Pomegranate

Pomegranate and Sumac for COVID-19 Symptom Relief: A Clinical Trial

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Before you head to a clinic, check your kitchen – what you need to fight COVID-19 symptoms may already be in your pantry

A recent clinical trial published in Mediators of Inflammation explored using pomegranate juice and sumac spice to help relieve COVID-19 symptoms. The randomized controlled study on 182 outpatients found the supplemental foods reduced issues like fever, cough, nausea, and more versus standard care alone. This highlights the potential for certain natural agents to help confront viruses when used alongside conventional approaches.

Summary of Clinical Trial Methods and Outcomes

The trial took place at an Iranian health center during the country’s first pandemic wave. Eligible adult outpatients who tested positive for COVID-19 without requiring hospitalization were recruited and randomly split into two groups.

The treatment group consumed 200 mL pomegranate juice three times per day and 1.5 grams sumac spice twice daily on top of standard symptomatic medications like acetaminophen as needed. The control group received only standard medical care. After the roughly one-month intervention period, COVID-19 symptoms were reassessed.  

Multiple respiratory, pain, gastrointestinal, and constitutional symptoms improved more in the phytonutrient-supplemented group. For example, the pomegranate/sumac cohort saw bigger decreases in rates of fever (75% to 0% in men), cough (97% to 27%), muscle pain (100% to 2%), diarrhea (84% to 2%), and weakness (85% to 12%) than controls. The supplementary foods were well tolerated without adverse effects.[1]

Mechanisms of Botanical Agents Against Viruses

Pomegranates contain compounds like punicalagin and anthocyanins that exhibit antiviral, antioxidant and anti-inflammatory properties based on previous research.[2] Ellagitannins may inhibit viral binding, entry, replication and activity through direct virion damage and host cell effects.[3]

Similarly, sumac is rich in gallic acid, flavonoids and anthocyanins. Past studies reveal antiviral effects against influenza, herpesviruses and HIV. Proposed mechanisms include inhibition of neuraminidase enzymes in flu viruses preventing cell penetration and tannins deactivating herpesvirus particles before infection occurs.[4]

While clinical signs improved, this study did not measure actual viral levels. But the symptom control, especially combined with conventional care, highlights natural products’ therapeutic potential for viruses through multimodal actions.

Implications for Integrative COVID-19 Therapy  

This trial focused on outpatients with relatively mild disease not needing hospital admission. Yet the implications span the full COVID-19 severity spectrum.

The anti-inflammatory characteristics of phytochemicals may help counter the excessive cytokine production behind pneumonia and acute respiratory distress syndrome in severe cases, for example.[5] Additionally, properties like improving antioxidant status could protect organ tissues from damage attributed to virus infection.[6]

While vaccines, antivirals and monoclonal antibodies dominate the standard of care as primary medical therapies, this study and past research suggest certain supplemental foods like pomegranate and sumac carry benefits too.[7]

This promising new study indicates the diverse phytochemicals in plants offer much therapeutic promise against viruses like SARS-CoV-2. Intelligently incorporating select natural products alongside standard treatments appears an evidence-based adjunctive approach. More rigorous trials are warranted, but this clinical study reveals pomegranate and sumac’s anti-COVID-19 symptom utility.

What are the health benefits of pomegranate?

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Pomegranate is a nutrient-dense fruit that has been used for medicinal and culinary purposes for thousands of years. The fruit is known for its ruby-red arils (seeds) surrounded by a tough, inedible rind. The arils are packed with antioxidants, vitamins, and minerals that can provide a variety of health benefits.

One of the main health benefits of pomegranate is its high antioxidant content. Pomegranate is particularly rich in polyphenols, which are a type of antioxidant that can protect cells from damage caused by free radicals.

These antioxidants reduce inflammation in the body, which is linked to a wide range of chronic diseases, including heart disease and cancer specifically Prostate and Breast cancer. Studies have found that the polyphenols in pomegranate can help to slow down the growth of cancer cells and inhibit the formation of new blood vessels that feed tumors.

Pomegranates help to improve heart health. Studies have found that it can help to lower blood pressure and improve blood flow, which can help to reduce the risk of heart disease and stroke. The antioxidants in pomegranate can also help to lower cholesterol levels, which can help to reduce the risk of heart disease.

