Pomegranate Juice
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.
- 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.
- 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
