Pomegranate benefits for women proved by eating the fresh fruit, pomegranate extract, or other pomegranate supplements may be very surprising for most. This unusual fruit is quite the powerhouse for improving health.
The Pomegranate has been described as many things throughout the thousands of years that they have been known to exist. Some of the things that we have all heard about pomegranates is that they are jewel-like, they are technically a berry (although, the Romans used to call them Punic Apples), even that it may have actually been the pomegranate that tempted Eve in the Garden of Eden.
While many of these things have been said through the years, the one thing that we can say for certain is that pomegranates are among the healthiest fruits in the world. The extensive list of Pomegranate benefits for women are really almost immeasurable, but we are sure going to try and list them out here.
In case you are on the fence about yet another supposed “miracle food” the following list of benefits will show you just why you should include this red fruit from ancient times into your modern day diet. You really will find yourself amazed by the amount of goodness that comes with these deliciously flavorful fruits!
Pomegranate Benefits For Women
Before we talk about all of the pomegranate benefits for women and even more health benefits that this tasty fruit offers, let’s learn a bit about the fruit itself, a bit about its history.
What is the Pomegranate Fruit?
The Pomegranate or “Punicum granatum” has been around for millennia. As a matter of fact, thousands of years ago, Egyptians thought pomegranates to be royal fruit. This fruit is thought to have been first cultivated in Persia (modern-day Iran), with records proving that the pomegranate was in ancient China as early as the year 100 B.C.
The pomegranate is a drought tolerant fruit. This fruit grows on a shrub that flowers in the spring and within 6 or 7 months, will have harvestable fruit ready to be enjoyed!
As mentioned before, pomegranates are technically considered a berry. In appearance, they are apple shaped with a stem that looks like a flower. The skin of a pomegranate is red, thick and not edible, but is often what is used to create pomegranate extract. The fruit is full of hundreds of seeds, each of which are surrounded by a deep red, sweet tasting aril. Both the seeds and the arils are edible.
Here is an interesting little tidbit for you, because everyone just loves a good Greek myth, right? In ancient Greece, it was believed that pomegranate is the fruit of the dead and was formed from the blood of Adonis, the god of desire and beauty.
Regardless of its history, there is no denying the proven pomegranate benefits for women that we know today.
How to Eat Pomegranates
If you are wanting to jump on board with the health claims and take advantage of the pomegranate health benefits, you need to start with how to eat pomegranates. If you are new to this fruit, you may not be sure how to enjoy it.
The many ways to consume pomegranates and enjoy their benefits include eating the edible seeds and/or pomegranate arils, while others enjoy drinking pomegranate juice. You can also take pomegranate supplements often made of pomegranate seed oil and extract.
Eating the Seeds
If you choose to eat the fruit itself, be sure to pick a fruit in the store that is heavy and relatively undamaged (although a blemish or two won’t hurt).
Once you are ready to eat it, be sure and put the pomegranate on top of a paper towel (the fruit juice will stain whatever it lands on, so be prepared to soak that juice up!).
Cut off the top and then the bottom of the pomegranate. Now it’s time to cut off the remainder of the skin. Be sure that you cut just deep enough that it gets the skin as opposed to the entire fruit; this will minimize the juice leaking and loss of the delicious seeds.
Once the top and skin is removed be sure to use your hands to pull out the seeds from the fruit, placing them in a bowl as you go. Once you have all of the seeds in a bowl, you can put them into a strainer and strain the seeds while rinsing them under water.
Now that you have made it this far, it’s time to enjoy the seeds. A serving size is roughly a half cup of pomegranate seeds.
Drinking the Juice
If you prefer to enjoy pomegranate in juice form, you follow the same steps as above, but instead of straining the seeds, you need to put them into a blender and then you can use a cheesecloth to strain the juice out (Again, the juice will stain, so be sure to be careful while blending and have a towel ready for cleanup).
Another way to enjoy pomegranate juice is to take an entire, whole pomegranate and roll it over a hard surface firmly for several minutes, poke a hole into the skin and stick a straw in it to enjoy it fresh from the source. Of course, you can always buy pomegranate juice at the store, but many people prefer to drink fresh pomegranate juice.
