Vitamin C

In a double-blind, placebo-controlled study of 184 people without gout, use of vitamin C at a daily dose of 500 mg significantly reduced uric acid levels.7 This suggests, but falls far short of proving, that vitamin C might be helpful for preventing or treating gout.

For more information, including dosage and safety issues, see the full Vitamin C article.

Folate

Folate has been recommended as a preventive treatment for gout for at least 20 years. Some clinicians report that it can be highly effective. However, what little scientific evidence we have on the method is contradictory.1,2,3 It has been suggested that a contaminant found in folate, pterin-6-aldehyde, may actually be responsible for the positive effects observed by some clinicians.

For more information, including dosage and safety issues, see the full Folate article.

Devil's Claw

The herb devil's claw is sometimes recommended as a pain-relieving treatment for gout based on evidence for its effectiveness in various forms of arthritis.4 However, it has not been tested in gout.

For more information, including dosage and safety issues, see the full Devil's Claw article .

Other Supplements

On the basis of interesting reasoning but no concrete evidence of effectiveness, fish oil, olive leaf, vitamin E, selenium, bromelain, vitamin A, and aspartic acid have also been recommended for both prevention and treatment of gout.5

Folk Remedies

A traditional remedy for gout (with negligible scientific evidence) calls for consumption of ½ to 1 pound of cherries a day.6 You can also buy tablets containing concentrated cherry juice.

Celery juice is another folk remedy for gout that is said to be widely used in Australia.