The red fruit that lowered blood pressure like medication

Hands down, one of my favorite fruits is the pomegranate.

While many people avoid this tart treat because of the time it takes to peel and prepare, I’ve always loved pulling out the seeds and enjoying their acidic yet sweet “pop.”

Now it seems that while I was relishing their taste, I might also have been doing something beneficial for my blood pressure.

That’s because according to published research in the journal Nutrients, eating a pomegranate could help you lower your blood pressure as much as prescription medications.

Packed with polyphenols

Researchers studied the anti-hypertensive powers of both the fruit and the peel of the red superfruit using a rat model.

They focused on the pomegranate because it’s known to have numerous health benefits and medical uses thanks to its rich levels of polyphenols like tannins, anthocyanins and flavonoids.

It also delivers important organic acids, like gallic and ellagic acids – which have been shown to do everything from calm ulcerative colitis and Crohn’s disease to save the brain from amyloid plaques.

Pomegranates are also high in urolithin A, which researchers have discovered keeps the powerhouses of your cells — the mitochondria — functioning in tip-top shape.

So it’s easy to see why the scientists were eager to pit the pomegranate against high blood pressure.

Which is best, the fruit or the peel?

To do so, the team gave the rats extracts of either the fruit, the seeds and the peel or straight ellagic acid. Then, they continued to monitor systolic blood pressure (the top number in a blood pressure reading that measures the pressure in the arteries while the heart is beating).

And they completed a lipid analysis to watch the total cholesterol, triglycerides, HDL (‘good’ cholesterol), and LDL (or ‘bad’ cholesterol) of the rats after the study period.

Overall, the team found that both the fruit and the peel and seeds reduced cardiovascular risk.

However, they found that the parts of the pomegranate that are often considered non-edible had even more power.

The results showed that the extract made from the peel and seeds of the fruit also had:

• Anti-fibrotic effects, which could reduce damage to blood vessels and the heart
• Anti-inflammatory effects, which could support overall health and wellbeing and reduce disease risk
• The ability to reduce systolic blood pressure similar to the blood pressure drug, Captopril, at doses lower than that reported for ellagic acid

So while the pomegranate fruit may be great for your heart, it looks like the peel is the real winner.

Getting more pomegranate in your daily diet

The good news is that it’s easy to add pomegranate to your diet.

The fruit is easy to find at your local grocery store, and you can also find supplements containing pomegranate peel extract online or at health food stores.

Be sure to check the supplement facts label on the back of the bottle to ensure the extract is made from the peel, not the fruit.

If you’re taking medication for blood pressure, do not stop. Always consult with your physician about medication and about supplements you’ve added.

Sources:

Extract from pomegranate peels and seeds shows anti-hypertensive properties – News Medical Life Sciences