Are pomegranates healthy?
If you want to consume one of the healthiest fruits on the earth, it’s pomegranates as they comprise a range of beneficial plant compounds, incomparable by other foods.
As per some studies, pomegranates offer incredible benefits to your body and have the ability to lower the risk of all sorts of diseases.
Here are 12 evidence-based health benefits of eating pomegranates -
1. Pomegranates Contain Loads of Important Nutrients -
Also called as Punica granatum, the pomegranate is a shrub that producing a red fruit. It’s categorized as a berry, it measures about 5-12 cm (2-5 inches) in diameter, round in shape and looks kind of like a red apple with a flower-shaped stem. Though the skin of the fruit is thick and inedible the inside of it comprises of hundreds of edible seeds called arils. Arils are eaten by people, either raw or processed into juice.
Pomegranates have an impressive nutrient profile:
One cup of arils (174 grams) comprise of:
Fiber: 7 grams.
Protein: 3 grams.
Vitamin C: 30% of the RDA.
Vitamin K: 36% of the RDA.
Folate: 16% of the RDA.
Potassium: 12% of the RDA.
Being sweet in taste, one cup of arils contains 24 grams of sugar and 144 calories.
2. Pomegranates Contain Two Plant Compounds With Powerful Medicinal Properties
There are two unique substances in pomegranates that are responsible for most of their health benefits.
Punicalagins
Found in the juice and peel of a pomegranate, Punicalagins are extremely powerful antioxidants. They are so powerful that pomegranate juice has been found to have three times the antioxidant activity of red wine and green tea. The extract and powder of a pomegranate is typically made from the peel, due to its high antioxidant and punicalagin content.
Punicic Acid
Also known as pomegranate seed oil, Punicic acid is the main fatty acid in the arils. It is categorized under conjugated linoleic acid with potent biological effects.
3. Pomegranate Has Impressive Anti-Inflammatory Effects
One of the leading drivers of many killer diseases is the chronic inflammation including heart disease, cancer, type 2 diabetes, Alzheimer’s disease and even obesity. The potent anti-inflammatory properties of a pomegranate are largely mediated by the antioxidant properties of the punicalagins.
As per some lab tests, it’s been shown that it can reduce inflammatory activity in the digestive tract, as well as in breast cancer and colon cancer cells. Additionally, some study in diabetics, found that 250 ml of pomegranate juice per day for 12 weeks decreases the inflammatory markers CRP and interleukin-6 by 32% and 30%, respectively.
4. Pomegranate May Help Fight Prostate Cancer
One of the most common type of cancer in men is the Prostate cancer. Results of the laboratory studies show that pomegranate extract can slow down cancer cell reproduction and even encourage apoptosis (cell death) in cancer cells. In prostate cancer, the PSA (prostate specific antigen) is a blood marker. If the PSA levels double in a short period of time in men, they are at high risks of death from prostate cancer.
One more interesting fact about a human study found that 237 ml (8 oz) of pomegranate juice per day increased the PSA doubling time from 15 months to 54 months, which is huge. A follow-up study also resulted into similar improvements using a type of pomegranate extract called POMx.
5. Pomegranate May Also be Useful Against Breast Cancer
The most common type of cancer in women is breast cancer. The extract of pomegranate has shown to prevent reproduction of breast cancer cells and might even kill some of them. However, this is currently limited to laboratory studies and so, more research is needed for proven results.
6. Pomegranate May Lower Blood Pressure
One of the leading drivers of heart attacks and strokes is high blood pressure or hypertension. According to one study, people having high blood pressure had a significant decrease after consuming 150 ml (5 oz) of pomegranate juice daily for 2 weeks.
Other studies also had proven similar results, especially for systolic blood pressure (the higher number in a blood pressure reading).
