Pomegranate is being tested for weight loss, diabetes, COPD, prostate cancer, osteoarthritis, and rheumatoid arthritis.
Case of POM Wonderful (Pomegranate Juice Company) v. Federal Trade Commission is made it will be dismissed all the way to the US Court of Appeals before being heard by the Supreme Court. In this landmark case, the jury concluded that many of POM’s advertisements made false or misleading claims, and that the company had “taken into account medical research that appears to show that daily consumption of its products can treat, prevent or reduce the risk of disease.” The US First Amendment does not protect misleading or deceptive advertising. Strike a blow to its billionaire owners, Sud ruled that at least one randomized clinical trial is required to substantiate claims for treatment or prevention of disease.
If you look at the medical literature on pomegranate in general, you see reviews about its many benefits with the following diagrams about the healing effects of pomegranate (which you can also see at 1:01 in my video) Pomegranate: Natural Treatment for Rheumatoid Arthritis).
But if you dig a little deeper, you will see that it is based on about studies that talk about the “anti-obesity effect of pomegranate leaf extract in a mouse model”. First of all, who eats pomegranate leaves? And secondly, who is the mouse?
He eats pomegranate affects weight in people? If you look at all the randomized controlled clinical trials (meaning human trials), pomegranate has no significant effect on body weight, BMI, belly fat, or even body fat percentage in those randomized to consume pomegranate products. What about the prevention and treatment of cardiovascular diseases? Researchers was reviewed 25 clinical trials focused on cholesterol, blood pressure, vascular function, atherosclerotic plaque formation, and platelet function, and even the best studies found no significant evidence of benefit.
POM Wonderful helped foundation research on pomegranate juice and erectile dysfunction, but it also failed. Another study found no benefit for diabetes markers and was observed It is not useful for chronic obstructive pulmonary diseases such as emphysema. They did support the antioxidant activity of pomegranate juice, but this antioxidant activity is in vitro (meaning in a test tube or petri dish). Surprisingly, a meta-analysis of data from 11 randomized controlled trials “did not they support Convincing evidence” consumption of pomegranate has a significant effect on increasing the total antioxidant capacity of the blood stream, as some of the most powerful antioxidants are not even visible. absorb to the human body. It’s not surprising that the pomegranate supplement seemed like that affects oxidative stress in tissue samples obtained from prostate cancer patients. But, of course, what we care about is whether it affects the cancer itself.
The strongest evidence for the anti-cancer activity of pomegranate is said come on from prostate cancer research. Unfortunately, early results were not promising confirmed when they were really put to the test. For example, the daily consumption of pomegranate found in a randomized controlled trial that did not affect PSA levels, a marker of tumor progression. In addition, a randomized, double-blind, placebo-controlled trial found There really is no difference when it comes to prostate cancer progression, as you can see below and at 3:19 in my video.
They were banking on the anti-inflammatory activity of pomegranate juice to help, but again, that was shown in vitro. In humans, a meta-analysis based on five randomized controlled trials published in 2016 concluded that pomegranate juice had no significant effect on levels of C-reactive protein, a key marker of inflammation. If you look at the forest plot, you’ll see that all five tests tend to have lower levels of C-reactive protein, the data together almost reached statistical significance, as you can see below and at 3:53 in me. video.
Indeed, an updated meta-analysis published in 2020 based on seven studies passed the threshold of statistical significance and also found significant reductions in two other inflammatory markers.
Maybe pomegranate juice would work help in the fight against inflammatory diseases in the end. But you won’t know until you put it to the test.
Osteoarthritis includes degeneration of the cushioning bones within the joints, especially the knees. Drop Pomegranate extract shows cartilage protective effects in human osteoarthritic cartilage samples. As you can see below and at 4:43 in mine videocompared to the initial level of cartilage degradation, to add inflammation triples the damage. But with increasing amounts of pomegranate extract, the disorder begins to subside.
But again, this is in a petri dish. How do we know that when we eat pomegranates, the active ingredients actually enter our bloodstream so they can find their way to our joints? There were cartilage protective elements found bioavailability (at least in rabbits), raising the possibility that pomegranate can be a safe and non-toxic treatment without side effects, compared to currently used drugs. But is it effective?
The first clinical trial on pomegranate juice and osteoarthritis was not a placebo-controlled trial, but instead a placebo-controlled trial accidental people to pomegranate juice or not at all. Those who drank the juice reported less stiffness and impaired physical function, but not just better performance. Shoot.
As soon as I wanted to give up the pomegranate, I saw The study is titled “Pomegranate consumption is rich in hydrolyzable tannins that reduce inflammation and joint damage in rheumatoid arthritis.” But it turned out that POM from the company “Not-So-Awesome” caused joint damage in a mouse model of rheumatoid arthritis. Come on!
There was open study where patients knew what they were getting. Eight people with active rheumatoid arthritis took pomegranate extract daily, and the six who stuck with it reported fewer joints. But as we learned from the osteoarthritis study, if you don’t have a control group, you don’t know what role, if any, the treatment actually plays.
Finally, we come on to this randomized, double-blind, placebo-controlled trial. It’s about time! Half of the research participants unknowingly took pomegranate extracts; the other half unknowingly took a sugar pill. Compared to placebo, there were significant differences in the number of swollen joints, tender joints, pain intensity, disease activity score, health assessment questionnaire, and morning stiffness. So, if you have rheumatoid arthritis, I really recommend that you start eating pomegranates. Why not just pop pomegranate pills? After all, it was a pomegranate extract that alleviated disease activity. A good reason to connect to the fruit is when there were 19 pomegranate supplements was tested In the lab, most don’t actually have any pomegranates! Only 6 out of 19 appeared to be true
Dr.’s comment
I previously reported on POM Wonderful in 2011 in my video Is pomegranate juice so amazing?. My other video is about this fruit Flashback Friday: Pomegranate vs Placebo for Prostate Cancer.
What is one way you can eat them? Watch my cooking video Tap-chocolate pomegranate BROL cup.
