Pomegranates have many health benefits!

Pomegranates have been around for centuries and are even mentioned numerous times in the Bible. These amazing little seeds, or arils as they are also called, are full of fiber and have powerful antioxidants as well as disease fitting abilities. Growing up in California, I had access to many varieties of pomegranates. My sister and I loved to eat the seeds as well as spit them at each other! This irritated my mother because they stain very easily and is almost impossible to get out of clothes. I now live in Arizona, and still enjoy these juicy seeds on occasion because I have a beautiful pomegranate bush in my backyard. I love to cut them in half and dig out the seeds on a hot afternoon and sometimes I toss them in cocktails when entertaining. Although I am a juicer and love raw fruit juices, I do not choose to juice this fruit myself because it is more difficult and time consuming as you do not want to include the membrane in the juice. The seeds are sweet but the white membrane surrounding the seeds tend to be bitter.Pomegranates are becoming a more popular fruit because of the increased knowledge of benefits as well as improved availability of pomegranate juices on the market today. It is now very easy to find pomegranate juice in most supermarkets and whole food stores. (Make sure you buy a brand with no added ingredients!)I often suggest to include it in daily diets for those who suffer from a variety of health issues such as hot flashes, arthritis and high cholesterol. Studies have shown that it helps lower LDL (bad cholesterol) and raises HDL (good cholesterol). Also, those with high blood pressure should drink it daily as  a recent study showed that drinking 1.7 ounces of pomegranate juice per day helped lowered systolic blood pressure by as much as 5 percent. It’s also known to prevent and fight diseases including leukemia, breast and lung cancer.Because of these many health benefits, we’ve included it in our list of colorful foods to insure you eat a variety of colors in your daily healthy eating plan.