What is Gout

Gout is extremely an extremely painful condition and many people turn to home remedies for gout. Gout is an inflamatory arthritic condition that causes a swollen red joint, usually one joint at a time. Pain and swelling at the base of the big toe is a classic presentation of gout.

Gout is caused by a build up of uric acid in the body which causes sharp crystals to form in or around a joint. The joint can feel hot, swollen, and very painful. The pain and swelling from gout can come on very suddenly and is extremely painful.

King Henry VIII often suffered from gout which is one of the reasons that gout has been called the illness of kings. Gout can be caused by a heavy or rich diet high in fats, too much alcohol and too much sugar in the diet. Underlying health problems can also cause gout such as diabetes, obesity, metabolic syndrome, high blood pressure and a sedentary lifestyle.

Gout is more prevalent in men at first. Estrogen is believed to protect women from gout until after menapause when estrogen levels drop. After menapause, the rate of gout in women increases. The incidence of gout in the US is on the rise for men and women. Some people blame high fructose corn syrup but it’s probably caused by a combination of factors, rather than just one.

First 3 Steps

The following three steps should be a first course of action. These are three things we should all be doing anyways to stay healthy. The home remedies for gout, essential oils, food and teas for gout can be added next.

The celery seed option seems to have great results so I would try that one first. Many of the teas and foods can just be added to your daily diet if you are prone to attacks of gout. As always, this article does not offer medical advice, just tips that I found useful with foods from your garden.

1. Diet

The first place to look as usual is your diet. You might need to change your diet to recover from a painful bout of gout. You need to take a look at why your body is producing excess uric acid and why your body is not excreting the build up. Beer can contribute to gout and if you are drinking it frequently, maybe you can cut down or quit until you heal.

Check if your food is too rich and fatty or high in sugar. Add more fruits and vegetables , less fatty meat and cut out sugar. Try to eliminate all foods that have high fructose corn syryp. This ingredient may be a contributor to metabolic syndrome, obesity, and type 2 diabetes.

Add some foods to your daily diet from the food section below. These foods have all shown to have a positive effect on gout.

Keep a food journal and see if you notice something in your diet makes your condition worse. A food journal seems like a nuisance but it really can be an eye opener to causes of health issues. The journal is definitely worth the trouble.

2. Water

Drink more water. This will help to flush out the uric acid crystals. Ozonated water adds more oxygen to all the cells in the body which will be good for your joints as well. You need to drink half your body weight in water every day. So, if you weigh 220 pounds, you need to drink 110 ounces of water a day. Keeping hydrated will also help other health concerns you are probably dealing with if you have gout.

3. Exercise

Move around more. Gout tends to affect people with a sedenatary lifestyle. If this applies to your situation, get moving. Take daily walks, take the stairs instead of the elevator, wear a step counting device like a fit bit or an app on your phone to motivate you into moving more. Set an alarm on your phone to get up and move around at specific intervals during the day.

Home Remedies for Gout

Celery Seed – According to Dr. James Duke in The Green Pharmacy celery seed worked for him and relieved his gout symptoms. You can eat 4 stalks of celery a day or take the Celery Seed essential oil from Doterra. You can put the drops of the oil in water and drink that every day or put the drops in an empty capsule and take that way. Experiement with how many drops of the oil to find your lowest effective dose.

Kale – Eat raw kale several times a day. You can put it in a salad, juice it, or put in a smoothie. You can grind it up, pour hot water over it, add some salt and red pepper, and let it steep for several minutes. Drink this before every meal.

Burdock Root – Put one ounce of the sliced root in 3/4 of a pint of water. Simmer for 15 minutes and then steep for 3 hours. Take a small cupful, sweetened with honey, three times a day. You can make this tonic stronger by adding more root and also some of the burs. You could also take a burdock tincture. Take 20-30 drops of the tincture in water three or four times a day. Continue taking for for a week after you feel better.

Saffron which comes from the plant Colchicum autumnale has been used as a remedy for gout. This is an expensive herb but you could give growing it a try.

Cat’s Claw – this is an anti-inflamatory herb that is great for arthritis. Since gout is an arthritic condition, this herb will help.

Horsetail Tincture – take 60 drops of tincture a day or 3 capsules of of 400-500 milligrams.

Ginger Compress – this was found in  The Doctors Book of Herbal Home Remedies. Boil two quarts of water. Remove from the heat and grate a two inch piece of ginger root into the water. Steep for 5-10 minutes. While this is steeping, get another bowl and add ice and water. Put a cotton or flannel cloth into this bowl.

Once your ginger water is ready, soak a cotton or flannel washcloth in the ginger water. Wring out the cloth and put the warm cloth on the inflamed joint. Once the cloth looses the heat, take it off and put it back in the hot water. Now take the cold cloth and put on the joint for 3-4 minutes. Then go back to the hot cloth and repeat the treatment. You can apply this treatment as long as the joint is inflamed. I would add grated ginger root into any tea as well.

Foods for Gout

Black Cherries – Eat 6 ounces of fresh or frozen cherries every day or take 1 tablespoon of a concentrated black cherry juice 3 times a day. Once the pain subsides you can lower the dose to 1 tablespoon a day.

Celery Stalks – 4 stalks a day

Avocado – This is suppossed to lower the levels of uric acid in the body. Why not include some in your diet.

Essential Oils

Celery Seed – This oil may totally eliminate the symptoms of gout for you. This is probably the easiest way to get enough celery seed for an effective treatment of gout.

Turmeric – This oil is good for the inflamation and pain of gout.

Teas

You can choose one herb or combine two or more to make a tea that works for you. Experiment with several and then keep using the one herb or the combination of herbs that give you the most relief. If you think you would like to grow your own plants for home remedies, take a look at a medicine wheel here.

Celery Seed – Add 1 teaspoon of dried celery seed to 8 ouces of water. Bring to a boil and boil for 3-5 minutes. Then let the mixture steep for another 5 minutes. You could also add a couple of the other herbs to this mixture.

Chiso – this herb has been shown to help prevent the synthesis of uric acid.

Licorice Root – similar to chiso, this herb helps prevent the synthesis of uric acid.

Olive Leaf Tea – mild diuretic that helps to eliminate excess purines.

Stinging Nettle – mild diuretic that helps to eliminate excess purines. Drink 3-4 cups per day.

Willow Bark (don’t take if you are allergic to aspirin)

Devils Claw – anti inflamatory and helps to lower the levels of uric acid.

Cats Claw – anti inflamatory herb.

Horsetail – mild diuretic that helps to eliminate excess purines.

Burdock Root – the herb is a mild diuretic and lymphatic cleanser.

Candytuft – You can use the whole plant. Grind up the parts, add to water. Bring to a low boil and simmer for 3-5 minutes. Then steep for another 5 minutes. Drain and drink.

Kale Tea – is good for cardiovascular health and arthritis.

Horsetail Tea – increases urine ouput which would help to eliminate excess purines.

Ginger Tea – has antioxident and anti-inflamatory properties. Ginger is also good for cardiovascular health. Gout has been connected to hypertension so ginger would be a good addition for this quality as well. You can grate a little ginger root into any of the above teas for a healthy anti-gout tea.

Please click below and add any remedies that worked for you with a gout flare up. Our goal is to help each other with solutions to health concerns that can be treated with plants from the garden.