are high in purines, which are not only known to trigger gout attacks but can also worsen gout attacks also.  Studies have shown, that half of the uric acid produced by your body is a result of purine-rich foods consumed in a person’s diet.

Foods that are high in purine and that should be avoided are wild game, sardines, scallops, mackerel, organ meats, meat extract, gravies, and sweetbreads. Focusing your diet more towards vegetable protein, dairy products, and increased water intake, is a great diet plan that should be followed to show an effective decrease in purine as well as prevents sudden painful gout attacks.

However, you will want to keep in mind that some foods that are high in purines contain certain essential nutrients that your body requires such as protein.  So make sure that even though you are trying to eliminate purine in your system, that you also replace them so that your body is receiving the adequate nutrients to stay healthy.

Juniper Oil and Devil’s Claw

Both juniper oil and devil’s claw can dramatically reduce the inflammation due to gout.  Taking just a few drops of juniper oil and making a compress to the affected area is the remedy to easing pain in your joints due to gout.  Juniper oil will also help break down toxic deposits.  You can also help speed your recovery by consuming water which will wash the deposits out of your system.  Devil’s claw is also another anti-inflammatory herb that helps ease the pain of gout.  You will need to keep in mind that you do not need to take this herb if you have diabetes or are taking a blood thinning medication.  As an added extra bonus, devil’s claw also helps reduce uric acid buildup.  You can find devil’s claw at your local nutritional store and other stores that sell herbal remedies.

 

Garlic and Thyme

Garlic is used by many people to cure tones of conditions that harp their everyday lives.  Gout is no different when it comes to what wonders garlic can do for you.  Garlic actually inhibits the production of uric acid which is the source to gout attacks and inflammation.  Using garlic in raw, powdered, and pill form are all very effective ways to consume garlic in your diet and dramatically help all of your gout symptoms.

Thyme is also a great source for reducing uric acid in your body.  Thyme has been used since the 1600s for the relief of gout pain, first used by people of high royalty.  Using thyme in your herbal tea will show you immediate anti-inflammatory properties that are formed by gout.

 

Hot and Cold Compressions

Applying hot and cold compressions to the affected area can also aid in the relief of gout pain caused by inflammation.  This helps to increase the blood circulation and in doing so you can reduce inflammation and relieve gout pain.  The common method of using hot and cold compressions is by using heat for 3 minutes, and then cold for 30 seconds.

Continue to repeat this process but make sure than you do this for no more than 20 minutes and always remember to finish with the cold compressions.  Although this is not a permanent solution for your gout pain, it can, however, make a dramatic relief to the symptoms associated with gout.

Useful Treatment Tips

• You can also use baking soda as a cure for gout. However, you will want to check with your doctor to make sure that this is a home remedy that you can try because of the high levels of sodium in baking soda that is involved.  Using half of a teaspoon of baking soda powder ina glass of water before you go to sleep and first thing when you get up can provide you with pain and inflammatory relief.  Make sure that you don’t exceed more than 3 teaspoons a day. Make sure that when you purchase baking soda that you get aluminum free baking soda for the best effects on uric acid levels.
• You can also soak the affected area in warm water with some muscle relaxing soap or salts to help soothe the area and help with pain also. Try using Epsom salt that contains magnesium.  Raising your magnesium levels may improve your heart and circulation as well as also lowers your blood pressure.  The Epson salt will help flush away the toxins and heavy metals that are present in your body.  Simply add two cups of Epsom salt to warm water as the bathtub fills.  Stay in the bath until the water starts losing its heat.  This is a major remedy that can dramatically decrease your symptoms associated with gout.
• Consuming fresh strawberries also helps in neutralizing uric acid. Strawberries contain high concentrations of Vitamin C as well as fruit acids and minerals such as potassium, calcium, iron, magnesium zinc, and manganese, all of which aid in the reduction of uric acid.
• Apple Cider Vinegar is also a great remedy to use and is used by many old-timers. This is a remedy that has been used for centuries in the cure of a lot of common conditions, such as gout.  Try using 2 tablespoons of organic apple cider vinegar and mix it with 2 tablespoons of organic honey at least two times a day and within a few hours of the onset of your pain from gout, your pain will start to subside.
• Using high doses of vitamin C has also been proven to reduce uric acid levels. You can go to your local nutritional store or your pharmacy and get non-acidic vitamin C supplements and take one tablet two times a day.  Make sure that the supplement pills are 1,000mg because this is the most effective dosing for gout when consuming vitamin C supplements and has shown to be more powerful towards your pains associated with gout.