Heart Food: Pomegranate
With fruits it seems, one can always judge by the way it looks if its worth one's try eating it. Today we introduce the lovely pomegrante with its ruby-crystal seeds.
Eating this fruit may be a pain but so are false eyelashes, yet polished divas don't ditch the falsies. The same goes for this amazing fruit that will do wonders for more than just your skin. Better still, technology has made it so much easier for the masses to consume this great fruit by extracting its juice (the stuff we really want) for us with no added preservatives or sugar. The good advice, as has been for ages still stands, the best way to eat your veggies and fruits is RAW, nothing is best than savouring the fruit just as it is.
The pomegeranate is abundant in Vitamin C and Potassium, the source of this--those ruby crystals, the jelly like seeds. One fresh pomegranate has 9 mg vitamin C and 399 mg potassium: 80 percent the potassium in one cup of fresh orange juice. Pomegranates aid in Potassium replacement. Because potassium is excreted in urine, potassium-rich foods are often recommended for people who are taking diuretic drugs (we don't even need to look at pharmeceutical drugs, alcohol and the caffeine in coffee are diuretics). Pomegranates also promote a lower risk of stroke by helping to lower blood pressure. According to data from the Harvard University Health Professionals Study, a long-running survey of male doctors, a diet rich in high-potassium foods such as bananas (these can be high in calories) may also reduce the risk of stroke. The men who ate the most potassium-rich foods had 38 percent fewer strokes than men who ate the least (less than 4 servings a day).
Want some tips on picking a nice juicy pomegranate? Choose one that feels heavy for its size, this means that it's most likely full of juice. Also, the rind should be bright red, so avoid those with pale skin that looks wrinkled or dry.
For a healthy heart, add Pomegranate on your list of healthy foods!
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Image reference: Gulf News, UAE, 18th March 2008, Library PressDisplay
Text reference:Rinzler, Carol Ann. "pomegranates." The New Complete Book of Food. New York: Facts On File, Inc., 1999. (Updated 2004.) Health Reference Center. Facts On File, Inc. Health Reference Center