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Pomegranate Juice Fights Heart DiseaseScientists have been telling us for years that red wine and green tea are good for us. But new research shows that a daily glass of pomegranate juice could be even more effective at fighting heart disease. The juice of the pomegranate has been found to slow down the damage caused by cholesterol. It also reduces blood pressure and more than doubles the levels of health-boosting antioxidants in the blood. Two separate Israeli medical research groups are developing a broad range of treatments and products derived from the pomegranate. At the Lipid Research Laboratory in Haifa, biochemists have shown that pomegranate juice can reduce the size of atherosclerotic lesions – which narrow the arteries and result in heart disease - by almost half. It can also combat the oxidation of bad cholesterol – a high level of which has been linked to an increased risk of heart attack and stroke. Dr Michael Aviram, a biochemist at the centre, says: “The potential exists for high-risk patients to be spared bypass surgery simply by drinking pomegranate juice.” To make its consumption more palatable, he is working on developing a pill with the same medicinal attributes as the juice. Pomegranates are a rich source of flavonoids (also found in red wine), which have protective qualities for the heart. Roger Corder, professor of Experimental Therapeutics at the William Harvey Research Institute in London, says that as a guide, one glass of pomegranate juice is equivalent to two glasses of red wine, ten cups of green tea, six cups of cocoa or four glasses of cranberry juice – all of which contain flavenoids. Pomegranate juice is also packed with vitamins A, C and E, and is being hailed as a good all-round health elixir, which can even help to combat cancer. The charity Heart UK has given its approval to Pomegreat, the UK’s first pomegranate juice drink – the only drink endorsed by the charity. |
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