The Health Benefits Of Eating A Pomegranate

High in Disease Fighting Antioxidants
Pomegranate juice may double or even triple the antioxidants provided by green tea, red wind, or even acacia juice. Antioxidants work to ward off free- radicals that can lead to unstable molecules, causing damages to the DNA and cell membranes and eventually leading to cancer.

Heart Protection
The National Academy of Science found that pomegranate juice can prevent and combat heart attacks and strokes by decreasing the genetic tendency towards the hardening of the arteries. Studies also showed that those who drank pomegranate juice every day for three months had an increase in blood flow to the heart which may help prevent heart problems.

Protection Against Prostate Cancer
Polyphenols, pomegranate cold-pressed oil and pomegranate seed oil have demonstrated significant anti-tumor activity against human prostate cancer cells placed in mice in a multi center study.
The components ellagic acid, caffeic acid, luteolin and punicic acid of the pomegranate fruit were successfully tested as potential inhibitors of in vitro invasion of human PC-3 prostate cancer cells.
There are several human trials underway to determine the potential of the pomegranate in treating and preventing prostate cancer:
1. Effects of Pomegranate Juice or Extract on Rising PSA Levels in Men Following Primary Therapy for Prostate Cancer.
2. A Study Of the Effectiveness Of Pomegranate Pills in Men With Prostate Cancer Before Prostatectomy.
3. Open-Label Extension Study of the Effects of Pomegranate Extract on Rising PSA After Primary Therapy for Prostate Cancer.
4. Study of the Effects of Pomegranate Tablets on Enlarged Prostates.
5. Pomegranate Extract in Treating Patients With Rising Prostate-Specific Antigen Levels After Surgery or Radiation Therapy for Localized Prostate Cancer.

Dr. Aviram and his scientific research group tested pomegranate juice on both humans and laboratory mice which were genetically predisposed to develop heart disease. They found that pomegranate juice decreased LDL ("bad cholesterol") and increased HDL ("good cholesterol") by 20% in humans. The oxidation of LDL, which is believed by many researchers to be a major cause of heart disease, was reduced by up to 90%.

This sounds very promising for those wishing to prevent atherosclerosis--But what about getting rid of the plaque build-up that already exists in the arteries which can cause a heart attack or stroke? Fortunately, pomegranate juice consumption significantly reduced the size of arterial plaque both in human subjects and mice. Nineteen patients from 65 to 75 years of age with severe carotid artery stenosis (70 to 90 percent occlusion) were given 50 ml of concentrated, pasteurized pomegranate juice daily. This concentrate was equivalent to 8.3 ounces of 100% pomegranate juice. After one year the mean carotid artery thickness was reduced 35%. During the same time period the mean artery thickness significantly increased in the placebo group. The arterial plaque in laboratory mice was reduced by as much as 44%.

Recent scientific research is demonstrating that pomegranate may be helpful in the prevention and treatment of various types of cancer such as breast cancer, skin cancer, prostate cancer and lung cancer. Research using both mouse mammary organ culture and human breast cancer cells in vitro has demonstrated anticancer effects of pomegranate extracts. Dr. Hasan Mukhtar and colleagues from the University of Wisconsin have shown that a topically-applied pomegranate fruit extract can block skin tumor formation in mice. Another study demonstrated significant antitumor activity of pomegranate-derived materials against human prostate cancer. Yet another study shows the extracts of pomegranate can promote differentiation--the ability of cancer cells to revert to their normal counterparts.

Pomegranates are the richest source of a natural substance called ellagic acid. According to master herbalist and certified nutritionist Donald Yance in his book HERBAL MEDICINE, HEALING & CANCER, ellagic acid "inhibits cancer formation and is believed to inhibit cancer mutation by latching onto DNA-masking sensitive sites on the genetic material that might otherwise be occupied by harmful chemicals. Ellagic acid is particularly effective in the inhibition of lung cancer caused by tobacco."

Pomegranate also contains the anthocyanidins and proanthocyanidins (flavonoids), which are substances that have been shown in animal and test tube experiments to reduce tumor angiogenesis.

Originally Posted by HarlemzBishopJ

wtf? a pomegranate got you hyped enough to jump behind your monitor and google mad s**t about fruits to justify you pickin a bunch of seeds out to let burst in ya mouth?

Originally Posted by HarlemzBishopJ

wtf? a pomegranate got you hyped enough to jump behind your monitor and google mad s**t about fruits to justify you pickin a bunch of seeds out to let burst in ya mouth?

Originally Posted by HarlemzBishopJ

wtf? a pomegranate got you hyped enough to jump behind your monitor and google mad s**t about fruits to justify you pickin a bunch of seeds out to let burst in ya mouth?