Power of the pomegranate
From Greek mythology to Middle Eastern
medicine, the pomegranate has been a symbol of health for centuries.
Today there is a fresh buzz surrounding the fruit and its many health
benefits with news that it could be beneficial for diabetes sufferers,
and it's backed up by some startling scientific research.
A report out this week claims that
drinking pomegranate juice could be beneficial for people with diabetes
and could even prevent many deaths.
The research claims that drinking pomegranate juice regularly can reduce
the risk of atherosclerosis, which hardens the walls of arteries and
is responsible for 80% of diabetes related deaths.
The study was carried out by Israeli scientists, who found that diabetics
who drank 180ml of pomegranate juice everyday for three months experienced
a considerably reduced risk from atherosclerosis.
"In most juices, sugars are present in free and harmful forms,"
explained Professor Michael Aviram, who led the research. "In pomegranate
juice, however, the sugars are attached to unique antioxidants, which
actually make these sugars protective against atherosclerosis."
Previous research by the scientists at the Rambam Medical Centre in Haifa,
Israel, showed that drinking a daily glass of pomegranate juice can reduce
the risk of cardiovascular disease. Professor Aviram said: "Pomegranate
juice contains the highest antioxidant capacity compared to other juices,
red wine and green tea."
Antioxidants are substances that protect the body from free radicals:
bad chemicals in the blood that alter cholesterol in a process called
oxidation and speed up the hardening of arteries, as well as contributing
to other illnesses and conditions such as Alzheimer's disease, cancer,
hypertension and premature aging. Our bodies don't produce enough antioxidants,
so we need to take them on board ourselves, and pomegranates are an abundant
source.
Professor Aviram's team found that pomegranate juice slows down the process
of oxidation by almost half. They also discovered that pomegranate juice
reduced the retention of LDL, the bad cholesterol which forms fatty deposits,
known as atherosclerotic lesions, which narrow the arteries and cause
heart disease.
"Antioxidants can protect us against the oxidative stress in our industrialised
world, such as pollution, chemicals, viruses and bacteria, and consequently
cardiovascular diseases and cancer," Professor Aviram added.
The findings of the research in Israel led a team at London's Hammersmith
Hospital to launch a study of their own. Dr Richard Bogle, who was involved
in the research, told the BBC that pomegranates contain polyphenolics,
tannins and anthocyanins, all compounds that are good for us. "This
study will test the idea that drinking a glass of pomegranate juice every
day improves the function of blood vessels, reduces hardening of the
arteries and improves heart health," Dr Bugle said.
"Preliminary studies suggest that pomegranate juice may contain almost
three times the total antioxidant ability compared to the same quantity of
green tea or red wine."
Following a study carried out at The Preventive Medicine Research Institute
at the University of San Francisco, California, in which patients with
coronary heart disease were randomly assigned into two groups, one of
which was given a glass of pomegranate juice and the other a placebo,
Dr Dean Ornish said that
"the significant improvements in blood flow to the heart observed after
only three months suggests that pomegranate juice may have important clinical
benefits in those with coronary heart disease."
The findings of other research into the health benefits of pomegranates
are wide-ranging. The Journal of Urology reported that long-term consumption
of pomegranate juice may help against erectile dysfunction. Scientists
are also looking into the possibility that pomegranates may prevent prostate
cancer or slow its growth following tests on mice that showed pomegranate
extracts delayed the development of tumours, while a study carried out
by scientists at Case Western Reserve University in Ohio found that pomegranates
may help battle arthritis.
Asian and Middle Eastern cooks regularly use pomegranates or pomegranate
juice in their cooking, but in the UK the fruit is still something of
a novelty. On the evidence of all the research into the health benefits
of the fruit, perhaps it's time for this to change.
Some facts about pomegranates:
· Pomegranates are full of edible seeds
that are packed with vitamins A, C, E and iron.
· Pomegranates are thought to be native
to
· Pomegranates feature in Greek mythology
in the story of Persephone. Kidnapped by Hades, she eats the fruit
before being rescued and is therefore forced to spend a few months
every year in the underworld with him.
· Elsewhere in mythology, the pomegranate
is a symbol of birth, eternal life and death because of its seeds and
ability to 'bleed'.
· Iranians believe that Eve was tempted
with a pomegranate in the Garden of Eden.
· King Cyrus, the founder of the
· Ancient Egyptians were buried with pomegranates
in the hope of being reborn.
· Greeks traditionally break a pomegranate
at weddings as a symbol of fertility.
· In
