Risks And Benefits Of Pomegranate Juice

  references
  
      Advanced Biomedical Research: "Potent Health Benefits of Pomegranate"
    
      Rambam Maimodies Medical Journal: "Pomegranate for Your Cardiovascular Health"
    
      Biomed Research International: "In Vitro Antibacterial Activity of Pomegranate Juice and Peel Extracts on Cariogenic Bacteria"
    
      FoodData Central: "Pomegranate Juice"
    
      FoodData Central: "Pomegranate, Raw"
    
      Harvard Health Publishing: "News Briefs: Eating Fruit Is Better for You Than Drinking Fruit Juice"
    
      Pomegranate Juice: "Pomegranate Juice: Can It Lower Cholesterol?"
    
      National Kidney Foundation: "Reach for a Glass and Your Body May Benefit"
    
      Memorial Sloan Kettering Cancer Center: "Pomegranate"
    
      Journal of Research in Medical Sciences: "Effects of pomegranate juice consumption on inflammatory markers in patients with type 2 diabetes: A randomized, placebo-controlled trial"
    
      Journal of Agricultural and Food Chemistry: "Antioxidant activity of pomegranate juice and its relationship with phenolic composition and processing"
    
      Pharmacological Research: "Effects of pomegranate juice on blood pressure: A systematic review and meta-analysis of randomized controlled trials"
    
      Journal of Medicinal Food: "Pomegranate juice and extracts provide similar levels of plasma and urinary ellagitannin metabolites in human subjects"
    
      Nutrition: "Obesity: the preventive role of the pomegranate (Punica granatum)"
    
      Pediatric Research: "Maternal Dietary Supplementation with Pomegranate Juice Is Neuroprotective in an Animal Model of Neonatal Hypoxic-Ischemic Brain Injury"
    
      American Journal of Physiology—Endocrinology and Metabolism: "Pomegranate juice and punicalagin attenuate oxidative stress and apoptosis in human placenta and in human placental trophoblasts"
    




Pomegranate juice has some promising health benefits, but it also may interfere with certain medications.

Image Credit: Westend61/Westend61/GettyImages

While studies seem to suggest that drinking pomegranate juice might lower cholesterol, the overall evidence is mixed, according to the Mayo Clinic. Some researchers suspect that pomegranate juice may block or slow the buildup of cholesterol in the arteries of people who are at higher risk of heart disease. Plus, the high antioxidant level of pomegranate juice is thought to provide several heart health benefits, including reducing low-density lipoprotein (LDL, or “bad”) cholesterol. While drinking pomegranate juice may help lower cholesterol levels, the Mayo Clinic recommends people speak with their doctor before drinking it with that purpose in mind. This is especially important because pomegranate juice may interfere with certain medications. Juicing to lower cholesterol is a practice some people swear by, but it’s not a remedy that’s been proven to work for everyone. There’s no specified prescription for much pomegranate juice you should drink to lower cholesterol levels.

Some researchers suspect that pomegranate juice may block or slow the buildup of cholesterol in the arteries of people who are at higher risk of heart disease.

Plus, the high antioxidant level of pomegranate juice is thought to provide several heart health benefits, including reducing low-density lipoprotein (LDL, or “bad”) cholesterol.

While drinking pomegranate juice may help lower cholesterol levels, the Mayo Clinic recommends people speak with their doctor before drinking it with that purpose in mind. This is especially important because pomegranate juice may interfere with certain medications.

Juicing to lower cholesterol is a practice some people swear by, but it’s not a remedy that’s been proven to work for everyone. There’s no specified prescription for much pomegranate juice you should drink to lower cholesterol levels.

Pomegranate juice and weight loss are are sometimes linked to each other. While pomegranate juice is packed with vital nutrients, there is insufficient evidence that it helps directly with weight loss. That said, pomegranates could be helpful for maintaining a healthy weight. Pomegranates are loaded with antioxidants and polyphenols, and researchers, while cautioning more research is needed, believe that it is these compounds that are responsible for pomegranate’s anti-obesity effects, according to a June 2012 study in Nutrition. Even so, it’s important to remember that pomegranate juice lacks fiber and contains a lot of sugar, a combination that may counter your weight loss goals.

While pomegranate juice is packed with vital nutrients, there is insufficient evidence that it helps directly with weight loss.

That said, pomegranates could be helpful for maintaining a healthy weight.

Pomegranates are loaded with antioxidants and polyphenols, and researchers, while cautioning more research is needed, believe that it is these compounds that are responsible for pomegranate’s anti-obesity effects, according to a June 2012 study in Nutrition.

Even so, it’s important to remember that pomegranate juice lacks fiber and contains a lot of sugar, a combination that may counter your weight loss goals.

Calories Carbohydrates Sugar Fiber 1 Cup Pomegranate Juice 151 38 g 32 g 0 g 1 Cup Pomegranate Seeds 144 32.5 g 23.8 g 7 g

Source: USDA

Cherries contain many of the same health benefits as pomegranates, so if you enjoy their taste, you might want to taste test the combination.

      Advanced Biomedical Research: "Potent Health Benefits of Pomegranate"
    
      Rambam Maimodies Medical Journal: "Pomegranate for Your Cardiovascular Health"
    
      Biomed Research International: "In Vitro Antibacterial Activity of Pomegranate Juice and Peel Extracts on Cariogenic Bacteria"
    
      FoodData Central: "Pomegranate Juice"
    
      FoodData Central: "Pomegranate, Raw"
    
      Harvard Health Publishing: "News Briefs: Eating Fruit Is Better for You Than Drinking Fruit Juice"
    
      Pomegranate Juice: "Pomegranate Juice: Can It Lower Cholesterol?"
    
      National Kidney Foundation: "Reach for a Glass and Your Body May Benefit"
    
      Memorial Sloan Kettering Cancer Center: "Pomegranate"
    
      Journal of Research in Medical Sciences: "Effects of pomegranate juice consumption on inflammatory markers in patients with type 2 diabetes: A randomized, placebo-controlled trial"
    
      Journal of Agricultural and Food Chemistry: "Antioxidant activity of pomegranate juice and its relationship with phenolic composition and processing"
    
      Pharmacological Research: "Effects of pomegranate juice on blood pressure: A systematic review and meta-analysis of randomized controlled trials"
    
      Journal of Medicinal Food: "Pomegranate juice and extracts provide similar levels of plasma and urinary ellagitannin metabolites in human subjects"
    
      Nutrition: "Obesity: the preventive role of the pomegranate (Punica granatum)"
    
      Pediatric Research: "Maternal Dietary Supplementation with Pomegranate Juice Is Neuroprotective in an Animal Model of Neonatal Hypoxic-Ischemic Brain Injury"
    
      American Journal of Physiology—Endocrinology and Metabolism: "Pomegranate juice and punicalagin attenuate oxidative stress and apoptosis in human placenta and in human placental trophoblasts"