Pomegranates also help to improve brain function. Studies have found that the antioxidants in pomegranate can help to protect the brain from damage caused by free radicals, which can help to improve cognitive function and reduce the risk of neurological conditions such as Alzheimer’s disease.

Pomegranate is rich in Vitamin C and Vitamin K which are important for maintaining healthy bones and teeth. Additionally, it is also a good source of folate, which is essential for pregnant women, and potassium, which helps to regulate blood pressure.

Pomegranate can be consumed in several ways. The arils (seeds) of the fruit can be eaten raw, or the juice can be extracted and consumed on its own or used in cooking and baking. Pomegranate supplements in the form of juice, seed oil, or extract are also available. These can provide a convenient way to consume pomegranate, but it’s always recommended to check with your healthcare professional before taking any kind of supplement.

When it comes to consuming pomegranate, it’s important to note that commercial pomegranate juice may contain added sugar and artificial ingredients, which can decrease the benefits of pomegranate. Therefore, it’s best to choose 100% pure, organic pomegranate juice or to make your own juice if possible.

In conclusion, pomegranate is a nutrient-dense fruit that is high in antioxidants, vitamins, and minerals. It has been linked to a wide range of health benefits, including its ability to improve heart health, brain function, and potentially reduce the risk of certain types of cancer.

Pomegranate can be consumed in several ways, and it’s best to choose organic, pure pomegranate juice or to make your own. It’s always recommended to consult with a healthcare professional before incorporating significant amounts of pomegranate in your diet or taking supplements. Pomegranate is a delicious addition to a healthy diet and can be enjoyed in many different ways.

How To Clean Your Arteries With One Simple Fruit.

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How To Clean Your Arteries With One Simple Fruit

The future of cardiovascular disease prevention and treatment will not be found in your medicine cabinet, rather in your kitchen cupboard or in your back yard growing on a tree.

Pomegranate Found To Prevent Coronary Artery Disease Progression

A new study published in the journal Atherosclerosis confirms that pomegranate extract may prevent and/or reverse the primary pathology associated with cardiac mortality: the progressive thickening of the coronary arteries caused by the accumulation of fatty materials known as atherosclerosis.[i]

Mice with a genetic susceptibility towards spontaneous coronary artery blockages were given pomegranate extract via their drinking water for two weeks, beginning at three weeks of age. Despite the fact that pomegranate treatment actually increased cholesterol levels associated with very low density lipoprotein-sized particles, the treatment both reduced the size of the atherosclerotic plaques in the aortic sinus (the dilated opening above the aortic valve) and reduced the proportion of coronary arteries with occlusive atherosclerotic plaques.

Remarkably, the researchers also found that pomegranate extract treatment resulted in the following beneficial effects:

  • Reduced levels of oxidative stress
  • Reduced monocytie chemotactic protein-1, a chemical messenger (chemokine) associated with inflammatory processes within the arteries.
  • Reduced lipid accumulation in the heart muscle
  • Reduced macrophage infiltration in the heart muscle
  • Reduced levels of monocyte chemotactic protein-1 and fibrosis in the myocardium
  • Reduced cardiac enlargement
  • Reduced ECG abnormalities

How can something as benign and commonplace as a fruit extract reverse so many aspects of coronary artery disease, simultaneously, as evidenced by the study above?  The answer may lie in the fact that our ancestors co-evolved with certain foods (fruits in particular) for so long that a lack of adequate quantities of these foods may directly result in deteriorating organ function.  Indeed, two-time Nobel Prize winner Linus Pauling argued that vitamin C deficiency is a fundamental cause of cardiovascular disease, owing to the fact that our hominid primate ancestors once had year-round access to fruits, and as a result lost the ability to synthesize it.  [see Linus Pauling vitamin C lecture on GreenMedTV]

Pomegranate Found To Prevent Coronary Artery Disease Progression

Discussion

This study adds to the already extant body of clinical research indicating that pomegranate can help unclog your arteries.  For instance, back in 2004, the journal Clinical Nutrition published the results of a three year clinical trial in an Israeli population, finding that the daily consumption of pomegranate juice reversed carotid artery stenosis by up to 29% within 1 year.  Remarkably, the blockages in the control group increased 9%, indicating that pomegranate’s artery unblocking effects were even greater than at first apparent. [ii]

Pomegranate’s value in cardiovascular disease is quite broad, as evidenced by the following experimentally confirmed properties:

