In case you needed even more reasons to love Pomegranate, read on…
In case you needed even more reasons to love Pomegranate, read on
Pomegranate has long been cherished for its multifaceted health giving properties in Ayurveda, TCM, Unani and Naturopathy as a functional food and a herbal extract.
Nutrient facts
High in vitamins and minerals such Vitamin C, Vitamin B3, B5, B6, folate, potassium, Vitamin K, Copper.
Provides 17% percent of daily Vitamin C requirements with help increase our antioxidant status, immune health, protein and iron absorption.
Pomegranate seeds provides 11% of dietary fibre requirements which would help with digestive tract health and regulates .
Provide 40% of daily antioxidant requirements
Contains no cholesterol or saturated fats
Health Benefits
Heart Health – Research has shown Cardio protective benefits from the high polyphenol content helping to reduce atherosclesoris, oxidative stress, inflammation and hypertention (Aviram and Rosenblat 2013; Razani, Dastani, and Kazerani 2017; Zhao et al. 2017).
Type 2 Diabetes – high blood glucose induces oxidative stress in T2D which also impacts the cardiovascular system. Pomegranate extract along with other antioxidants have shown to reduce oxidative stress and lipid peroxidation (Kutan Fenercioglu et al. 2010). Pomegranate has also shown to improve insulin sensitivity in T2D (Banihani et al. 2014)
Oncology – Research suggest that cancer cell growth inhibition and tumor cell apoptosis has been shown with pomegranate supplementation in prostate cancer (Albrecht et al. 2004; Malik et al. 2005), and anti-proliferating effect on breast cancer cells (Kim et al. 2002).
Brain Health - Research suggests that the neuroprotective effects of ellagitanins in pomegranate seeds can be beneficial for Alzheimer’s and Parkinsons (Kujawska et al. 2019; Yuan et al. 2016).
Arthritis – studies have shown the Pomegranate extract supplementation inhibits the pro-inflammatory cytokines in Osteoarthritis. An other study points to the reduction of symptom severity and inflammatory IL-6 levels in Rheumatoid arthritis.
Reproductive health – Traditionally Ayurveda and Unani medicine use pomegranante for female reproductive health as it is blood tonifier and tissue perfusion enhancer. Pomegrante juice is used to improve male fertility as well. Research has shown that Pomegranate juice can improve semen quality and count (Türk et al. 2008)
References
Albrecht, Martin, Wenguo Jiang, James Kumi-Diaka, Ephraim P. Lansky, Lyndon M. Gommersall, Amit Patel, Robert E. Mansel, Ishak Neeman, Albert A. Geldof, and Moray J. Campbell. 2004. “Pomegranate Extracts Potently Suppress Proliferation, Xenograft Growth, and Invasion of Human Prostate Cancer Cells.” Journal of Medicinal Food 7(3):274–83. doi: 10.1089/jmf.2004.7.274.
Aviram, Michael, and Mira Rosenblat. 2013. “Pomegranate for Your Cardiovascular Health.” Rambam Maimonides Medical Journal 4(2):e0013. doi: 10.5041/RMMJ.10113.
Banihani, S. A., S. M. Makahleh, Z. El-Akawi, R. A. Al-Fashtaki, O. F. Khabour, M. Y. Gharibeh, N. A. Saadah, F. H. Al-Hashimi, and N. J. Al-Khasieb. 2014. “Fresh Pomegranate Juice Ameliorates Insulin Resistance, Enhances β-Cell Function, and Decreases Fasting Serum Glucose in Type 2 Diabetic Patients.” Nutrition Research 34(10):862–67. doi: 10.1016/j.nutres.2014.08.003.
Kim, Nam Deuk, Rajendra Mehta, Weiping Yu, Ishak Neeman, Talia Livney, Akiva Amichay, Donald Poirier, Paul Nicholls, Andrew Kirby, Wenguo Jiang, Robert Mansel, Cheppail Ramachandran, Thangaiyan Rabi, Boris Kaplan, and Ephraim Lansky. 2002. “Chemopreventive and Adjuvant Therapeutic Potential of Pomegranate (Punica Granatum) for Human Breast Cancer.” Breast Cancer Research and Treatment 71(3):203–17. doi: 10.1023/A:1014405730585.
Kujawska, Małgorzata, Michael Jourdes, Monika Kurpik, Michał Szulc, Hanna Szaefer, Piotr Chmielarz, Grzegorz Kreiner, Violetta Krajka-Kuźniak, Przemyslaw Łukasz Mikołajczak, Pierre-Louis Teissedre, and Jadwiga Jodynis-Liebert. 2019. “Neuroprotective Effects of Pomegranate Juice against Parkinson’s Disease and Presence of Ellagitannins-Derived Metabolite—Urolithin A—In the Brain.” International Journal of Molecular Sciences 21(1):202. doi: 10.3390/ijms21010202.
Kutan Fenercioglu, A., T. Saler, E. Genc, H. Sabuncu, and Y. Altuntas. 2010. “The Effects of Polyphenol-Containing Antioxidants on Oxidative Stress and Lipid Peroxidation in Type 2 Diabetes Mellitus without Complications.” Journal of Endocrinological Investigation 33(2):118–24. doi: 10.1007/BF03346565.
Malik, Arshi, Farrukh Afaq, Sami Sarfaraz, Vaqar M. Adhami, Deeba N. Syed, and Hasan Mukhtar. 2005. “Pomegranate Fruit Juice for Chemoprevention and Chemotherapy of Prostate Cancer.” Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences 102(41):14813–18. doi: 10.1073/pnas.0505870102.
Razani, Zahra, Mostafa Dastani, and Hamid Reza Kazerani. 2017. “Cardioprotective Effects of Pomegranate ( Punica Granatum ) Juice in Patients with Ischemic Heart Disease: Cardioprotective Effects of Pomegranate Juice.” Phytotherapy Research 31(11):1731–38. doi: 10.1002/ptr.5901
Türk, Gaffari, Mustafa Sönmez, Muhterem Aydin, Abdurrauf Yüce, Seyfettin Gür, Murat Yüksel, Emrah Hicazi Aksu, and Hakan Aksoy. 2008. “Effects of Pomegranate Juice Consumption on Sperm Quality, Spermatogenic Cell Density, Antioxidant Activity and Testosterone Level in Male Rats.” Clinical Nutrition 27(2):289–96. doi: 10.1016/j.clnu.2007.12.006.
Yuan, Tao, Hang Ma, Weixi Liu, Daniel B. Niesen, Nishan Shah, Rebecca Crews, Kenneth N. Rose, Dhiraj A. Vattem, and Navindra P. Seeram. 2016. “Pomegranate’s Neuroprotective Effects against Alzheimer’s Disease Are Mediated by Urolithins, Its Ellagitannin-Gut Microbial Derived Metabolites.” ACS Chemical Neuroscience 7(1):26–33. doi: 10.1021/acschemneuro.5b00260.
Zhao, Cai-Ning, Xiao Meng, Ya Li, Sha Li, Qing Liu, Guo-Yi Tang, and Hua-Bin Li. 2017. “Fruits for Prevention and Treatment of Cardiovascular Diseases.” Nutrients 9(6):598. doi: 10.3390/nu9060598.