Loading...
Joint pain is such a common problem that people have invented many different approaches to easing it. One wacky arthritis remedy was reputed to be the recommendation of the famous Mayo brothers, founders of the clinic. We have no idea if that is true, but we do sometimes hear from people who would like to know more about it.
Wacky Arthritis Remedy from Mayo Clinic:
Q. I have an old yellowed article from the paper about a “black ball” arthritis remedy from the Mayo Clinic from the 1950’s. I have kept the article but have never tried the formula and before I throw it away I would like to know if it has been of help to anyone reading your column.
A. The recipe you refer to was purportedly devised by the Mayo brothers (Charles and William) who founded the Mayo Clinic. It contains dried figs and raisins, olive oil, glycerin, senna, charcoal and slippery elm.
Grandmother Treasured Mayo Brothers’ Remedy:
Q. My grandmother lived to the ripe old age of 99. For years, she used a recipe you printed a long time ago. It was supposedly from the Mayo Clinic and she said it really kept her joints moving. Can you tell me any more about this remedy?
A. Many years ago we received an ancient mimeographed recipe from a reader of our newspaper column. She said it came from the Mayo brothers, Drs. Chas. & Will Mayo, early in the 20th century.
Here is her original story:
“In 1950 my teacher went to the Mayo Clinic for crippling arthritis. She was 27 years old and spent six weeks at the clinic. The treatment was a miracle for her.
She was given a formula to continue taking, which she shared with me for my mother. The jar of little black balls in her fridge changed my mother’s life.”
The Recipe:
Charles and William Mayo, brothers who founded the Mayo Clinic supposedly recommended the remedy you remember. Whether or not they actually suggested it, the “black ball” recipe contains 1.5 pounds of raisins and 3 pounds of figs, 3 ounces of olive oil, 2 ounces of charcoal, 1 ounce of glycerin, 3 ounces of powdered senna and 1 ounce of slippery elm. The instructions call for removing the stems from the figs, then grinding the fruit in a food chopper as fine as possible. The powdered ingredients are added a little at a time, then the olive oil and glycerin are mixed in. Here it gets messy: form into balls the diameter of a nickel.
For the first week, patients took one “ball” in the morning and one at night. After that, they took one per day. For safety, store the balls in a closed glass container in the refrigerator.
Watch Out for Senna!
We don’t have any information about whether or why this might help joint inflammation. In fact, we do not recommend it since the senna it contains is a harsh laxative unsuitable for regular use. These “black balls” probably had a laxative effect. The figs and raisins are rich in fiber, but there are no studies suggesting these ingredients have anti-inflammatory properties. If anything, this recipe seems more like a treatment for constipation than arthritis.
Another Wacky Arthritis Remedy:
If you are interested in grape-based remedies, you may wish to consult our Guide to Alternatives for Arthritis, which describes Certo in grape juice and golden raisins soaked in gin, two long-time favorites of People’s Pharmacy readers.
If you find this post is helpful, please feel free to share it with others. You can do that using the icons at the top of the post. Thank you!
Janet
I tried the raisin & gin remedy at least twice — didn’t work for me.
Scott
I used grape juice and fruit pectin several years. But then I found that bromelain paired with papaya enzyme, and also bio Perine paired with turmeric, worked the best.
Joan
I have heard that Certo contains citrus peel which may be grapefruit peel. If you take a medication that requires you to abstain from grapefruit, I wondered if you could still use the Certo. I take Zanubrutinib for CLL and can’t eat grapefruit.
Terry Graedon
Joan, we haven’t been able to confirm the presence of grapefruit. But we agree that your treatment for CLL should take precedence.
Rick
My mother and father both trained as Osteopathic physicians just prior to World War II and the advent of antibiotics.
At that time much of day to day practice of medicine focused on bowel health and bowel cleansing. That focus was based on the idea that toxins retained in the bowels could contribute to inflammation and inflammatory diseases.
I’m not surprised that the “black balls’ contained a strong laxative and high fiber materials.
The slippery elm was/is considered to have soothing properties for the throat, esophagus, and bowels.
Janet
I think anything that makes you regular with bowel movements will help with a myriad of problems in your body, including arthritis.
Nancy
I don’t know about this recipe, but 1/4 cup tart cherry juice+ a rounded teaspoon of gin-soaked raisins and very morning keeps my arthritic thumbs, knees and lower back pain and ache-free. I also do :15 of yoga stretches every morning and do a bike workout 3x/week.
