Health Benefits of Pomegranate Seeds
By Madhusudhan Tammisetti
Pomegranate seeds are found in pomegranate, a huge orange-sized fruit with fine, thick skin and varies from deep red to brownish-yellow in color.
Arils are the seed pods within the pomegranate, and cream-colored layers separate them on the fruit's interior. Arils contain the juicy, red fruit that surrounds the edible seeds. A pomegranate fruit may carry more than 600 seeds.
Arils are commonly known as pomegranate seeds, which can be consumed raw. Also, you can drink them as pomegranate juice. The pomegranate seeds can be used to produce pomegranate seed oil that has several internal and exterior health benefits. Pomegranate white seeds, like the red arils, are a bit tart but are sweeter in taste.
Helps With Joint Pain and Arthritis
Arthritis is a medical disorder in which the joints become inflamed, which may cause stiffness and pain. It may increase with age as studies suggest older adults are more prone to this condition. Flavonols are a kind of flavonoids and are antioxidants, which have anti-inflammatory properties, that may help reduce arthritic symptoms and are abundant in pomegranates.
A pomegranate seed extract has been shown in animals to lessen the development and occurrence of arthritis due to collagen. In animal studies, eating pomegranate extract resulted in the reduction of the intensity of joint inflammation and arthritis.
Fights Cancer
According to a growing body of evidence, pomegranate seeds seem to be an effective cancer-fighting food.
Pomegranate extracts, for instance, have been successfully shown in vitro experiments to prevent breast cancer cell development and progression. Punicic acid is an omega-5 polyunsaturated fatty acid found in pomegranate seed oil and was able to inhibit the growth of breast cancer cells.
The fruit's juice may help reduce prostate cancer progression, the most common cancer among men in the United States. Researchers discovered that drinking the extract of pomegranate juice decreased the pace at which prostate-specific antigen (PSA) levels rose in a trial of male subjects with recurrent prostate cancer and escalating PSA levels.
Good for Heart Health
Compared to other fruit juices, pomegranate seed juice has more antioxidants, which may help prevent cholesterol accumulation within the arteries in people who are vulnerable to heart disease.
Clinical Nutrition published the pomegranate juice benefits on patients suffering from carotid artery stenosis. It's a constriction of one of the major arteries on the neck's front that carries blood to the brain from the heart.
Pomegranate juice has been shown to help decrease blood pressure by more than 12 percent. Also, drinking the pomegranate juice resulted in a 30 percent reduction of atherosclerotic plaque after a year. Atherosclerotic plaque increased by 9 percent in people who didn't drink the juice, indicating that pomegranates may provide some protection against cardiovascular disease.
To learn more about your health, wellness, and fitness, see your local chiropractor at The Joint Chiropractic in Sandy Springs, Ga.