Top Pomegranate Benefits for Women (and Men!)
Pomegranates holds a significant amount of nutrients. This is of course true for many fruits, but pomegranates are exceptionally healthy. If you find yourself curious about the basic pomegranate benefits and the nutrients found in the pomegranate, here is a breakdown for you of what vitamins and nutrients that you can find in a serving of a pomegranate fruit.
1. Fiber
Pomegranate is a great source of fiber and fiber is great for many things. These include, keeping you regular, slowing down the absorption of fat, and more.
2. Folate (folic acid)
Folate is great for pregnant women as it prevents fertility issues and birth defects. Reduced risk of cancer and more.
3. Potassium
Potassium is great for your heart! It helps to maintain proper heart function, helps to lower your blood pressure and more.
4. Vitamin C
Vitamin C is great for building a healthy immune system, helping reduce oxidative stress, it’s beneficial in weight loss and more.
5. Vitamin E
Vitamin E is great for our skin. It helps promote healthy hair and nail growth, it helps reduce the appearance of scars and wrinkles, and more.
6. Vitamin K
Vitamin K has been shown to improve bone health as well as cognitive health.
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This combination of vitamins and minerals allows for maximum absorption of iron. This combination and range of plant compounds are unrivaled by most other foods on the planet making it one of the healthiest fruits that you can find.
7. Pomegranates Are a Powerful Antioxidant
Pomegranates actually contain two plant compounds that are known to have medicinal properties. However, the punicalagins are a powerful antioxidant.
Punicalagins are found in the peel of a pomegranate as well as in its juice, punicalagins are powerfully potent antioxidants. As a matter of fact, they are so powerful they have about three times the antioxidant power of green tea and red wine, both of which are known to have powerful antioxidants.
8. Improved Glucose Tolerance
Punicic Acid is a fatty acid that has been found to improve glucose tolerance in those suffering from diabetes.
9. Decreased perirenal and epididymal fat
Fats that we can’t see are just as dangerous as fat that we can see. Perirenal and epididymal fats are internal fats that increase our risks of heart conditions. Pomegranates can decrease these fats, therefore decreasing our risks.
10. Decreased chronic inflammation
Pomegranates are great for reducing not only current inflammation, but they are also great at reducing chronic inflammation that you may have been dealing with for a long period of time.
11. Improved Bone Mineral Density
The last 4 listed benefits are all various benefits of punicic acid. That is not all though, punicic acid has been found to have even more significant health benefits.
12. Anti-Inflammatory Properties
Anyone with chronic inflammation can tell you how much it can affect life. As a matter of fact, many serious conditions such as cancer, heart disease, diabetes and more are driven by chronic inflammation. Chronic inflammation progresses silently and many people aren’t really aware that they deal with it to the extent that they do, until they become so ill that they are forced to face it. Chronic inflammation is a huge issue in the health of the population and presents an extreme risk to the health and longevity of sufferers.
With the knowledge of the significant risk to the population due to chronic inflammation, one of the greatest health benefits of the pomegranate may be its anti-inflammatory properties and effects.
The punicalagins, which we mentioned earlier, have strong anti-inflammatory properties and are known to be the reason why pomegranates are so great at reducing inflammation. According to the NIH, several scientific studies have shown pomegranates to be successful in reducing inflammation in breast cancer cells, colon cancer cells and even in the digestive tract.
One recent study shows that just over a cup of pomegranate juice each day can lower the inflammatory markers of interleukin-6 and CRP in diabetes patients.
13. Potential Benefits Against Breast Cancer
There is current research being done on the potential benefits that pomegranates may have against breast cancer. There are lab studies being done currently that show that pomegranate extract may be able to reduce the reproduction and possible elimination of breast cancer cells and other cancel cell growth. Again, these studies are in the lab only, human studies on this have not yet been done.
There is also potential for fighting against other lung cancer, skin cancer and other serious diseases.
15. Pomegranate May Help Fight High Blood Pressure
A reported 65 million people throughout the country deal with high blood pressure. High blood pressure is one of the leading causes of heart attacks and stroke. Those who suffer from hypertension (high blood pressure) will find that their risk of stroke and heart attacks decreases with lower blood pressure.
