Pomegranate Juice Health Benefits

Varieties of pomegranate juice found on grocery store shelf in Tennessee. (Sabina Kupershmidt/The Epoch Times)

A Google search for the keywords “pomegranate juice health benefits” returned over half a million entries. Putting a slight damper on this exuberance, a PubMed search (a public repository of expert-reviewed biomedical literature) returned only seven entries. This discrepancy may simply imply that there has not yet been the time or funding to launch careful studies, which generally require careful planning, years of study and large financial commitments.

However, the medical community is becoming interested in pomegranate. This can be ascribed to the fact that many of today’s diseases are due to “oxidative stress,” and pomegranate is replete with potentially beneficial antioxidants, including polyphenols, tannins, and anthocyanins. Oxidative stress in human tissues is akin to the process that is generally called rusting in metal objects, and antioxidants can prevent this process of deterioration.

For example, the pathological consequences of diabetes, atherosclerosis, and inflammatory diseases such as arthritis, are partly due to oxidative damage to tissues.Beats Red Wine and Green TeaIt is significant that one of the seven PubMed entries mentioned bears the title “Comparison of antioxidant potency of commonly consumed polyphenol-rich beverages in the United States” [1]. The study concluded that the juice had the greatest antioxidant potency among 10 commonly consumed “health drinks,” including red wine and green tea. Although the authors of the study caution that their results, which were derived in a test tube, do not necessarily imply beneficial effects in a human body, there is reason to be optimistic.

Further digging into the medical literature revealed that pomegranate juice is being investigated for its effects on diabetes. A small clinical study with diabetic patients conducted in Israel, the land of pomegranates, showed beneficial effects on the cellular mediators of atherosclerosis, a common consequence of diabetes [2].A second study [3] was even more encouraging: Patients with existing ischemic coronary heart disease (making them prone to heart attacks), who consumed about 8 ounces of pomegranate juice a day for three months, experienced an improvement in their heart condition.Patients who did not receive pomegranate juice, on average, continued to worsen over the same time period.

Reassuring to diabetics who have to worry about consuming sugar-containing fruit juices, pomegranate juice consumption did not worsen indicators of the diabetic condition.Efforts are underway to determine whether pomegranate juice might be effective as a chemopreventive agent, that is, whether it might prevent cancers from starting. Animal studies and cell-culture studies indicate that pomegranate extracts have properties that put the brakes on the unlimited growth potential of cancer cells.

Pomegranate oils are even being investigated as possible skin protective agents from harmful UV rays [4].PowerhouseDr. Jack Roberts, a professor of pharmacology at the Vanderbilt University School of Medicine in Nashville, Tenn., calls pomegranate juice “the powerhouse of antioxidants.” Since no adverse effects have been reported with pomegranate juice consumption, it may be a good idea to add it to the diet.

For those who would rather eat the fruit than drink the juice but are wondering how to separate the juicy, translucent red seeds from the peel and skin compartments, try this simple solution: Cut off the top and then drop the fruit into a big bowl of water, and peel it with your fingers inside the water. The peel and skin will float to the top and the seeds will sink to the bottom. Just remember, you would probably have to eat a small bucketful of pomegranates to consume the equivalent of antioxidants found in an ounce of the concentrate. Enjoy!

References:1. Comparison of antioxidant potency of commonly consumed polyphenol-rich beverages in the United States. Seeram NP, Aviram M, Zhang Y, Henning SM, Feng L, Dreher M, Heber D. 2008. Journal of Agriculture and Food Chemistry; 56:1415–22. Epub Jan. 26.2. Rosenblat M, Hayek T, Aviram M. Anti-oxidative effects of pomegranate juice (PJ) consumption by diabetic patients on serum and on macrophages. Atherosclerosis; 2006 187(2): 363–71.3. Effects of Pomegranate Juice Consumption on Myocardial Perfusion in Patients With Coronary Heart Disease. Sumner, MD, Elliott-Eller M, Weidner G, Daubenmier JJ, Chew MH, Marlin R, Raisin CJ, and Ornish D. 2005. American Journal of Cardiology; 96:810–814.4. Pomegranate derived products for cancer chemoprevention. 2007. Syed DN, Afaq F, Mukhtar H. Seminars in Cancer Biology; 17:377–385

Dr. Kupershmidt is a research associate professor in the department of anesthesiology at Vanderbilt University. She may be contacted at sabinak@epochtimes.com

Last Updated Oct 20, 2008