Pomegranate helps fight heart disease, relieves stress and
improves sex life - now it's nature's elixir of youth, claims study
Elixir: A £2million study has found a daily
dose of pomegranate juice could slow the ageing process of DNA
It can help to prevent heart disease, relieve stress
and has even been shown to improve your sex life.
And if that was not enough to convince you to try
pomegranate, the fruit is now being hailed as the elixir of youth.
A £2million study has found a daily dose could slow the
ageing process of DNA.
An extract of the whole fruit – including pith, peel and seeds –
was given to 60 volunteers every day for a month in the form of a capsule.
Researchers monitored the activity of chemicals in their
bodies compared with those who took a placebo.
They found a significant decrease in a marker associated with
cell damage, which can cause impaired brain, muscle, liver and kidney function
as well as ageing effects on the skin.
This decrease – a hitherto unknown benefit of consuming
pomegranate – is thought to slow down the oxidation, or ‘rusting’, of the DNA
in cells which naturally occurs over time, according to researchers at the
private ProbelteBio laboratory in Murcia, Spain.
They are found in small quantities in the juice but mainly in the inedible rind, husk and white
pith which has been harnessed into a pill and a drink.
Dr Sergio Streitenberger, who led the
study, funded by Pomegreat PurePlus, said: ‘We are very excited about
this study which we believe demonstrates that regular consumption of this
pomegranate extract can slow down the process of DNA oxidation
'One way to look at ageing is to think of it as rusting, or
oxidising, a damaging process. Being able to guard against this process would
be a significant breakthrough.’
Pomegranate
has been renowned as a superfood for centuries, and has been found to contain
vitamins A, C and E as well as iron and antioxidants
Dr Streitenberger’s team – whose
study will be published later this month – found a decrease in levels of a
chemical marker called 8-Oxo-DG in the participants’ urine tests.
It is associated with damage to DNA caused by a host of
chemicals we eat, drink and breathe in.
Pomegranate has been renowned as a
superfood for centuries, and has been found to contain vitamins A, C and E as
well as iron and antioxidants – chemicals which help neutralise harmful oxygen molecules called free
radicals.
Last year, researchers at Queen Margaret University in
Edinburgh, whose work was also funded by the Pomegreat juice company found
their product could combat middle-aged spread and even reduce stress at
work.