Context

The prevalence of gout has risen in the USA and many other countries, owing to a ‘perfect storm’ of factors, including increased prevalence of comorbid conditions, and diet and alcohol consumption megatrends. Resultant increase in clinical complexity of gouty arthritis and hyperuricaemia management is compounded by relatively poor patient adherence compared to many other medical conditions. This is partly because of gaps in patient and physician education. Notwithstanding, there is substantial interest by patients and clinicians in inexpensive and health-promoting non-pharmacological modalities to potentially improve gout management. Cherries and cherry products, buttressed by an initial uncontrolled study,1 are a popular folk remedy for gout, as evidenced by more than 1 600 000 ‘hits’ (as of January 2013) in an internet search for …