Gout used to be known as “the rich man’s disease” because it usually struck the wealthy — the only ones who could afford to over-consume the foods that cause this painful form of arthritis.

Today, you don’t have to be rich (or even a man) to suffer from gout — just fat. And since more people are fatter than ever before, more people are also battling the foot pain that marks this condition.

New numbers show that 4 percent — or 8.3 million Americans — fought gout in 2008, compared to just 1 percent between 1988 and 1994.

That’s a 400-percent increase inside of a generation — and in the coming years, it could get even worse. Recent government numbers show 21 percent of us have high levels of the uric acid responsible for gout.

That’s an increase of 700 percent from the surveys taken between 1988 and 1994.

But whatever you do, don’t turn to Big Pharma’s solution for gout. Drugs designed to treat the problem have been known to cause nausea, joint pain, and even liver problems. They’ve also been linked to chest pain, vomiting, bruising, constipation, allergic reactions, and even more gout flare-ups.

There are better ways to beat gout, and you can get some of the most immediate relief with something that was often dismissed as a folk remedy — until a recent study found it really worked.

Researchers say 20 cherries eaten over 48 hours can reduce the risk of a gout attack by 50 percent, while cherry extract slashed the odds by 40 percent. I’ve noticed cherry juice popping up on supermarket shelves, so feel free to give that a try. Just make sure it’s 100 percent cherry juice and not cherry-flavored sugar water.

If you don’t have any cherries handy, try celery. Celery can keep the enzyme that produces uric acid in check, and some people have reported gout relief from as little as a single stalk.

Others need more — nearly an entire bunch — and all the peanut butter in the world won’t make it any easier to eat that much. If that’s the case, try 75mg of celery seed extract, twice a day, instead.

You don’t have to be rich to get gout. And since celery — and celery seed — is cheap and plentiful, you don’t have to be rich to beat it, either.

I know it feels like summer has only just begun, but fall is right around the corner — and that means apple season is almost here.

Don’t be fooled by the apples you’ll find in the supermarket year ’round — most of them are actually months old… and you won’t believe the tricks they use to keep them fresh.

The guy in the produce department will tell you that the secret is cold storage — but those apples aren’t just placed in a giant fridge somewhere.

They’re also given a massive dose of pesticides after they’re harvested in order to prevent mold, blight, rot, and stains during that storage period.

They’re pumped so full of chemicals that a recent study based on government data found at least two pesticides on 92 percent of all apple samples even after they were washed and peeled.

And 98 percent of more than 700 apple samples tested by the USDA had at least one pesticide.

As a result, apples were placed on top of the Environmental Working Group’s “dirty dozen,” a list of fruits and vegetables that contain the highest levels of pesticides.

EWG says apples are followed by celery, strawberries, peaches, spinach, imported nectarines, imported grapes, sweet bell peppers, potatoes, domestic blueberries, lettuce, and kale.

If you can’t afford to buy everything organic – and these days, who can? — make sure you at least go organic for those.

While there’s not a lot of research on what a low-but-steady stream of pesticides can do to a person, we do know that higher doses can cause cancer and hormonal problems.

Some studies have found that farm workers exposed to pesticides on the job have a higher risk of Parkinson’s disease. And in pregnant women and children, pesticide exposure has been linked to low birth weight, brain damage, ADHD, and even lower intelligence later in life.

But the news from the produce aisle isn’t all bad. EWG also found a number of fruits and vegetables so low in pesticides that you don’t have to buy organic.

They call them the Clean 15: onions, corn, pineapples, avocado, asparagus, sweet peas, mangoes, eggplant, domestic cantaloupe, kiwi, cabbage, watermelon, sweet potatoes, grapefruit, and mushrooms.

The organization has a helpful guide you can print, clip and bring to the supermarket.

It’s just about the only time you might need to compare apples and grapefruit.

Gout is in.

New numbers show a dramatic rise in the condition–with more than 8.3 million Americans now fighting its notorious pain.

That’s nearly 4 percent of us, up from 2.7 percent of the adult population in the late 1980s and early 1990s and more than double the percentage of us who had it in the 1960s.

And one of the biggest reasons for that rise is the skyrocketing number of women with the condition, according to a study presented at the American College of Rheumatology’s annual meeting.

Gout is a painful form of arthritis caused by high levels of uric acid in the blood, which are then left in deposits around joints–most notoriously in the big toe. As anyone who’s ever had it can tell you, the pain can literally knock you off your feet.

Once upon a time, its victims were mostly male… but the researchers behind the new study say the diuretics now commonly given to postmenopausal women can create the conditions that are ripe for gout.

Since studies have linked gout to heart risk in both men and women, make sure you do what you can to keep it at bay–-and under control when you do get it.

And if you are bit by the gout bug, don’t panic–and don’t rush to get meds. Some of Big Pharma’s “cures” can be worse than the disease, and one recently approved gout drug might even have fatal side effects.

So skip the pharmacy–and visit your supermarket’s produce aisle instead, where you might find everything you need to beat the pain.

One new study even confirms an old kitchen cure: cherries.

Researchers say 20 cherries over 48 hours can reduce the risk of gout attacks by 50 percent. Cherry extract was almost as effective, cutting the risk by 40 percent.

Of course, cherries are expensive–and they’re not always in season.

But there’s something else in the produce aisle that’s cheap and available year round: celery. Researchers believe this natural diuretic can actually inhibit the enzymes that create the uric acid that causes gout.

Some people have reported success with a single stalk of celery, while others have needed up to eight stalks a day.

If that’s too much gnawing, try 75mg of celery seed extract up to twice a day.

And while you’re in that supermarket, skip the soda aisle. In addition to raising your risk of diabetes and heart disease, sugary drinks have been linked to gout risk in men and women alike.

Call it one more “gift” from the soft drink industry.

P.S. For more natural gout treatments, including a few that might surprise you, check out the Web site of the Health Sciences Institute and enter “gout” into the “Find a Cure” box.

Get off those deadly pills and learn to control your blood pressure with safe, effective cures.