Studies have shown high blood pressure sufferers have seen a significant reduction in blood pressure with just 5 ounces of pomegranate juice daily in just a few weeks.
16. Lower Risk of Heart Disease
Did you know that the number one cause of premature death in the United States is heart disease? While heart disease can be driven by many different factors, there are things that you can do to help prevent it. In recent studies and research, pomegranate has shown significant potential in the fight to lower the risk of heart disease.
Adding fruits and vegetables to your diet is beneficial in lowering your risk of heart disease in itself, but the added health benefits of pomegranates help to lower that risk even further.
The punicic acid (mentioned above) may help to lower triglycerides, lower cholesterol, LDL and high blood pressure, all of which increase the risk of heart disease.
Heart health is vital for life and it is important for each and every one of us to put more focus on our heart health. Pomegranate is a great addition to our daily diets in an effort to reduce heart disease, cardiovascular disease and other heart issues.
17. Pomegranate May Help in the Fight Against Joint Pain
According to the CDC, more than 70 million Americans suffer from chronic joint pain and/or arthritis, with 40 million of these sufferers being women. Most of this joint pain comes from inflammation in the joints. For this reason, the anti-inflammatory benefits of pomegranate are known to help this joint pain.
Additionally, recent studies have shown that pomegranate extract can also block the enzymes that are known to cause damage to joints in those suffering from conditions such as osteoarthritis and rheumatoid arthritis.
18. Pomegranates Help to Fight Bacterial and Fungal Infections
The plant compounds that are found in pomegranate have been proven to help fight microorganisms such as bacteria and fungus. This means that it can fight off such issues such as yeast infections and even gum disease and gingivitis! This is one of the benefits of pomegranates that many people aren’t aware of.
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19. Memory Improvement
Are there any women here that feel like they may be struggling with memory? It may be time to enjoy a pomegranate! Studies have shown both pomegranate juice and pomegranate extract to improve memory. These studies have been done in multiple situations; after surgery, with complaints of memory loss and with Alzheimer’s disease. In all of these studies, memory has shown significant improvement.
20. Improvement in Exercise Performance
Dietary nitrates have been proven to improve exercise performance and pomegranate is rich in dietary nitrates. Research shows that athletes who consume one gram of pomegranate extract before a treadmill running session experience significantly enhanced blood flow. This increases the effectiveness of your workout and prevents fatigue while exercising.
21. Increase Testosterone Levels
Pomegranates have recently been shown to increase testosterone levels. Which, contrary to popular belief, is not just a male benefit.
22. Weight Loss Benefits
Again, pomegranates are a great source of vitamin C. vitamin C fights inflammation and oxidative stress, which is a proven benefit for those trying to lose weight.
23. Erectile Dysfunction
This benefit is obviously not specific to women, but worth noting. Pomegranate has been shown to increase blood circulation and studies have also shown it to improve testosterone levels. Both of these benefits can be a benefit for men who suffer from erectile dysfunction.
24. Relief of Inflammatory Bowel Disease
There have been studies done on the benefits of pomegranate on sufferers of inflammatory bowel disease. These studies have shown that in addition to its anti-inflammatory properties, there is also a possible reduction of fecal calprotectin levels after study participants consume pomegranate juice.
25. Anti-Viral Properties
In addition to their immune boosting properties, recent lab tests have shown pomegranates to be antibacterial AND antiviral!
Many people who include pomegranate in their daily food or supplement regime have found a number of health benefits and many have made claims of better overall health.
It is worth noting though, that like some other fruit juices, pomegranate juice may have an effect on certain prescription medications, so be sure and research this and also speak with your doctor before adding pomegranate to your daily diet.
The Healthiest Fruit on the Planet?
With all of these pomegranate benefits for women, it’s easy to see why people say that pomegranate is the healthiest fruit on the planet. It may very well be. It can help you exercise, it can help prevent disease and can even help fight disease! After reading this list of benefits, the question starts to become “what can’t pomegranates do?”
Do you like pomegranates? How often do you enjoy pomegranate for a treat, a drink or use it as a supplement?
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Saturday 17th of February 2024
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