Pomegranate

Nutrition:

Said to be one of the healthiest fruits on Earth, pomegranate contains a multitude of beneficial plant compounds. It has an impressive nutrient profile, with one cup containing 7 grams of fibre, 3 grams of protein, 30% of recommended dietary intake of vitamin C, 36% of the RDI for vitamin K, 16% of the RDI for folate and 12% of the RDI for potassium.

Classed as a berry, pomegranate contains two plant compounds with particularly strong medicinal properties. These compounds are called punicalagins and punicic acid, these antioxidants are so powerful that research has found pomegranate juice to have three times the antioxidant activity of red wine and green tea.

Health Benefits:

Anti-inflammatory effects

Pomegranates have substantial anti-inflammatory properties, which mainly due to the antioxidant properties of punicalagins. Chronic inflammation is one of the main causes of a variety of serious illnesses, including heart disease, cancer, type 2 diabetes, Alzheimer’s and obesity.

Many studies show the positive effects of pomegranate on inflammation. One study concludes that the punicalagins in the berry cam reduce inflammatory activity in the digestive tract, whilst others show evidence of the same activity in breast cancer and colon cancer cells. Research also found that pomegranate juice lowered the inflammatory markers CRP and interleukin-6 in people with diabetes.

May help fight some types of cancer

There has been some research into the benefits of pomegranate in cancer. Some studies suggest that cancer cell reproduction can be slowed by pomegranate extract, or even induce cell death. Men whose prostate-specific antigen (PSA) levels double in a short time period are at increased risk of death from prostate cancer. It has been shown that consuming pomegranate daily increased the PSA doubling time from 15 month to 54 months. Pomegranate has also had some beneficial effects on breast cancer, restraining the production of breast cancer cells and even killing them.

Typical Uses:

Pomegranate seeds can be consumed raw, as a juice or made into a powder. We suggest taking 2 capsules of our Sicilian Pomegranate Extract daily, or as directed by a healthcare practitioner.

Sources:

https://pubmed.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/23573120/

https://pubmed.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/23359482/

https://pubmed.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/16818701/