How healthy your heart is has a lot to do with what you eat. The American Heart Association suggests incorporating a lot of fresh fruits and vegetables in your diet, and pomegranate can be one of them.1 The ruby red pomegranate has been traditionally used for medicinal purposes in many cultures. An 8 oz serving of pomegranate juice will give you about 150 calories. It is a good source of vitamin K, potassium, and folate and also contains vitamins B6, B5 or pantothenic acid, and E. Pomegranates are rich in plant chemicals like flavonoids and tannins which give it potent antioxidant properties and can benefit your health in many ways.2 Let’s take a look at what these amazing fruits can do for your heart.
1. Lowers Blood Pressure
High blood pressure can damage your arteries which may become blocked, leading to heart attacks or strokes.3 It can also raise your risk of developing heart failure (where the heart can’t pump sufficient blood) by 2 to 3 times. If your blood pressure is too high then the heart has to work harder to circulate blood. This higher workload can take a toll and make the chambers of your heart weaker and larger (cardiomegaly) which can cause heart failure.4
[pullquote]High blood pressure and diabetes together raise the risk of heart disease further. But pomegranate juice has been found to lower insulin resistance too.[/pullquote]
But pomegranate can help you deal with this dangerous condition. According to a study, people with high blood pressure who had a glass of pomegranate juice (150 ml/day) between lunch and dinner for 2 weeks experienced a significant reduction in blood pressure.5 Besides pomegranates, you should also eat these foods to lower blood pressure naturally.
2. Fights Atherosclerosis
Atherosclerosis is a condition where your arteries become narrower and hardened because plaque (which is made of cholesterol, cellular wastes, and other fats) gets deposited inside the arteries. This can result in a heart attack or stroke if a part of the plaque breaks off or a blood clot forms on the plaque and blocks an artery.6
[pullquote]The anti-inflammatory benefits of pomegranates extend to your joints as well. Pomegranates have been found to be especially effective against rheumatoid arthritis.7[/pullquote]
Pomegranate juice may be effective against this condition as it can reduce the thickness of arteries as well as the size of atherosclerotic lesions. One study found that when people with atherosclerosis consumed pomegranate juice for a year, it reduced the common carotid intima-media thickness, which is the thickness of the inner two layers of the carotid artery, by up to 30%. People who did not consume pomegranate juice experienced an increase of just 9% during the same period. Researchers have suggested that this could be due to the potent antioxidant properties of polyphenols found in pomegranate.8
In another study, when mice with advanced atherosclerosis were given pomegranate juice daily (in an amount approximately equivalent to one 8 oz glass per day for a human) for 2 months, it was found that their atherosclerotic lesion size reduced by 17%, in comparison to mice given a placebo. The researchers observed that a tannin-fraction isolated from the juice showed activity against atherosclerosis.9
3. Improves Blood Flow To The Heart
People with coronary heart disease (also known as ischemic heart disease) have narrow arteries and this reduces the supply of blood and therefore the oxygen it carries to the heart muscle.10 But one study found that when patients with ischemic coronary heart disease were given 240 ml of pomegranate juice a day for 3 months, it lowered stress-induced ischemia in them, or, to put it simply, improved blood flow. Meanwhile, after the same period the control group which did not have pomegranate juice experienced an increase in stress-induced ischemia.11
4. Lowers Cholesterol
High cholesterol is a significant risk factor for heart disease. When low-density lipoprotein-cholesterol (LDL, which is the bad kind) circulates in your blood, it can build up in the walls of your arteries and form plaque. However, pomegranate juice can help to reduce cholesterol levels. One study looked at patients with diabetes and hyperlipidemia (a condition where you have high levels of fat in the blood) who consumed 40 g of concentrated pomegranate juice for 8 weeks. It was found that their LDL and total cholesterol levels reduced significantly while their high-density lipoprotein cholesterol (the good kind which can help control LDL levels) levels were not impacted.12
5. Has Antioxidant Effects
Scientists have known for a while now that oxidized LDL plays a key role in heart disease. Oxidation of LDL leads to the formation of plaque inside arteries.13
But the potent antioxidants present in pomegranate juice have been found to work against LDL oxidation. One study found that consuming pomegranate juice reduced the tendency of LDL to aggregate. It also increased the activity of an enzyme that can protect against lipid peroxidation or cell damage by 20%.14
Just Half A Glass Of Pom Juice Daily Can Help Your Heart
Having 8 to 12 oz of pomegranate juice a day as part of a healthy diet is considered safe.15 However, some research indicates that your heart can benefit from drinking just 2 oz pomegranate juice per day. But before you chomp down this delicious supporter of your heart, remember that pomegranate can interfere with medications that lower cholesterol and blood pressure and also affect the way blood thinners work.16 So be sure to check in with your doctor if you’re on prescription meds for any of these conditions.
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