Tart Cherry Juice
Tart Cherry Juice is fine in moderation. Watch your portion size, especially during a flare. A typical 240 g serving has about 17 mg of purines, about 4% of a ~400 mg working daily target. It also carries about 12 g of fructose per serving, which raises uric acid on its own.
General information, not a substitute for advice from your doctor or dietitian.
PURINE NOTE: We found no published laboratory measurement of purine in tart cherry juice. The figure is the 7 mg per 100 g that German consumer tables list for sour cherry juice, and those tables cite no original measurement. FRUCTOSE NOTE: 4.95 g per 100 g is USDA FoodData Central (FDC 167807). A newer USDA sample of juice from concentrate reads 3.81 g, so the higher figure is used.
This purine value is inferred, not measured directly for this food. See the sources note below for how it was derived.
Juice delivers the sugar of several pieces of fruit in a glass you can finish in a minute, and cohort studies link even unsweetened 100% juice to higher gout risk (about 41% for a daily glass of orange juice). Whole fruit is the safer choice. If you drink juice, keep the glass small.
How much can I eat?
Nothing is added here: this is the fruit’s own sugar. But a glass carries what several pieces of fruit would give you, and cohort studies link even unsweetened 100% juice to higher gout risk (about 41% for a daily glass of orange juice, in women). Whole fruit is the safer form.
How we count fructose
This is the fructose, not the total sugar: it counts free fructose plus half of sucrose, so a sucrose-sweetened product carries roughly twice this much sugar overall.
Evidence: Ayoub-Charette et al., J Nutr 2021 (fructose by food source) · White et al., Am J Clin Nutr 2018 (whole apple vs. a fructose drink, matched dose)
Purines are not the limit here: even a large serving stays well under a day's purines. The sugar is what climbs with the portion.
Only part of these purines counts toward gout: the 17 mg here counts as roughly 8 mg toward your gout risk.
Tart Cherry Juice fits in moderation, so portion is the thing to get right.
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Buying it packaged? GoutMarket, GoutSafe's sister site, grades 10 store-bought products of this kind from their ingredient labels, using this page's purine data.
Compare the 10 on GoutMarketWhy grade C
Fructose in juice form raises uric acid as your body breaks it down, even though nothing is added and the purine number looks low.
Per 100 g and processing
Per 100 g (for comparison)
Low for gout (< 50 mg/100g).
Moderate for gout (3–8 g/100g).
Processing: NOVA 1 of 4 (unprocessed or minimally processed). How processing affects the grade.
Diet is part of the picture, not all of it
For most people the body makes the majority of its own uric acid. Food contributes the smaller share. Eating well lowers your risk and helps you feel in control, but for many people diet alone does not bring uric acid down enough to stop flares. Medication often does the heavy lifting. Use these grades to make easier daily choices, and work with your doctor on the full plan.
More from Beverages - Non-Alcoholic
Fresh Orange Juice
Mango Juice (nectar)
Unsweetened Pineapple Juice
Zero-Sugar Sports Drink (Gatorade Zero)
Pomegranate Juice
Sports Drink (Gatorade)
Sports drink (e.g. Gatorade)
How did tart cherry juice go for you?
Reader experiences, not medical advice. The grade above comes from published data.