Beautify and Supercharge for the Winter With Pomegranate
As the winter temperature starts dropping and our lives get busy with holiday festivities, it’s so easy to overindulge. Incorporating a seasonal superfood like pomegranates into your diet is a powerful way to boost your immune system, get plenty of vitamins, minerals, antioxidants and nourish your body in all the right ways so that you can enjoy the season and stay healthy.
Tapping into the healthy benefits of pomegranates is nothing new. It’s no wonder that in so many of our origin stories, like those in Greek mythology, the Qur’an, Torah and Bible, pomegranates have been called the fruit of paradise and invoked as a symbol of fertility. Dating back to the stories of Greek gods and goddesses, the healthy power of the pomegranate fruit was no myth. This fruit was considered sacred to the Greek Goddess of Love Aphrodite and was so irresistible to Persephone that it contained her to the Underworld for half of each year.
In my family, the pomegranate was considered a crown fruit and over the years, I heard many stories that stay with me today, including the one about King Solomon fashioning his beautiful crown in the form of a pomegranate and decorating his Temple with 400 ornamental pomegranates. It was, and still is, seen as more than some fruit; but something that Mother Nature herself fashioned to near perfection. My mother told me of the many amazing health benefits of this fruit, but I think that many of these benefits would surprise modern society even to this day.
Throughout time, storytellers and cultural icons have held the pomegranate fruit in high esteem for many reasons but often for its rich abundance of health benefits ranging from cancer prevention to soothing arthritis to aiding with digestion and memory.
Pomegranate tree in my mother’s garden in Morocco.
The Super Fruit
The pomegranate is a rich source of vitamin C and K, fiber, minerals, and antioxidants called polyphenol. In fact, it has three times more antioxidants than green tea and red wine. The high content of polyphenols in the pomegranate prevents cell damage and protects against chronic diseases.
For these reasons, you can consider the pomegranate as the queen of the superfoods. However, unlike grapes and blueberries, the pomegranate will make you work a little harder to enjoy her fruits and super healthy benefits. Yes, it is time consuming to get the seeds out of that complex covering but if you are not eating this wonder fruit, believe me you are missing out on some good nutrition. YouTube offers several easy-to-follow tutorials, like this one, on the easiest way to peel and enjoy its powerful juices.
The Anti-Inflammatory & Digestion Aid
Pomegranate juice is a powerful anti-inflammatory because of its high concentration of polyphenol. It can help reduce inflammation throughout the body and prevent oxidative stress and damage. The pomegranate seed oil contains punicic acid, a unique acid that has shown to be effective against various chronic diseases like obesity, diabetes, and rheumatoid arthritis.
Pomegranate juice can do wonders to reduce inflammation in the gut and improve digestion due to its fiber content. However, those with inflammatory bowel diseases conditions such as Crohn’s disease and ulcerative colitis should be careful consuming this fruit during flare ups because it can aggravate their symptoms.
Lowering blood pressure and heart disease
Consuming pomegranate may help lower blood pressure. In scientific studies, the juice was shown to improve blood flow and slow the growth of plaque and buildup of cholesterol in the arteries. However, this is something you will want to check with your doctor as there can be a negative reaction with statin medications.
Protection against cancer and Alzheimer’s disease
There have been recent studies showing that the high concentration of powerful antioxidants in the juice are believed to slow the growth of prostate cancer cells and stall the progress of Alzheimer disease to protect memory.
Prevents anemia
Iron deficiency is common among women because we lose blood during menstruation. Regular consumption of pomegranate helps to increase hemoglobin levels and fight anemia. I can attest that drinking fresh squeezed pomegranate daily or consuming a small bowl of seeds during pomegranate season has shown significant increase in my iron level.
Pomegranate supports healthy blood flow because of its iron properties and high levels of vitamin C. Vitamin C is integral in iron metabolism, it maximizes iron absorption in our bodies.
Health benefits beyond the Juice
While juicing pomegranates for their powerful antioxidants is popular, you can truly use any part of this fruit, including the peel. The peels are typically discarded and thought of as inedible, but they’re used for various health and beauty benefits in Ayurvedic medicine, an alternative practice with roots in Moroccan culture. After being separated from the fruit, the peels can be dried out in the food dehydrator or in the oven at the lowest setting for five to eight hours on a baking sheet. Then, grind into a fine powder, which has a couple of powerful uses.
To soothe a sore throat or mouth: Steep the powder in hot water and use it as a mouth rinse for sore gums or sore throat. In my home country of Morocco, this was the first line of defense when dealing with a sore throat and tonsillitis.
To soothe acne or skin inflammation: Another holistic approach to the pomegranate is that by making a paste from dried pomegranate peel and applied to the skin to fight acne breakouts and reduce skin inflammation. The antioxidants in the peels help keep the bacteria away. Here’s a simple anti-inflammatory recipe for your skin:
1 pomegranate skin powder
1/2teaspoon of honey
1/2teaspoon of apple cider vinegar
Mix the ingredients in a small bowl and or container till the mixture is well blended. Apply the acne scrub onto your face and leave it on for about five minutes. rub gently in a circular motion then wash off with lukewarm water.
To hydrate and exfoliate your skin: You can also prepare a scrub from the peel powder that will hydrate and brighten your skin. It’s a simple recipe:
1 teaspoon of pomegranate skin powder or a teaspoon of pomegranate dried pulp juice powder
1 teaspoon of milk
1/2 teaspoon of honey
1 teaspoon of fine oats
Mix all the ingredients together to make a batter-like consistency. Apply to the face in a circular motion. Leave the mask on the skin for about 5-7 minutes and then rinse with lukewarm water. Your skin should feel soft and velvety.
Use this face mask once a week for a month to achieve the desired results. However, try a test on a small area on the forearm to see how your skin reacts before applying it to your face.
Extra benefit: If juicing the pomegranate, don’t throw away your juice pulp. You can transform the pulp into a wonderful hydrating exfoliating face mask or a healthy addition to your smoothie. Just spread the juice pulp evenly over the dehydrator sheets and dehydrate until completely dried. Tip: you can use a coffee grinder to create a very fine powder
Pomegranates have been the focal point of luxury and passion throughout history. As you can see, this is a fruit that can benefit almost every person. Whether you experiment with pomegranates to help with inflammation or even just a simple drink of refreshing juice, pomegranates will likely become your fruit of choice.
