Fruits are an essential part of a healthy diet. A significant chunk of their nutritional profile is composed of antioxidants. These are compounds that fight free radicals, which are unstable molecules that tend to accumulate in your body because of factors like natural body processes, your diet, the presence of disease, and your environment.
High concentrations of free radicals in your body lead to oxidative stress, which damages your cells and tissues. The effects of oxidative stress can range from prematurely aging skin to serious diseases, including cardiovascular conditions, neurodegenerative diseases, and cancer.
Antioxidants modify free radicals and turn them into harmless substances your body can either process or expel without incident. In this way, they are an essential part of a substantial protection against cancer.
Pomegranates are rich in antioxidants. One cup of its seeds gives you 30 percent of the recommended daily intake (RDI) for vitamin C, known as one of the most powerful antioxidants in nature. Pomegranate peel and juice also have an abundance of punicalagins. These compounds have antioxidant properties that are three times more potent than those of either red wine or green tea, which by themselves are known for being antioxidant powerhouses.
But the cancer-fighting benefits of pomegranates do not stop with their antioxidant load. A review of the fruit's value in cancer therapy, published in the journal Pharmacological Research, emphasized its anti-inflammatory, antiproliferative, anti-angiogenic, anti-invasive, and anti-metastatic properties as great reasons it is so effective against cancer.
Inflammation is, under normal circumstances, actually a good thing. As part of your immune response, it tells you that your immune system is up and functional. It becomes problematic when it is prolonged and persistent, becoming a risk factor for cancer and a number of other diseases. The punicalagins and other antioxidant compounds found in pomegranate are linked to reductions in inflammatory activity in breast cancer and colon cancer cells.
Angiogenesis, the formation of new blood vessels, is a key factor in metastasis or the proliferation of cancer cells to other parts of the body. Once cancer has metastasized, it becomes a lot harder to treat, so preventing angiogenesis is an important step in disrupting the disease's progression. The extracts of pomegranate peel have been confirmed, in a study published in the journal Research in Pharmaceutical Sciences, to have both antiangiogenesis and antiproliferative effects against melanoma.
Pomegranates can also induce apoptosis, or cellular death, according to research published in Growth Hormone & IGF Research. At the end of the day, cancer cells are simply mutated cells. Causing them to undergo the natural process of cellular death by administering substances with apoptotic effects is considered one of the safest ways to kill tumor cells and treat cancer. In the study, pomegranates were shown to cause the death of prostate cancer cells.
Other health benefits of pomegranates
Here are yet more reasons to eat more pomegranates:
- Pomegranates lower blood pressure – Hypertension increases your risk of dying from a heart attack. Some studies have found that drinking pomegranate juice for two weeks can effectively reduce your systolic blood pressure.
- Pomegranates reduce joint pain – The discomfort caused by arthritis can be debilitating. The anti-inflammatory compounds in pomegranates can help mitigate the damage caused by osteoarthritis on the joints.
- Pomegranates treat impotence – Impaired blood flow is considered one of the reasons behind erectile dysfunction. The antioxidants in pomegranates help improve blood flow and may even aid in improving erectile response.
- Pomegranates protect from infections – The compounds in pomegranates have been shown to protect against bacterial and fungal infections. Among the microorganisms this fruit can boost your resistance to is Candida albicans, the cause of yeast infections.
- Pomegranates may improve memory – Some studies indicate that pomegranates can help improve the memory of those who have just gone through surgery. Other inquiries found that it can enhance both visual and verbal memory.
- Pomegranates improve exercise performance – One study found that taking pomegranate extracts 30 minutes before exercise can improve your blood flow. This can delay the onset of fatigue and improve your workout's efficiency.
Learn more about the positive effects of eating pomegranates at Fruits.news.
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