Health benefits of pomegranates extend throughout the body
The pomegranate is an ancient plant known to grow and thrive in harsh conditions. Despite its deep-rooted history – one that goes back thousands of years – the health benefits of the pomegranate fruit are still being uncovered.
David Heber, MD, founding director of the UCLA Center for Human Nutrition, and Zhaoping Li, MD, chief of the division of clinical nutrition at UCLA, both addressed the variety of health benefits offered by the pomegranate.
“It has the largest and most potent polyphenol antioxidant known,” Dr. Heber said. “And when it gets into your intestine this polyphenol is broken down to smaller molecules that enter into the bloodstream.”
Pomegrantes contain ellagitannins. Ellagitannins are bioactive polyphenols, chemical compounds found in the peel and seeds of a pomegranate. They employ anti-inflammatory effects on cells in the body.
