Common foods that are probably already in your kitchen can help keep gout away. Use these home remedies to keep your gout flare-ups under control.
Home Remedies from the Refrigerator
Apple preserves. This may neutralize the acid that causes gout. Take as many apples as you wish, then peel, core, and slice. Simmer in a little water for three hours or more, until they turn thick, brown, and sweet. Refrigerate. Use as you would any preserve.
Cherries. Cherries may remove toxins from the body, clean the kidneys, and yes, even help give you a rosy complexion. Because of their cleansing power, they're at the top of the gout-relief list. If you can bake a cherry pie, you may be making a gout treatment. Cherry compote, cherry juice, cherry jam, cherry tea, cherry anything works.
Home Remedies from the Spice Rack
Chicory. If you've been to New Orleans, you know the flavor. It's in the coffee, and it's definitely an acquired taste. Chicory is an old herb, its first use recorded around the first century A.D., and over the past 2,000 years it's seen many medicinal uses. Gout is one of them. Here's a recipe said to relieve symptoms. Mix 1 ounce chicory root to 1 pint boiling water, and take as much of it as you want. This can work as a poultice, too, when it is applied to the skin in the area affected by gout.
Mustard powder. Make a mustard plaster and apply to the achy joint. Mix 1 part mustard powder (or crushed mustard seeds) to 1 part whole wheat flour and add enough water to form a thick paste. Slather petroleum jelly, vegetable shortening, or lard on the affected area. Spread a thick coat of mustard paste on a piece of gauze or cloth, then apply over the greased-up area. Tape down and leave in place for several hours or overnight.
Thyme. Drink as a tea. Add 1 to 2 teaspoons to a cup of boiling water. Sweeten, and drink.
More Do's & Don'ts
Take fish oil supplements to ease the inflammation that comes with gout.
Don't take nonprescription diuretics. They can keep you from properly excreting uric acid.
Remind your doctor that you're on diuretics or medication for blood pressure or heart disease if you are prescribed gout medication. They may have bad interactions.
Do keep your toes warm enough. Gout seems to rear up more often when it's chilly.
Avoid turkey meat, organ meats, herring, anchovies, meat gravies, beer, and red wine. These are high in purines, which are metabolized to uric acid.
If you're prone to gout attacks, use these home remedies to keep the pain away and to ease those flare-ups when they do hit.
