Difficulty: Moderately Easy
Things You’ll Need:
- Bilberry tea
- Bilberry extract
- Celery extract
- Fresh or dried bilberry
- Distilled water
Step1
Consult with your doctor about taking bilberry to treat the effects of gout. Bilberry may cause an unfavorable reaction when used with certain medications, such as some prescription drugs used to treat diabetes. Bilberry also can cause a drop in blood sugar, which can complicate hypoglycemia.
Step2
Use bilberry extract, which may offer the most concentrated mixture of anthocyanidins and anti-oxidants available. Add a few drops to some distilled water and drink the extract with every meal. You can combine bilberry extract with celery extract, another compound found to be effective in reducing the pain and swelling associated with gout.
Step3
Brew bilberry tea, which is made from the leaves, blossoms and fruit of the bilberry plant. This is a delicious way to enjoy bilberry. You also can add a few drops of bilberry and celery extract to make the tea even more potent. Use distilled water when brewing the tea to eliminate minerals, such as calcium, that can aggravate your arthritis.
Step4
Eat the actual berries from the bilberry plant in fresh, dried or frozen form. While fresh bilberries may be hard to find outside of areas where they grow wild, such as Scotland, Poland, Ireland and Scandinavia, many health food stores offer them year-round in dried and frozen form. Dried berries can also be reconstituted into fresh berries by boiling them in distilled water for 10 minutes.
Step5
Drink plenty of fluids, especially distilled water, while you use bilberry to treat gout. Having your body fully hydrated helps the anti-oxidants and anthocyanidins reach the affected areas quickly. In addition, dehydration may a cause of gout.