Jessica
Tart cherry juice was recommended for gout, by my podiatrist. But it’s expensive and hard to find. Then I found Spring Valley tart cherry extract capsules in the vitamin aisle at Walmart. Also found aloe vera gel caps, (same brand) which helps relieve my neuropathy tingling. I take one of each every day, and it helps.
I also use aloe vera after-sun lotion, (with lidocaine) when I have a sudden flare-up of tingling, burning pain in feet and toes. It also relieves joint pain in my knees, shoulders, elbows, etc. You can find it with the suntan lotions and creams. Make sure the label says it contains lidocaine. It’s cheaper than “bio-freeze” and other brands marketed specifically for neuropathy.
Janine
I use (daily) the Purple Pectin cure, from this website, which gives me relief from my knee pain.
Jessica
I have gout, plantar fasciitis, osteoarthritis, and neuropathy. I was told by my podiatrist to try tart cherry juice for my foot pain. It is hard to find, and when you do find it, it is very expensive, as another commenter noted.
About 5 years ago, I found Spring Valley brand tart cherry extract in capsule form in the vitamin aisle at Walmart. I have been taking 1 capsule per day, ever since, and my gout pain is almost non-existent. For neuropathy, I use aloe vera gel caps, also in vitamin aisle. I use aloe vera after-sunburn lotion with lidocaine for sudden stinging neuropathy flareups, and for arthritic knee pain. (Find it with suntan products). For the plantar fasciitis, I do foot and calf stretches recommended by the podiatrist and ortho doctors, but I think the supplements also help.
BBB
Philadelphia
Has anyone made the “little black balls” arthritis pain remedy and tried it? If so, has it worked? If it works, I want to try it too!
cpmt
I TAKE/drink DARK CHERRY JUICE, 1/4 of a cup 100% cherry. you can also eat frozen cherries and help me.
cpmt
Please send us the RECIPE or what you use and measurements Thank you.
cpmt
Rob Roy, will you please sent the recipe here? for all of us to read and learn? Please don’t just tell the story, just give us the recipe. Thank you.
RobRoy
As a young man I had both kinds of arthritis and was in hospital for seven months on very high doses of cortisone steroids. I had to be weaned of these drugs over a period of 2 years and carry a card stating I had been treated with them for a further 3 years.
All went well for approx. 12 years and I found the arthritis return initially in my shoulders. My mother was visiting one time and she saw me wince and she asked if The arthritis was returning, answer yes. She then told me a story about a friend of hers who was wheelchair bound and became reclusive and refused to see even her friends.
One day a couple of years later she was passing the house and her old friend was gardening, no wheelchair. She told my mother the story about this old Mayo brothers recipe which she used and it was like a miracle.
My mother sent me the recipe and I used it and I have not had arthritis pain for more than 30 years. I passed it on to many and they also are still pain free.
YES IT WORKS.
susan d l-j
That labeling mix-up idea sounds likely, but as they say, you-never-know, and it couldn’t-hurt. I once saw a doctor order a magnesium citrate laxative for a patient whose organs were failing, to dialize out toxins through the bowel wall. One nurse “held” (didn’t give) the drug because she wasn’t told the rationale. She saw that the client’s bowels were moving, so it didn’t seem to make sense.
You just never know. Maybe there’s something to this.
Incidentally, I live in a “senior” building and several of us have had good luck with the cherry juice, both black cherry and tart. Thanks.
Geo
Hi Could you be more specific with quantities of both/how mixed/when taken? G
Geo
Hello, I also would appreciate the recipe for the Mayo Bros. Black Balls. These are not just for clearing bowel. Thanks to you both in advance. Keep up the Great Work Geo
PAM
For anyone interested. Boswellia with Curcumin stopped the sharp, stabbing, needle like pains I had in my knuckles. It’s inexpensive as well. I don’t take it constantly, just when the pain recurs.
ecn
I work out every day for my knees. Standing with 3# weights, bend knees until hands reach the floor. Sitting in a chair with one weight in a bag over foot, lift foot to straight out. Do both knees.
MJW
Please share the formula for the black ball, and thanks in advance.
