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Created on Wednesday, 24 November 2010 18:49

Would you believe that pomegranate protects the kidneys of patients undergoing dialysis? I think that's amazing. In a small study out of Israel involving 101 dialysis patients, some got pomegranate juice 3X a week while the rest got a placebo drink. The patients receiving pomegranate juice showed marked reduction in inflammation and damage caused by free radicals. The doctors also observed significant improvement in cardiovascular risk factors among the patients getting pomegranate, which was important because many kidney patients die from cardiovascular events. Their conclusion was:

"Considering the expected epidemic of chronic kidney disease in the next decade, further clinical trials using pomegranate juice aimed at reducing the high cardiovascular morbidity of chronic kidney disease patients and their deterioration to end-stage renal disease should be conducted."

The study was presented during the American Society of Nephrology's Renal Week 2010 in New York City, the largest nephrology meeting in the world.

My first thought was that if pomegranate could do that much good for those who are in kidney failure, how much good could it do for a relatively healthy person?

I don't know about you but this time of year (autumn) I am consuming pomegranate juice every day. I make it in my Champion juicer. I realize that I could just eat the pomegranate seeds and pulp, but the seeds are rather gritty, which I don't like. So, I prefer to make juice. Sometimes, I just drink the juice by itself, but often I make a smoothie consisting of fresh pomegranate juice, organic tofu made from sprouted soybeans, and ripe bananas. Talk about a great smoothie! It is like a jolt of energy.

I hope you are making the most of this pomegranate season.