Pomegranate for Heart Health

Pomegranate for Heart Health

A recent study has shown that drinking pomegranate juice daily for a week helps lower blood pressure. Researchers from Queen Margaret’s University Edinburgh took 20 participants- 10 of them drank 500ml pomegranate juice daily and the other 10 drank 500ml water as the placebo. Blood pressure and urinary hormone levels were measured before and after 30 minutes of exercise both before starting the study and one week thereafter.

The people who drank the pomegranate juice showed significant improvements in blood pressure, even after just one week, whilst those drinking water showed no difference. The ratio of cortisol to cortisone in the urine had also dropped significantly.

Cortisol affects glucose and fat metabolism which can increase blood pressure by altering salt and water balance in the kidneys and colon. Dr Emad Aldujaili says, “There is early evidence that consumption of pure pomegranate juice may influence abdominal fat”.