  • Anti-inflammatory: Like many chronic degenerative diseases, inflammation plays a significant role in cardiovascular disease pathogenesis. There are five studies on GreenMedInfo.com indicating pomegranate’s anti-inflammatory properties.[iii]
  • Blood-Pressure Lowering: Pomegranate juice has natural angiotensin converting enzyme inhibiting properties, [iv] and is a nitric oxide enhancer, two well-known pathways for reducing blood pressure. [v] Finally, pomegranate extract rich in punicalagin has been found reduce the adverse effects of perturbed stress on arterial segments exposed to disturbed flow.[vi]
  • Anti-Infective: Plaque buildup in the arteries often involves secondary viral and bacterial infection, including hepatitis C and Chlamydia pneumoniae.[vii] Pomegranate has a broad range of anti-bacterial and anti-viral properties.
  • Antioxidant: One of the ways in which blood lipids become heart disease-promoting (atherogenic) is through oxidation. LDL, for instance, may be technically ‘elevated’ but harmless as long as it does not readily oxidize. Pomegranate has been found to reduce the oxidative stress in the blood, as measured by serum paraoxonase levels.  One study in mice found this decrease in oxidative stress was associated with 44% reduction in the size of atherosclerotic lesions. [viii]

For additional research on pomegranate’s heart friendly properties read our article: Research: Pomegranate May Reverse Blocked Arteries

Also, view our dedicated research section on reversing arterial plaque: Clogged Arteries

Resources

 

Sayer Ji

Sayer Ji is founder of Greenmedinfo.com, a reviewer at the International Journal of Human Nutrition and Functional Medicine, Co-founder and CEO of Systome Biomed, Vice Chairman of the Board of the National Health Federation, Steering Committee Member of the Global Non-GMO Foundation.

How To Clean Your Arteries With One Simple Fruit

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How To Clean Your Arteries With One Simple Fruit

The future of cardiovascular disease prevention and treatment will not be found in your medicine cabinet, rather in your kitchen cupboard or in your back yard growing on a tree.

Pomegranate Found To Prevent Coronary Artery Disease Progression

A new study published in the journal Atherosclerosis confirms that pomegranate extract may prevent and/or reverse the primary pathology associated with cardiac mortality: the progressive thickening of the coronary arteries caused by the accumulation of fatty materials known as atherosclerosis.[i]

Mice with a genetic susceptibility towards spontaneous coronary artery blockages were given pomegranate extract via their drinking water for two weeks, beginning at three weeks of age. Despite the fact that pomegranate treatment actually increased cholesterol levels associated with very low density lipoprotein-sized particles, the treatment both reduced the size of the atherosclerotic plaques in the aortic sinus (the dilated opening above the aortic valve) and reduced the proportion of coronary arteries with occlusive atherosclerotic plaques.

Remarkably, the researchers also found that pomegranate extract treatment resulted in the following beneficial effects:

  • Reduced levels of oxidative stress
  • Reduced monocytie chemotactic protein-1, a chemical messenger (chemokine) associated with inflammatory processes within the arteries.
  • Reduced lipid accumulation in the heart muscle
  • Reduced macrophage infiltration in the heart muscle
  • Reduced levels of monocyte chemotactic protein-1 and fibrosis in the myocardium
  • Reduced cardiac enlargement
  • Reduced ECG abnormalities

How can something as benign and commonplace as a fruit extract reverse so many aspects of coronary artery disease, simultaneously, as evidenced by the study above?  The answer may lie in the fact that our ancestors co-evolved with certain foods (fruits in particular) for so long that a lack of adequate quantities of these foods may directly result in deteriorating organ function.  Indeed, two-time Nobel Prize winner Linus Pauling argued that vitamin C deficiency is a fundamental cause of cardiovascular disease, owing to the fact that our hominid primate ancestors once had year-round access to fruits, and as a result lost the ability to synthesize it.  [see Linus Pauling vitamin C lecture on GreenMedTV]

Pomegranate Found To Prevent Coronary Artery Disease Progression

Discussion

This study adds to the already extant body of clinical research indicating that pomegranate can help unclog your arteries.  For instance, back in 2004, the journal Clinical Nutrition published the results of a three year clinical trial in an Israeli population, finding that the daily consumption of pomegranate juice reversed carotid artery stenosis by up to 29% within 1 year.  Remarkably, the blockages in the control group increased 9%, indicating that pomegranate’s artery unblocking effects were even greater than at first apparent. [ii]

