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Nutrition, Vitamins & Supplements for Seniors
Crazy Looking Pomegranate Still Being Found to Have
More Curing Powers
Harvard Men's Health Watch says two studies show it
fights prostate cancer
By Tucker Sutherland, editor
 March 30, 2007 In September 2005 we wrote a story
with the headline, "Pomegranate Hottest Health Remedy: Fad or Fact?" It
was highly read in 2005 and was still the fourth most read story on
SeniorJournal.com in all of 2006. Yet, the attention for this odd shaped
fruit with the upside down crown still mounts. Next month's Harvard
Men's Health Watch focuses on recent research saying pomegranate juice
may help fight prostate cancer.
We pointed out in the 2005 story that it was
already "being touted as a miracle drug for aging, Alzheimers, cancer,
heart disease, arthritis and even protecting unborn babies from brain
injuries."
"Few American men have heard of the pomegranate,
and fewer still have eaten this curious-looking fruit loaded with red
seeds," says the Men's Health Watch news release. "But new scientific
findings suggest that pomegranates may one day find a place in healthful
diets."
In one study, reported by Men's Health Watch,
scientists grew cells from highly aggressive cases of human prostate
cancer in tissue cultures. Pomegranate fruit extracts slowed the growth
of the cultured cancer cells and promoted cell death. The researchers
then implanted the cancer cells in mice. A group of mice that received
water laced with pomegranate juice developed significantly smaller
tumors than the untreated animals.
In a preliminary study of men with prostate cancer,
pomegranate juice lengthened patients' PSA doubling time (the longer the
doubling time, the slower the tumor is growing) from 15 months before
treatment to 54 months on the juice.
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No one really knows how this fad got started, but
certainly it has been pushed along by Pom Wonderful and their marketing
team. |
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Beneficial in fighting cardiovascular disease
Preliminary results in test tubes, animals, and
humans suggest that pomegranates may also have beneficial effects on
cardiovascular disease. Studies show that pomegranate juice can protect
LDL (bad) cholesterol from oxidative damage, the Harvard newsletter
says.
The juice has also been shown to slow the
progression of plaques in mice with atherosclerosis.
Results from two small clinical studies are even
more intriguing, showing that carotid artery thickness decreased and
cardiac blood flow improved in pomegranate juice drinkers.
But, for the first time there is at least a
potential problem, according to the newsletter. Preliminary research
suggests that pomegranate juice may interact with certain medications,
much like grapefruit juice does.
The Harvard bottom line: Early studies raise hopes
that pomegranates may have potential benefits for prostate cancer and
heart disease, but more research is needed to determine whether these
hopes are justified.
Also in the April issue:
● DHEA and health
● High-dose radiotherapy for prostate cancer
● A doctor discusses: Second testicular cancers; how to interpret
cholesterol numbers
Harvard Men's Health Watch is a subscription
newsletter ($24 per year ) available from Harvard Health Publications,
the publishing division of Harvard Medical School. Subscribe at
www.health.harvard.edu/men
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