Amazing Health Benefits of Pomegranate Juice
Pomegranates are amongst the strangest fruits on the planet. Each is more than fruit but a bunch of hundreds if not thousands of smaller fruits. What a beauty!
Pomegranate’s hard husk indeed hides an authentic ruby-colored treasure, one that’s not only pleasantly sweet but incredibly healthy. The thing with pomegranates is that no one knows what to do with them. The good news? Adding them to your diet is quite easy. From tossing a fistful of seeds into your soup or salad to making pomegranate juice, adding the fruit to your recipes is not only easy but a great decision health-wise.
Pomegranate Juice Nutritional Facts
Pomegranates have excellent nutritional value, not only because they have a low glycemic index, but because you get lots of nutrients for each calory. In fact, an average pomegranate only adds 128 calories to your diet, and 29 grams of carbs — 6 of them are fiber, and the rest is sugar. You even get 3 grams of protein with each fruit!
A pomegranate satisfies 18% of the vitamin C you need for the day and 21% of vitamin K, which is impressive. Copper and potassium are well represented as well. Pomegranates are packed with nutrients, but how they interact in your system is even more impressive.
11 Health Benefits of Pomegranate Juice
Pomegranates are insanely healthy, and we mean it. They’re up there with the most nutritious fruits on the planet, including blueberries, acai berries, and others already known as superfoods. Well, pomegranates are superfoods, too, and they’re amongst the tastiest.
The thing is, it’s not until someone tells you everything pomegranates can do for you that you consider adding them to your diet, whether it’s fresh fruit or juice. Well, here are 11 health benefits of pomegranates and pomegranate juice, and this is just the beginning! The scientific community is genuinely astounded by everything this ruby-colored fruit can do for you.
Keeps Inflammation in Check
Pomegranates have extraordinary levels of antioxidants, particularly punicalagin and punic acid. These compounds keep your bloodstream clear from oxidation-causing free radicals that damage your tissue, causing premature aging and inflammation.
Indirectly, pomegranates reduce chronic inflammation reducing the risk of brain and heart damage while reducing blood pressure and keeping vital organs like your liver and even your eyes healthy.
Inflammation is enemy number one, but it’s a symptom rather than a disease. You must prevent it with what you eat, in this case, antioxidant-rich foods like pomegranates and the delicious pomegranate juice you get from the fruit. Keep inflammation in check, and you’ll already feel better.
Might Help Fight Some Types of Cancer
Recent studies have shown that consuming pomegranates can reduce prostate and breast cancer risk, as the healthy compounds in the fruit inhibit cancer cell growth and might even prevent it.
The possibility of pomegranate juice preventing cancer and even help eliminate it is encouraging, but more research is needed to assess the fruit’s cancer-fighting abilities. In the meantime, adding pomegranate juice to your diet is a good idea. Benefit from all the proven health properties in the juice while preventing cancer at the same time. Cancer is rather hard to predict, but everything helps!
Lowers Blood Pressure
Pomegranate juice keeps your arteries clean and free radicals at bay, and this combination allows you to enjoy normal blood pressure levels, reducing the risk of heart disease.
Heart disease is the number one cause of premature deaths globally, so preventing it is a global concern. By keeping blood pressure at the proper levels, the heart doesn’t have to work too hard to irrigate your system with fresh blood. Low pressure and clear arteries are the safest way to guarantee a healthy heart, and pomegranate juice can help with both solutions. Having a healthy ticker should be your top priority!
Lowers LDL Cholesterol and Triglyceride Levels
Pomegranate juice is one of the best drinks to lower cholesterol. Compounds in pomegranates and their juice can reduce your ‘bad’ low-density cholesterol and triglyceride levels, two compounds known for causing artery clotting, increasing your blood pressure, and affecting blood circulation.
Low-density cholesterol is particularly harmful when oxidated by free radicals in your bloodstream. Pomegranate juice can help prevent that as well, making the cholesterol in your system less damaging in the long run.
A healthy diet helps with this problem, mainly adding ‘good’ high-density cholesterol to your diet. You’ll find it in olive oil, avocados, and other tasty foods. Consider adding them to your grocery list!
Boosts Brain Functions
Bio-active compounds in pomegranate juice have shown to be useful to protect brain neural connections, reducing the risk of suffering from premature brain degeneration and other conditions like Alzheimer’s.
Brain functions, including memory, problem-solving, empathy, and learning abilities, can all benefit from a good, concentrated dose of antioxidants, and there’s plenty of pomegranate juice.
The brain is more delicate than you think, and it’s built by fine neural connections easily damaged by high blood pressure and oxidative stress caused by foreign compounds. Keeping your brain healthy is the secret to a better life, especially at later stages.
Might Help with Erectile Disfunction
It all adds up when it comes to the circulatory system. Clear arteries and adequate blood pressure by consuming pomegranate juice allow the heart to pump blood more effectively and with more strength. This means even the smallest veins arteries, and in this case, the blood cavities in the penis get blood more efficiently.
Scientific evidence points to pomegranate juice and other antioxidant-rich foods as reasonable solutions for preventing and treating erectile dysfunction. And the same goes for other organs in your body with especially narrow blood vessels, like your eyes. Good blood irrigation is critical to maintaining these delicate systems.
Has Antibiotic Properties
Microbes, including bacteria and harmful fungi, have proven susceptible to specific compounds in pomegranate juice. Pomegranates have antibacterial properties and could help treat and prevent bacterial growth and minor infections.
This has proven to be particularly true in the mouth, home to many disease-causing bacteria. Drinking pomegranate juice reduces the number of bacteria responsible for gum inflammation, cavities, and other oral diseases while preventing infection.
