Pomegranate Hottest Health Remedy: Fad or Fact?
What's all this hype about a little known and rarely seen fruit
By Tucker Sutherland, editor, Senior Journal.com
Sept. 29, 2005 – So what's with this surge of pomegranate hype. This fruit is being touted as a miracle drug for aging, Alzheimer's, cancer, heart disease, arthritis and even protecting unborn babies from brain injuries. It cures about anything that can ail an aging senior citizen. It has become a popular ingredient for mixed drinks, ice cream and even bottled water. It's now a popular decoration for table displays. President Bush even brought it up in his meeting in May with Afghanistan President Karzai, suggesting they grow these trees rather than poppies. The Centers for Disease Control honored it by naming it the fruit of the month.
Pomegranate is now a color, there's a band named Pomegranate and even a blog called Pomegranate afternoon.
"Is there anything that pomegranates don't do," asks writer Chloe Rhodes in the London Telegraph. "As well as being achingly fashionable - pomegranate martinis were served at the Oscars and Jo Malone's new fragrance is called Pomegranate Noir - the fruit has achieved "superfood" status."
Maybe this all got started in 2001, when the San Jose Museum of Art presented a monumental installation entitled Pomegranate Wall as the centerpiece and highlight of a photo exhibit by noted artist Catherine Wagner. The wall, an 8 x 40 foot curved arc dramatically displayed a series of interior images of a pomegranate.
No one really knows how this fad got started, but certainly it has been pushed along by Pom Wonderful and their marketing team.
"Pom Wonderful Pomegranate Juice is the closest thing to a miracle in a bottle we've found yet," wrote Reader's Digest in May of this year.
"The deep purple juice is loaded with antioxidants, and doctors at the Preventive Medicine Research Institute in Sausalito, California, have found even more to love about it," continues the magazine.
"Their study was presented at the annual meeting of the American College of Cardiology in March. Heart disease patients on cholesterol-lowering drugs were randomly assigned to drink eight ounces of Pom a day for three months or a placebo beverage. The Pom drinkers had improved blood flow to the heart; heart disease worsened for those who drank the placebo. Statins can help many, but the may not always be enough. There's no substitute for diet and exercise, says researcher Dr. Dean Ornish. And now it looks like pomegranate juice is a good start," concludes the digest.
Pom Wonderful, which describes itself at "The Antioxidant Superpower," has squeezed the juice out of the pomegranate and squirted it into about everything.
VitaZest Vitamin and Fruit Enriched Water, has no sugar, no carbs, no calories, and no caffeine; and comes in eight refreshing fruit flavors including pomegranate.
But they have not gone as far as SheerBliss, an ultra super premium gourmet ice cream. They offer seven flavors: California Pomegranate, Vanilla with Pomegranate Swirl, Pomegranate with Dark Chocolate Chips, Freedom (Vanilla, Pomegranate and Blueberry), Mediterranean Coffee, Chocolate, and Vanilla; and a Pomegranate Bar (Pomegranate ice cream coated in rich, dark chocolate). They note an exclusive agreement with POM Wonderful for creating their pomegranate-based ice cream flavors.
There's a lot of hype here, but clearly a lot of substance, too.
Pom Wonderful says research has shown that just "about everyone may benefit from drinking an 8 oz. glass of POM Wonderful Pomegranate Juice daily."
With the highest levels of polyphenol antioxidants, "pomegranate juice is showing promising benefits for the heart: it's 60% better than other juices at preventing the formation of plaque-forming oxidized LDL in the arteries… and has been shown to reduce build-up of plaque by up to 30% in a pilot study of 19 elderly patients with atherosclerosis."
"In fact," the say, "research indicates that the high level of antioxidants found in pomegranate juice is effective in combating free radicals that may cause a number of afflictions, including heart disease, stroke, hypertension, premature aging, Alzheimer's disease…even cancer."
And, there is research to back up their claims, and then some.
"Pomegranates have beneficial effects on heart disease, haemorrhoids, fertility and blood pressure - among other things - and this week, scientists have discovered their usefulness in treating prostate cancer and osteoarthritis," notes Rhodes in the Telegraph.
"A single pomegranate," she reports "provides 40 per cent of an adult's recommended daily allowance of vitamin C, and is a rich source of folic acid and vitamins A and E. One pomegranate also contains three times the antioxidant properties of red wine or green tea."
She observes that there is evidence to support the healing and protective benefits in these diseases:
"Cancer: pomegranates contain high levels of flavenoids - a type of antioxidant - which are exceptionally effective at neutralising cancer-causing free radicals. Research published this year suggests that the fruit may be effective at fighting both breast and skin cancer, and this week American scientists found that pomegranate juice slowed the growth of prostate cancer cells in mice injected with the human form of the disease.
"Heart disease: new research has found that one glass of pomegranate juice a day could improve blood flow to the heart by more than a third. The fruit's antioxidant properties prevent bad cholesterol from forming, which keeps the arteries clear and reduces the likelihood of heart attacks and strokes. A separate study found that drinking pomegranate juice regularly can also dramatically reduce the size of atherosclerotic lesions, which narrow the arteries and cause heart failure.
"Osteoarthritis: the most recent revelation about the pomegranate's health benefits suggests that extracts of the fruit could prevent the onset of osteoarthritis. Scientists in America treated samples of human cartilage damaged by osteoarthritis with the extract and found that it inhibited the production of the enzyme responsible for causing the damage. Further research is needed to establish whether consuming the extract could protect cartilage as effectively."
But that is only a partial list. Pomegranate has been found to possess antioxidant and anti-inflammatory properties that have potential therapeutic benefits in a variety of diseases.
And here may be a key - a bonus with the native Persian fruit is that its antioxidant constituents are rapidly absorbed by the body and are non-toxic, researchers say.
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The American Heart Association, for example, says, "the scientific evidence supports a diet high in food sources of antioxidants and other heart-protecting nutrients, such as fruits, vegetables, whole grains and nuts instead of antioxidant supplements to reduce risk of CVD.
So, it sounds like things are going the way of the under-recognized pomegranate and we are sure to hear more - much more - in the years ahead.
Most of the pomegranates sold in the U.S. are produced in California. You have to wonder if there will soon be a "Tour of the Pomegranate Country" available there to compete with the highly successful wine country tours.
And, this time President Bush may be right - Afghanistan may find this an even more profitable crop than poppies.
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