Used extensively by many cultures around the world as a medicinal fruit, Pomegranates are now the subject of an amazing amount of medical and scientific research.

Pomegranate has substances, such as polyphenols, that have antioxidant, anti-viral, and anti-tumor activity.

Pomegranate may also be helpful in maintaining healthy cholesterol and triglyceride levels, and a recent study indicates pomegranate has compounds that play a role in osteoarthritis and prostate health.

Pomegranates are chock full of antioxidants called phytochemicals that protect plants from disease, but notably they also have the same effect on humans.

A three-year UCLA study has found that drinking an eight-ounce glass of pomegranate juice daily increased by nearly four times the period during which PSA levels in men treated for prostate cancer remained stable.

Polyphenols are a kind of potent phytochemical that protects our cells, and tannins are a particularly active polyphenol found in pomegranates, red wine and green tea.

The specific tannins in pomegranate are believed to be 3 times stronger than those in red wine and green tea, however, and among them is an especially remarkable tannin called Ellagic Acid.

Current research shows that Ellagic Acid has two enormously important benefits for the cardiovascular system.

1. It clearly helps promote healthy blood pressure, particularly systolic pressure, which is the peak pressure generated in the arteries when the heart beats. Apparently, it accomplishes this action by increasing nitric oxide production, which keeps blood vessels open.
2. And second, it also helps maintain LDL cholesterol levels already in the normal range. Plus, it supports the health of arterial walls.

Pomegranate Juice is one of the 16 Fruit Superfoods in SenSatiaFruit

Drinking Pomegranate Juice May Protect Diabetics From Developing Heart Disease

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Analysis reveals that Açai pulp contains:

• A remarkable concentration of antioxidants, to help combat premature aging, with 10-30 times the anthocyanins (purple colored antioxidants) of red wine.
• A synergy of monounsaturated (healthy) fats, dietary fiber and phytosterols, to help promote cardiovascular system and digestive tract health.
• An almost perfect essential amino acid complex in conjunction with valuable trace minerals, vital to proper muscle contraction and regeneration.
• Açai is a dense source of particular class of flavonoids called anthocyanins (red-blue phenols with potent antioxidant properties)
• The fatty acid ratio of Açai resembles that of olive oil, which is thought to be a contributing factor to the low incidence of heart disease in Mediterranean populations.
• 60 percent Oleic (Omega 9) a monounsaturated, essential fatty acid, helps lower LDL (harmful cholesterol) while maintaining HDL (beneficial cholesterol) levels.
• 12 percent Linoleic (Omega 6) a polyunsaturated, essential fatty acid, has been found to lower both LDL and HDL levels. Fatty acids aid in the transport and absorption of fat-soluble vitamins i.e. Vitamins A, E, D, and K.

Açai contains valuable phytosterols

Sterols are components of plant cell membranes providing numerous benefits to the human body, namely the reduction of blood plasma cholesterol. Sterols are currently being used to treat symptoms associated with BPH (benign prostate hyperplasia). Preliminary evidence suggests that beta-sitosterol (the predominant sterol in Açai) may help prevent immune weakness resulting from severe physical stress.

Historically, while Brazilians have used Açai berries to treat digestive disorders and many other conditions for hundreds of years, Açai was virtually unknown in the rest of the world until the mid 1990’s. Today, that has all changed, and the amount of new medical and scientific research being conducted is rapidly increasing. One such study was conducted at the University of Florida: UF News About Açai

Açai is one of the 16 nutritional fruits in SenSatiaFruit.

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The dark, purple rind (the Pericarp) of the Mangosteen can be dried and ground, then used to ward off infections both internal and external. Poultices of the Mangosteen fruit were used to treat parasitic skin infections. An extract from the pulp of the fruit was used to control fever.

Mangosteen is packed full of xanthones, polysaccharides, catechins, polyphenols, minerals and vitamins.

Today Mangosteen is available to the world, and most of the scientific research on this fruit involves about a half dozen of the two dozen known xanthones in this fruit.

Pharmaceutical drug companies would love to isolate, synthesize and then patent these substances. Then they could charge consumers their normal 50,000% markup on the resulting drugs.

Xanthones are a class of polyphenolic compounds that commonly occur in plants and have been shown to have extensive biological and pharmacological activities. Recently, the pharmacological properties of xanthones in the cardiovascular system have attracted great interest.

Some of the most important xanthones found in Mangosteen include: Continue Reading »

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