Although pomegranates are not medicine, and there are many more effective anti-biotics in the market, the fruit is a natural way of keeping bacteria and harmful fungi under control. For stronger infections, consult your doctor and treat yourself as needed.
Improves Exercise Performance
Along with vitamins, minerals, and antioxidants, pomegranates are also a fantastic source for dietary nitrates, an all-natural compound that dilates the veins and arteries, promoting a better blood flow.
This is useful when the heart must pump extra oxygen to muscles during and after working out. Nitrates will promote faster and better blood irrigation, giving the muscles more stamina and a quicker recovery rate.
Professional athletes often enjoy this authentic performance-boosting fruit as part of their balanced diets to reach their fullest potential on the field, track or court. Add to this pomegranate juice’s efficient hydration properties, and you’ve got yourself a natural sports drink.
Promotes Healthy Blood
You’ll find high amounts of vitamin K in pomegranates and their juice, and this essential compound is critical for creating new blood cells and improving your body’s blood clotting abilities.
Vitamin K is found in meat, cheese, eggs, and leafy greens, but it’s not common in fruits. Well, pomegranates have 36% of the vitamin K you need for the day. And there’s more; vitamin K also helps you have stronger bones and could help treat osteoporosis by helping your system fix calcium in your bone structure. Vitamin K is one of the essential nutrients for our bodies, and you must get it through food.
Enhances digestion
There are high amounts of dietary and insoluble fiber in pomegranates, particularly if you enjoy whole pomegranate seeds or drink chunky juice. This fiber promotes good digestive health, reducing the risk of constipation, improving nutrient absorption in your digestive tract, and simply getting things to flow better.
While dietary fiber will find its way to your bloodstream, where it will help carry all impurities to your liver to be processed, the insoluble fiber will travel your digestive tract cleaning it from the inside.
Fiber is found in whole grains, stemmy vegetables and most fruits and pomegranates are no exception. Fiber insufficiency is a common cause of most modern maladies.
Reduces kidney problems
With reduced blood pressure, antioxidants, and antibacterial properties, pomegranate juice is a good supplement for patients suffering from kidney diseases, lowering dialysis complications and preventing infections.
Potassium in pomegranate juice has proven to be particularly kidney-friendly. Although you’ll find the compound in other fruits like bananas and avocados, no other food has potassium and antibiotic properties, making pomegranates unique. They’re a great fit to prevent and treat kidney disease.
Kidneys are responsible for keeping your blood clean of impurities. Still, our hectic lifestyles and lousy eating habits prove to be too much for these organs to handle. Help them out by eating better and adding pomegranates to your diet.
Why You Should Drink Pomegranate Juice Everyday
Pomegranates are amongst the healthiest foods on earth; they’re as nutrient-rich as berries and high in vitamins as citrus fruit. When your body has all the vitamins and minerals it needs, you prevent a lot of trouble in every department, from your heart and brain to your digestive system.
Drinking 100% pure pomegranate juice every day will allow you to worry less about unexpected complications and avoid preventable health problems. Once you start having health issues, pomegranate juice might still help, but it’s always better to prevent rather than treat disease. Besides, pomegranate juice is a lovely drink, and it’s effortless to add to your diet.
What to Expect When Drinking Pomegranate Juice?
The first thing you’ll notice when adding pomegranate juice to your diet is that you’ll feel more energized and less hungry, which means your body is well nurtured and hydrated. If you have minor issues like headaches, joint pain, and a bad mood, expect them to be less frequent. After a while, expect your medical tests and blood samples to come out with better results all around.
As with all healthy foods and drinks, the secret is having good habits. A glass of pomegranate juice won’t change your life but drink it often, and you’ll live a longer, healthier, and happier life.
Pomegranate Juice Recipe
Ingredients:
- 4 pomegranates
- Sugar or a zero-calorie sweetener to taste.
Directions:
- For this recipe, you’ll need an orange juicer, whether it’s levered or electric. Cut the pomegranates in half as if they were oranges, and juice them, leaving the pulp and membranes behind.
- If too chunky, optionally strain the juice through a fine mesh.
- Taste the juice and sweeten it if necessary.
- Serve immediately, store in the fridge for between 4-5 days or freeze for later use.
Pomegranate Juice Smoothie Recipe
Ingredients:
- 2 cups pomegranate seeds
- 1 banana
- 1 cup ice
- 1/2 coconut milk
- 1 tablespoon sugar or sugar substitute
Directions:
- Add the pomegranate seeds, banana, coconut milk and ice into a blender, make sure the blender can handle ice. Blend in pulses until smooth.
- Taste and add the sweetener if needed.
- Pour and garnish with a teaspoon of pomegranate seeds.
Notes: substitute coconut cream for Greek yogurt for a richer, creamier smoothie. You can also use a frozen banana to thicken the smoothie’s consistency.
Pomegranates, Get Them When You See Them!
Pomegranates are a seasonal fruit, and you won’t find them all year! That means that you must snatch a few of them every time you see them and add them to your colorful diet. Of course, you can always use frozen pomegranate seeds or pomegranate juice, which is widely available, but there’s something extraordinary in using fresh fruit, so never miss the opportunity!
Pomegranates are truly special, not only for their nutrition and health benefits but for their flavor; there’s just no other fruit like them, so they deserve a special place in our hearts — and our fridge! Drink pomegranate juice and become friends with the odd-looking fruit; it’s just easy to love!
Don’t feel like making pomegranate juice? Here are some of the best pomegranate juices you can buy online.
About the Author
Lori Bogedin is a health and wellness writer and editor of TwigsCafe.com. She is in the restaurant business since 1999. In 2016 she was named one of the "Top Women in Business" by Northeastern Pennsylvania Business Journal.
