The pomegranate is an extraordinary
fruit, steeped in history: the number of seeds (roughly 613) found in a single
fruit were said by ancient scholars to correspond to the 613 commands of the
Hebrew Torah. Now, renowned herbalist James Duke, a former ecologist with the
USDA, has published (in the April, 2008 issue of Alternative &
Complementary Therapies) an exhaustive review of the scientific literature
on the pomegranate. His conclusion: it is “one of the most promising of health
foods” with “a dozen known anti-inflammatory phytochemicals and some 3 dozen antioxidants.”
Duke found studies that suggest pomegranate fruit and/or juice may help prevent
or alleviate:
- Atherosclerosis
- Heart disease
- High cholesterol
- Prostate cancer
- Alzheimer's disease
If you have access to inexpensive
pomegranates (as many in the southern U.S. do; the trees grow prolifically with
little tending) or can afford the delicious but rather expensive juices now on
the market, by all means indulge. And if you can't, remember that deep-colored
fruits such as cherries, blueberries and raspberries, and deep-colored
vegetables, all offer similar benefits. Enjoy!
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