People’s Pharmacy response: See the details in the comment above:
https://www.peoplespharmacy.com/2014/01/16/black-ball-arthritis-remedy-from-the-mayo-clinic-works-wonders/index.php#comment-86133
Robert L. H.
Please tell me the amount of the tart cherry juice to drink for arthritis. I can’t find that the amount is listed and the cherry juice is expensive. Is it a spoonful or a cup full?
thanks
Bob H.
People’s Pharmacy response: Visitors to our site report benefit with two tablespoons of concentrate or 1/3 cup juice:
https://www.peoplespharmacy.com/2013/11/25/tart-cherry-juice-soothed-pain-in-big-toe/
JA
I would also like the formula. Thank you.
People’s Pharmacy response: See the details in the comment above:
https://www.peoplespharmacy.com/2014/01/16/black-ball-arthritis-remedy-from-the-mayo-clinic-works-wonders/index.php#comment-86133
Noah V.
I’d be interested in that formulation as well.
I have adult-onset boy-that-hurts in numerous joints and am willing to try about anything natural that won’t hurt me.
And if I spend a little more time sitting down in my bathroom? That won’t hurt me either.
People’s Pharmacy response: The Mayo brothers’ black ball recipe from the turn of the 20th century called for 3 pounds dried figs, 1.5 pounds seeded raisins, 3 ounces olive oil, 1 ounce glycerine, 3 ounces powdered senna, 2 ounces powdered charcoal and 1 ounce slippery elm.
The figs and raisins were put through a food grinder (a food processor might work, if one did only a small amount at a time) and then the powdered ingredients were mixed in a little at a time. Finally, the olive oil and glycerine were mixed in thoroughly and the mixture was made into balls with the diameter of a nickel. The balls were kept refrigerated in a closed glass container. The original recipe suggests making up only half the amount at one time. One ball was taken morning and evening for a week; then one ball a day for six months.
We wonder if the label didn’t get mixed up on this recipe somewhere along the line. Figs and raisins are high in fiber (to help you “go”), charcoal is an ancient remedy for gas and other GI issues, slippery elm helps produce slippery mucus to “lubricate the pipes,” and senna is a well-known harsh laxative.
When this recipe was popular, enemas and other laxative products were considered cutting edge medical treatments were promoted by such health leaders as John Harvey Kellogg (of breakfast cereal fame).
[http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/John_Harvey_Kellogg#Battle_Creek_Sanitarium]
If you don’t want to turn your kitchen into a messy laboratory, you might be interested in trying “golden milk,” an ancient Ayurvedic remedy for sore joints whose primary ingredient, turmeric has impressive proven anti-inflammatory effect http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/?term=23242572 “http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/?term=23242572
Another option might be cherry juice, or cherry juice concentrate rich in anti-oxidants. Our readers tell us these can be very helpful in reducing their gout and plantar fasciitis pain, and there is some research to support this. [http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/23023818]
If you are actually looking for a remedy with a laxative effect, why not give our power pudding a try? [https://www.peoplespharmacy.com/2013/12/05/dont-fall-in-love-with-laxatives/]
Judi
I would also be interested in seeing the recipe, regardless of scientific efficacy. I mean, come on–bar of soap for leg cramps? If we waited for scientific understanding of why THAT works, no one would be using it!
People’s Pharmacy response: check out the recipe above, in this comment:
https://www.peoplespharmacy.com/2014/01/16/black-ball-arthritis-remedy-from-the-mayo-clinic-works-wonders/index.php#comment-86133
CPMT
Yes I would like it too. The formula and where to get some of the ingredients. Thank you.
People’s Pharmacy response: See the details in the comment above:
https://www.peoplespharmacy.com/2014/01/16/black-ball-arthritis-remedy-from-the-mayo-clinic-works-wonders/index.php#comment-86133
Lkt
I too would like a copy of the formula!
People’s Pharmacy response: See the details in the comment above:
https://www.peoplespharmacy.com/2014/01/16/black-ball-arthritis-remedy-from-the-mayo-clinic-works-wonders/index.php#comment-86133
PRG
Do you have a copy of the formula to share? I have Juvenile Rheumatoid Arthritis, and at age 62, I would be interested in giving it a try. I appreciate your response.
cpmt
where can you get the senna and the glycerin (natural) and charcoal in food form. Because these things are difficult to find anywhere. Thank you.
Peter
Could this mixture work by helping the body to get rid of compounds causing the pain in the joints?