Gout

Gout

I have gout. I finally succumbed to my HMO doctor's pleading that I take allopurinol (Lopurin, Zyloprim). That would be one pill a day for the rest of my life to keep this condition under control.

Fortunately, I've now found an herbal alternative in celery seed extract, which I expect to continue taking as long as the threat of gout hangs over me. I know from experience that a gout attack involves such pain that I hope I never experience it again for the rest of my life.

My first gout attack came when I was just shy of age 50. One day I was out working in the garden, enjoying one of my favorite activities. And the next day, out of the blue, I woke up with classic gout pain and swelling in my big toe. The toe was so painful that, just as the books say, even the weight of a bedsheet on it seemed unbearable. I could hardly walk.

My doctor gave me a prescription drug that flushes pain-causing uric acid crystals from the body. I took the medicine like the good patient that I am whenever I'm faced with pain. And I quickly went from being an invalid who could barely walk to being back on my feet and puttering in my herb garden once again.

With all due respect for the prescription drug, however, I'm glad that I've found an herbal replacement that seems to do the trick.

Caused by Crystals

Gout is a form of arthritis because it causes pain in the joints, usually the big toe, although other joints can be affected. It's caused by a buildup of uric acid in the blood. When levels rise beyond a certain point, uric acid crystals form and collect in the affected joint or joints, causing excruciating pain. These crystals can also form in the body's major organs and do considerable damage, so avoiding pain is not the only reason to keep this serious condition under control.

Gout tends to run in families. Three hundred years ago, it was associated with wealth, because gout attacks were thought to be provoked by eating a rich diet. Now we know that the disease afflicts rich and poor alike. More than 95 percent of people who have gout are men over 30. An estimated 10 to 20 percent of the population has elevated uric acid levels, but only 3 people in 1,000 experience gout.

Green Pharmacy for Gout

If you have gout, by all means take the medication that your doctor
prescribes. But in addition, you might want to try some natural approaches to relieving this painful ailment.

Celery (Apium graveolens). Learning that celery extracts might help eliminate uric acid, I began taking two to four tablets of celery seed extracts daily instead of allopurinol. As I write, six months have gone by without a single gout crisis. For one week, I ate four celery stalks a day in lieu of the extracts.

These self-dosing anecdotal results lead me to believe the advertisement that led me to the celery seed. A skeptic then, I'm a believer now: Celery seed (or serendipity) has kept my uric acid below critical levels.

Chiso (Perilla frutescens). This aromatic, weedy mint, imported accidentally or intentionally from Asia decades ago, is a popular food and medicine in the Orient. Here it's a rampant weed, but you'll find it grown intentionally behind some Japanese restaurants in the eastern United States.

Japanese researchers have touted compounds in chiso to relieve gout. It contains fairly high levels of four compounds known as xanthine oxidase (XO) inhibitors, which help prevent the synthesis of uric acid. I frequently add a little chiso to my mint teas, just as the Japanese add it to their sushi.

Licorice (Glycyrrhiza glabra). Like chiso, licorice contains several XO inhibitors, but at fairly low levels. Still, a chiso-licorice combo could be interesting, and the two herbs might even work better together.

Turmeric (Curcuma longa). One compound in turmeric (curcumin) inhibits the synthesis of substances called prostaglandins in the body that are involved in pain. The mechanism is similar to the one involved in the pain-relieving action of aspirin and ibuprofen, only weaker. Still, at high doses, curcumin stimulates the adrenal glands to release the body's own cortisone, a potent reliever of inflammation and the pain it often causes.

East Indians revere turmeric and use it liberally in curries. That's a particularly nice way to take your medicine, if you ask me. You can also make a tea using turmeric or simply take it in capsules.

Turmeric A spice related to ginger, this herb is native to India and Southeast Asia.

Avocado (Persea americana). My botanical friends in the Amazon believe that avocado is useful for treating gout. It reportedly lowers uric acid levels in the blood.

There's no scientific evidence that I'm aware of to support this assertion, but I have a lot of respect for the herbal wisdom of the Amazonian people, and avocados are certainly tasty. So here's a good reason to add an occasional avocado to your diet. Just don't go overboard, though, as avocados are high in calories.

Cat's claw (Uncaria, various species). Once while I was on the Amazon, an attack of gout caught me without the prescription medication I usually take to alleviate the inflammation during a crisis. But I had some pills containing cat's claw (uña de gato), an herb with anti-inflammatory effects.

I took two pills. No relief. I tried four. Nothing. Then, at six, I began to notice some effect, but it took nearly a dozen to do as much as the drug. While I'm certainly not discarding my prescription medications in favor of cat's claw, in an emergency I'd use the herb again.

There are more than 30 brands of cat's claw on sale in health food stores and herb shops in the United States, and there's only one report in the scientific literature of an adverse reaction ever developing in anyone using the herb.

Cherry (Prunus, various species). Many people claim to stave off gout attacks by eating eight ounces a day of canned or fresh cherries. I have one friend, for instance, who claims to have great luck in staving off gout when he eats black cherries. This therapy has never been scientifically demonstrated to work, but since so many people swear by it, I think it's probably worth trying. (One caveat, though: Buying this many cherries might be even more expensive than my allopurinol.) Other people favor strawberries.

I'm going to give my Cherry Cocktail a try. It's a mixture of cherry, pineapple, strawberry and blueberry juices spiced up with a little bit of licorice and a lot of ginger and turmeric.

Devil's claw (Harpagophytum procumbens). Several reports indicate that this herb lowers uric acid levels and has anti-inflammatory action, both of which would be useful for treating gout. Other studies suggest that it may be useful for relieving arthritic conditions, and gout is a form of arthritis.

Unfortunately, studies rely on injections of an herbal extract of devil's claw, and an injection goes right into the bloodstream without passing through the stomach. This herb loses potency in the stomach, so I can't guess how effective (or ineffective) it might be in a tea or capsule. I think it's worth trying, however.

Oat (Avena sativa). Teas made from the silica-rich green tops of the oat plant are said to have a diuretic effect that lowers blood levels of uric acid. (A diuretic is any substance that flushes excess water from the body.) If my other natural approaches failed, I'd be sure to try this one.

Olive (Olea europea). Olive has a reputation as a diuretic dating back to biblical times. In 1993, a Japanese researcher showed that about four cups of olive leaf tea a day for three weeks increased daily urine output by 10 to 15 percent, lowering uric acid levels in the blood and increasing uric acid in the urine. I would not hesitate to try this one myself.

Pineapple (Ananas comosus). Pineapple contains bromelain, an enzyme that helps break down protein. Naturopathic physicians often recommend pure bromelain, which can be purchased at health food stores, to reduce inflammation and swelling.

Bromelain clearly works if you inject it into swollen tissue, but the effectiveness of the ingested enzyme has been controversial. It's probably worth trying, however. My preferred way to get bromelain is in an occasional glass of pineapple juice.

stinging nettle (Urtica dioica). One scientific study showed that stinging nettle increases uric acid secretion, at least in ducks. These experimental animals exhibited lower blood levels of uric acid after they were given stinging nettle extract. The next time I have pain in my big toe, I intend to include stinging nettle tea in my own treatment program.

Willow (Salix, various species). Willow bark is equivalent to herbal aspirin, as it contains compounds known as salicylates, from which aspirin is made.

Like aspirin, willow bark tea can help relieve pain and inflammation. In addition, some research suggests that salicylates can reduce levels of uric acid. Try two teaspoons of bark in a cup of boiling water and simmer for 20 minutes. (If you're allergic to aspirin, however, you probably shouldn't take aspirin-like herbs, either.)