Pomegranate Health Benefits

When was the last time you ate a Pomegranate? Did you know its one of the healthiest fruits on earth? Are you aware that it can provide large amounts of beneficial plant compounds, unrivaled by other foods? Do you know it can lower the risk of many diseases?

If you stop to consider the biblical scripture - particularly, Genesis 1:29 ESV where God makes this profound statement, “Behold, I have given you every plant yielding seed that is on the face of all the earth, and every tree with seed in its fruit. You shall have them for food."

Even within biblical scripture at Exodus 28:33' we see Pomegranates figure prominently in two places - both in the garment of the high priest and in the temple. "And on the skirts thereof thou shalt make pomegranates of blue, and purple, and scarlet, round about the skirts thereof; and bells of gold between them round about."

If you consider Greek and Persian mythology, the pomegranate is symbolized as fertility, beauty and eternal life. But, what if I mention also, that not only is the humble Pomegranates loaded with important nutrients, it's also convincingly known as a heart-healthy fruit.

To say the pomegranate is impressive when it comes personal health is an understatement.

It not only has an impressive nutrient profile in terms of fiber, protein, vitamin c, k, folate and potassium and powerful unique plant compounds (e.g.punicalagins and punicic acid) which have potent medicinal properties. It's also very impressive in terms of having the added ability to lower the risk of all sorts of diseases, due to its potent anti-inflammatory properties.

One could easily refer to the pomegranate fruit as a red apple with a flower-shaped stem - that, has an abundance of edible seeds called 'arils', and there are hundreds of these edible seeds within. But why is this particular fruit seed become of interest when it comes to your personal health? Let me explain what the research is finding.

Pomegranate Health Benefits research

Studies have found that within the juice and peel of a pomegranate, very powerful antioxidants (e.g. punicalagins) are evident.

Let me bring your attention to one particular research team who evaluated the antioxidant activity of pomegranate juice using a variety of laboratory testing methods. They found that commercial pomegranate juices (e.g. extracted from whole pomegranates) rather than just the juice attained from just the 'arils' showed an antioxidant activity three times higher than those of red wine and green tea.

Mainly because the industrial processing of the pomegranate extracts some of the highly beneficial tannins present in the fruit rind. [1]

If you're mindful that 'inflammation' of the body's cells is a major contributor to the onset of disease, then it would make sense to fuel your body with foods that have the ability to reduce or remove this damaging inflammation effect. Yes?

One should become aware too, that 'chronic inflammation' is among the leading drivers of life threatening diseases (e.g. heart disease, cancer, type 2 diabetes, Alzheimer's disease, and even obesity). And, let's not ignore another life reality - in that, high' blood pressure (e.g. hypertension) is one of the leading drivers of heart attacks and strokes.

Interestingly, one researcher group conducted a study where people suffering with diabetes were given a three-month course of pomegranate juice (e.g. 250 ml per day). On course completion and result analysis, it highlighted that their inflammatory markers were reduced by up to 30%. This group also found that the chemical compounds within the pomegranate can play an important role in the modulation of inflammatory cell signaling in colon cancer cells. [2]

In other clinical evaluation studies, people with high blood pressure had a significant reduction after consuming 150 ml (5 oz) of pomegranate juice daily for 2 weeks.

Furthermore, other studies have found similar effects, in relation to reducing systolic blood pressure (e.g. the higher number in a blood pressure reading), and acting as a beneficial cardio-protective supplement for hypertensive subjects. [3, 4]

Concluding remarks

It's often not easy to seek out healthy foods, when the world has become bombarded with packaged, processed and quick fix food consumption. It takes a bit of discipline to stay on course and eat healthy, so your body can do as much as possible to enhance the mind and prevent disease.

If you want to enjoy the health benefits, then you can either eat the pomegranate arils' directly, or drink pomegranate juice daily. It would be wise to take this research seriously. Make the change now!

References:

1. Gil, et.al.(2000).'Antioxidant activity of pomegranate juice and its relationship with phenolic composition and processing'. Journal of Agricultural Food Chemistry. October; Vol.48,(10),pp.4581-9.

2. Adams, L.S., et.al. (2006). 'Pomegranate juice, total pomegranate ellagitannins, and punicalagin suppress inflammatory cell signaling in colon cancer cells'. Journal of Agricultural Food Chemistry. 2006 Feb 8; Vol. 54, (3), pp.980-5.

3. Asgary, S. (2014).'Clinical Evaluation of blood pressure lowering, Endothelial function improving, hypolipidemic and Anti-Inflammatory effects of pomegranate Juice in hypertensive subjects.' Vol.28, (2),pp.193-199. February 2014.

4. Stowe, C.B. (2011). 'Complement There Clinical Practice - the effects of pomegranate juice consumption on blood pressure and cardiovascular health'. 2011 May; Vol.17,(2): pp. 113-5.

Article images:

1. Pexels - pixabay, 2. Pexels - Roman Odintsov, 3. Pexels - Daria Shevtsova