Pomegranate’s value in cardiovascular disease is quite broad, as evidenced by the following experimentally confirmed properties:

  • Anti-inflammatory: Like many chronic degenerative diseases, inflammation plays a significant role in cardiovascular disease pathogenesis. There are five studies on GreenMedInfo.com indicating pomegranate’s anti-inflammatory properties.[iii]
  • Blood-Pressure Lowering: Pomegranate juice has natural angiotensin converting enzyme inhibiting properties, [iv] and is a nitric oxide enhancer, two well-known pathways for reducing blood pressure. [v] Finally, pomegranate extract rich in punicalagin has been found reduce the adverse effects of perturbed stress on arterial segments exposed to disturbed flow.[vi]
  • Anti-Infective: Plaque buildup in the arteries often involves secondary viral and bacterial infection, including hepatitis C and Chlamydia pneumoniae.[vii] Pomegranate has a broad range of anti-bacterial and anti-viral properties.
  • Antioxidant: One of the ways in which blood lipids become heart disease-promoting (atherogenic) is through oxidation. LDL, for instance, may be technically ‘elevated’ but harmless as long as it does not readily oxidize. Pomegranate has been found to reduce the oxidative stress in the blood, as measured by serum paraoxonase levels.  One study in mice found this decrease in oxidative stress was associated with 44% reduction in the size of atherosclerotic lesions. [viii]

How To Clean Your Arteries With One Simple Fruit.

Posted by

0


The future of cardiovascular disease prevention and treatment will not be found in your medicine cabinet, rather in your kitchen cupboard or in your back yard growing on a tree.

Pomegranate Found To Prevent Coronary Artery Disease Progression

How To Clean Your Arteries With One Simple Fruit

A new study published in the journal Atherosclerosis confirms that pomegranate extract may prevent and/or reverse the primary pathology associated with cardiac mortality: the progressive thickening of the coronary arteries caused by the accumulation of fatty materials known as atherosclerosis.[i]

Mice with a genetic susceptibility towards spontaneous coronary artery blockages were given pomegranate extract via their drinking water for two weeks, beginning at three weeks of age. Despite the fact that pomegranate treatment actually increased cholesterol levels associated with very low density lipoprotein-sized particles, the treatment both reduced the size of the atherosclerotic plaques in the aortic sinus (the dilated opening above the aortic valve) and reduced the proportion of coronary arteries with occlusive atherosclerotic plaques.

Remarkably, the researchers also found that pomegranate extract treatment resulted in the following beneficial effects:

  • Reduced levels of oxidative stress
  • Reduced monocytie chemotactic protein-1, a chemical messenger (chemokine) associated with inflammatory processes within the arteries.
  • Reduced lipid accumulation in the heart muscle
  • Reduced macrophage infiltration in the heart muscle
  • Reduced levels of monocyte chemotactic protein-1 and fibrosis in the myocardium
  • Reduced cardiac enlargement
  • Reduced ECG abnormalities

How can something as benign and commonplace as a fruit extract reverse so many aspects of coronary artery disease, simultaneously, as evidenced by the study above?  The answer may lie in the fact that our ancestors co-evolved with certain foods (fruits in particular) for so long that a lack of adequate quantities of these foods may directly result in deteriorating organ function.  Indeed, two-time Nobel Prize winner Linus Pauling argued that vitamin C deficiency is a fundamental cause of cardiovascular disease, owing to the fact that our hominid primate ancestors once had year-round access to fruits, and as a result lost the ability to synthesize it.  [see Linus Pauling vitamin C lecture on GreenMedTV]

Pomegranate Found To Prevent Coronary Artery Disease Progression

Discussion

This study adds to the already extant body of clinical research indicating that pomegranate can help unclog your arteries.  For instance, back in 2004, the journal Clinical Nutrition published the results of a three year clinical trial in an Israeli population, finding that the daily consumption of pomegranate juice reversed carotid artery stenosis by up to 29% within 1 year.  Remarkably, the blockages in the control group increased 9%, indicating that pomegranate’s artery unblocking effects were even greater than at first apparent. [ii]

Pomegranate’s value in cardiovascular disease is quite broad, as evidenced by the following experimentally confirmed properties: