I don’t know what’s worse: Gout, or the drugs prescribed to treat this painful condition.

Some of these meds can actually make the gout worse before it gets any better — assuming you even get better at all. And one common gout med comes with death as a possible side effect.

(That’s a heck of a price to pay for a little relief.)

One of these meds was just at the heart of an $800 million Big Pharma acquisition, so you can expect to see some pretty aggressive marketing for it in the coming months.

Don’t fall for it.

I’ve had great success curing this condition naturally, and the science backs up one of my favorite approaches: plain old vitamin C.

You should be increasing your C intake anyway, since most people are badly deficient. And along with the vitamin’s famous immune-boosting powers, it can also help protect you from gout.

One study of 46,994 men tracked for up to 20 years finds that those who got at least 1,500 mg a day had a 45 percent lower risk of gout than those who took in 250 mg or less.

Each 500 mg boost in C levels cut the risk of the condition by 17 percent, according to the study in the Archives of Internal Medicine.

It works because vitamin C can keep levels of uric acid down — and excess uric acid is what causes gout in the first place.

But if C alone doesn’t keep your gout at bay, try one of my favorite fruits — the cherry.

I still see doctors dismissing cherries for gout as a folk remedy, which only tells me they’re not keeping up with the science on this — because the studies show they work.

The pigments that give cherries their red color are high in anthocyanins, anti-inflammatory phytonutrients that dissolve uric acid crystals, helping them to be excreted by the kidneys. Cherries are also high in potassium, which helps the body maintain a slightly alkaline state — and since uric acid is, as the name suggests, acidic, it has a harder time forming.

I’ve found sour cherries work best, or cherry juice. But for pure convenience, I recommend cherry extract supplements, which have proven to be just as effective and are available in any health food store.

When it comes to booze and heart health, wine usually gets all the attention — but it doesn’t quite deserve it.

Sure, wine is great for you — but it’s not the only healthy adult beverage in the bar.

In fact, you can get just about all the benefits of wine and then some from plain old beer — and the latest research confirms that a cold brew is every bit as good for your heart as a glass of red.

Researchers from Italy’s Fondazione di Ricerca e Cura say their survey of 200,000 people from around the world finds that regular beer drinkers have a 31 percent lower risk of heart disease than people who don’t drink booze at all.

That’s precisely the same decrease in heart risk enjoyed by wine drinkers — but it’s coming from hops and barley instead of grapes, according to the study in the European Journal of Epidemiology.

And that’s not all beer can do for you — not even close. Beer is also rich in potassium, magnesium, B vitamins and key antioxidants. It can help lower the inflammation linked to heart disease and other serious problems, and raise levels of HDL (“good”) cholesterol by as much as 12 percent.

Beer is also the single best source of dietary silicon around, which can help protect your bones as you age.

One study even found that dieters who drink beer can lose more weight — proving that the so-called “beer belly” is a myth. If you see a drinker with a big belly, take a look at what he’s eating — because that’s almost certainly the real reason for his keg-sized gut.

Of course, whether you drink wine or beer, you’ll only get the benefits if you make your habit a moderate one and cut yourself off before you drink too much (and if you have to wonder if you’ve had too much, you’ve probably reached that point).

Keep it to a glass or two a night, and you’ll enjoy both the benefits and the taste.

So go ahead — pop the cork or crack open a frosty one. It’s good for you.

Next time your doctor says “cut back on the salt, or else” ask him one question.

Or else what?

He’ll tell you how all that salt is responsible for the high blood pressure that leads to heart disease. But if you’ve tried to cut back on salt, then you already know how well it works — not at all.

It’s not just you.

A low-salt diet is actually scientifically proven to have little to no impact on your BP levels, and a new study confirms it: Researchers in Europe say cutting back on sodium trims just 1 percent off a healthy person’s BP levels, and 3.5 percent off those of someone battling hypertension.

And in exchange for those meaningless dips in blood pressure, patients who stuck to the low-salt lifestyle saw a 7 percent surge in deadly triglycerides and a 2.5 percent overall boost in cholesterol levels.

In other words, if your BP spikes a little and your doc tells you to stick to a low-salt diet to avoid hypertension meds, he’ll almost certainly end up giving you those meds anyway — and a statin to boot.

Consider that a bonus.

If this was the first study of its kind, it would be easy to be a little skeptical — and there’s absolutely nothing wrong with being skeptical. But it’s not — and it’s not the second or third study either.

In fact, it’s the fourth study just this year to find no benefit to a low-salt diet — not to mention the dozens of other studies that have reached the same conclusion over the years.

If you’re concerned about blood pressure, forget about salt. Cut back on sugar instead — because the research on this has been remarkably consistent: People who consume the most sugar have the highest blood pressure levels.

That’s why one of the most immediate benefits of a low-carb diet is a swift reduction in blood pressure.

Once you get the sugar out, don’t focus on salt so much as your salt-to-potassium ratio. Thanks to processed foods, most people get more salt than potassium. In reality, you should get about three times as much potassium as salt.

Make those two changes, and you can hit the saltshaker to your heart’s content — and never have to worry about your BP levels again.

If you have trouble finding the silver lining in any cloud, it’s time to consider an attitude adjustment — because it might save your life.

Your outlook could play a direct role in your stroke risk, with the most negative people facing the most negative outcomes.

Researchers looked at data on more than 6,044 men and women at least 50 years old with no history of stroke who had taken a standard optimism test.

I’ve never seen this exam — but it’s fun trying to imagine the questions:

You’ve been bitten by a dog. Do you:

a) Scream

b) Shoot the dog

c) Seek immediate medical attention

d) Feel lucky that such a spirited dog chose to “play” with you

In any case, the patients were all given an “optimism score” based on their answers, asked to rate their own health, and then tracked for two years.

The researchers say just 88 strokes took place in that time, but each point on the optimism scale reduced the risk of having one by about 9 percent — and that’s even after adjusting for risk factors such as smoking, heavy boozing, levels of physical activity, and overall health.

The researchers say optimism was even able to help limit the damage from known stroke risk factors such as anxiety, depression, and neuroticism.

The only downside was seen among the most extremely optimistic: The researchers say a small number of people are so positive that they always believe everything will work out no matter what — and these people are less likely to take the actions needed to help themselves.

On the flipside, it might be hard or even impossible for some folks — like, for example, negative people — to believe that attitude alone can have a direct impact on health.

But other studies have found real benefits to positivity — including a stronger immune system and healthier heart.

Several other studies have even made a similar link between outlook and stroke risk, including one published last year that found the most disagreeable grumps were 40 percent more likely to have thicker carotid arteries than positive people. (Read about it here.)

That’s a major stroke risk factor — and if you can undo it by smiling a little more and being a little more positive, I’d say that’s an attitude adjustment worth making.

p.s. Other recent studies have shown that olive oil can lower your stroke risk by up to 73 percent, potassium can
slash it by up to 21 percent, and coffee can reduce the risk in women by up to 25 percent. Be sure to get in on all three.