IANS , Washington | Updated: February 02, 2015 12:26 IST
Patients with gout who consumed cherries over a two-day period showed a 35 percent lower risk of gout attacks, as compared to those who did not eat the fruit.
Findings from this research project also suggest that the risk of gout flare-ups was 75 percent lower when cherry intake was combined with the uric-acid reducing drug, allopurinol.
Previous research reports that 8.3 million adults in the US suffer from gout, an inflammatory arthritis triggered by a crystallization of uric acid within the joints that causes excruciating pain and swelling, the journal "Arthritis & Rheumatism" reports.
While there are many treatment options available, gout patients continue to be burdened by recurrent gout attacks, prompting patients and investigators to seek other preventive options such as cherries.