Think Pomegranates

The Many Health Benefits of Pomegranates 5 Reasons to Try This Antioxidant All-Star

By Jill Weisenberger, MS, RD, CDE Wednesday, February 27, 2008

As you peruse the grocery store aisles, it’s easy to bypass that pile of red, leathery, baseball-sized fruit. Pomegranates are an odd-looking “super food” to be sure, but crack one open and you’ll find a delicious source of antioxidants and nutrients. With disease-fighting properties, pomegranates are becoming popular in both whole and juice form. Here are 5 reasons to pick up a pomegranate, plus two delicious recipes to get you started…

The pomegranate, known as the royal fruit because of the crown on top, is bursting not just with a delicious sweet-tart juice, but also with antioxidants and disease-fighting phytochemicals. A staple of the Middle Eastern diet, the pomegranate has a rich history in literature, mythology and religion. It’s spoken of by Juliet in Shakespeare’s Romeo and Juliet, and is mentioned more than two dozen times in the Bible.

And now, pomegranates are growing in popularity in the U.S. While there are many varieties of the fruit, most pomegranates in this country are of the California Wonderful variety. Known for its size, large seeds and sweetness, California Wonderfuls have been found to be especially rich in antioxidants.

While we’re loving the taste, scientists are studying the pomegranate’s potential role in fighting heart disease, cancer and other ails. Here are five fabulous reasons to eat a pomegranate today.

1. Low in calories, high in nutrition

Enjoy a medium-sized pomegranate for only 105 nutrient-packed calories. You’ll also get a hefty dose of blood pressure-lowering potassium, virtually no sodium, one gram of fiber, and about 10% of your recommended daily vitamin C intake. Eight ounces of the juice provides 160 calories and a bit more potassium than a medium-sized pomegranate.

Pomegranates and their juice have an abundance of antioxidants and phytochemicals, as well: anthocyanins (anti-inflammatory, cancer-fighting); catechins (anti-carcinogenic, anti-inflammatory); ellagic acid (cancer-fighting).

Drinking pomegranate juice is known to raise the antioxidant capacity of the blood. Antioxidants neutralize damaging free radicals (organic molecules linked to aging, tissue damage and possibly disease) before they have a chance to attack your cells and DNA.

2. Improves heart health

One study found that drinking just more than eight ounces of pomegranate juice every day for three months improved blood flow to the heart in people with coronary heart disease. Forty-five participants drank either the juice or a placebo beverage made to look and taste like pomegranate juice. On average, blood flow to the heart improved 17% in the pomegranate group, but declined 18% in the placebo group in merely three months.
Other studies suggest that pomegranate juice might help prevent atherosclerosis and even clear clogged arteries. Atherosclerosis, or hardening of the arteries, is a condition in which plaque builds up in the arteries and reduces blood flow, potentially causing heart attack, stroke, or numbness and pain in the arms and legs.

People with diabetes may benefit from pomegranates, too, according to a 2006 study in the journal Atherosclerosis. Ten people with type 2 diabetes drank pomegranate juice for three months. Without affecting blood glucose or cholesterol levels, the juice appeared to lower the risk of atherosclerosis and slow the immune cells’ absorption of unhealthy LDL cholesterol. (See related article: Cholesterol Risk: A Numbers Game) This is especially important to people with diabetes because the condition increases the risk of heart disease two to four times.

3. Alzheimer’s protection

A daily glass of pomegranate juice might cut your risk of developing Alzheimer’s disease. When mice engineered to develop the disease at a young age were fed pomegranate juice, they showed greater learning and memory skills compared to mice who did not receive the juice. The juice-supplemented animals learned water maze tasks more quickly and swam faster.

Researchers then examined the mice’s brains and found that the supplemented mice had 50% less build-up of harmful proteins called beta-amyloid deposits. These proteins are associated with an increase in brain cell damage and may be a cause of Alzheimer’s disease.

4. Relief for your joints

Osteoarthritis affects 20 million Americans and is the most common joint disorder associated with aging. Pomegranate fruit extract may block enzymes that contribute to the disorder, according to researchers at Case Western Reserve University School of Medicine. In laboratory tests, extracts of the fruit slowed the deterioration of human cartilage.

5. Cancer fighter

Could a glass a day keep prostate cancer away? Researchers at UCLA tested the theory that pomegranate juice could keep prostate cancer from returning. Forty-six men who had already been treated for prostate cancer drank eight ounces of pomegranate juice daily. The scientists measured the men’s blood levels of prostate-specific antigen (PSA), a marker of prostate health and prostate cancer. The faster these levels double, the sooner a man is likely to see his prostate cancer return. The men’s overall PSA doubling time was nearly four times slower after they began drinking the juice. The results were so promising that a larger study is now underway.

The fruit also shows promise in shielding against other cancers, too. Laboratory studies have shown that various components of the pomegranate suppress the growth of human breast cancer cells. Studies with mice suggest that pomegranates could reduce the spread of lung cancer.

Health benefits aside, pomegranates are just plain fun to eat. But they can be messy if you’re not careful. Watch out for that staining spray of scarlet juice. Open a pomegranate haphazardly and you and your walls might look spray-painted. Follow this three-step process and you can leave the bleach – and paint – alone. 1. Slice the crown off and cut off the rind without going through to the fruit.2. Place the fruit into a bowl of water and break it into sections. Gently push the juice sacs (called arils) out. Discard everything else.3. Strain the water and enjoy the arils, seeds and all. The bright red color of the arils make them a cheerful addition to a spinach salad or a steamed green vegetable. Sprinkle them on vanilla ice cream, and use their juice in smoothies, marinades, sauces, and salad dressings.

Any dietitian worth her salt-free seasoning knows that the whole diet is more important to your health than any particular food. So don’t wash down a greasy burger and fries with pomegranate juice and have the false sense that you ate a healthful meal. Fill your diet with a variety of healthful foods jam-packed with fruits and vegetables. Pomegranates fit in perfectly.

from Lifescript