ACE - ACE stands for angiotensin-converting enzyme. By splitting proteins, these enzymes convert angiotensin I into angiotensin II, a substance that increases salt and water in the body and leads to high blood pressure, a real no-no. ACE inhibitors make blood vessels relax, helping to lower blood pressure and allowing more oxygen-rich blood to reach the heart. Research shows POM Wonderful reduced ACE by 36% in ten elderly patients with high blood pressure after drinking an 8 oz. glass a day for only 2 weeks and also lowered their systolic blood pressure by 5%. 11

Anthocyanins - Naturally occurring polyphenolic compounds give many fruits, vegetables and plants their bright colors. Originally derived from two Greek words meaning plant and blue, anthocyanins are what make eggplants purple and pomegranates red. Many of the antioxidant characteristics in plants are due largely to anthocyanins. In fact, the darker, more deeply red and blue fruits usually have higher values of antioxidants; the rich, red pomegranate is absolutely loaded. 1

Atherosclerosis - Often called hardening of the arteries, atherosclerosis starts when oxidized cholesterol and other substances build up in the inner lining of an artery. The build-up is called plaque. Damage occurs when the plaque reduces the blood’s flow or when the plaque ruptures and causes blood clots. When a blood vessel that feeds the heart is blocked, it can cause a heart attack. If it blocks a vessel feeding the brain, it can cause a stroke. Naturally, the less plaque, the better. And that’s where POM Wonderful comes in. A pilot study of 19 elderly patients with atherosclerosis showed that an 8 oz. glass a day can reduce plaque build-up in the arteries by up to 30%.

Antioxidants - Antioxidants are scavengers that may neutralize free radicals before they get a chance to harm you body. They get their name from their ability to inhibit oxidation. There are lots of different substances we call antioxidants, including many vitamins and minerals. Of course, not all antioxidants are created equal, and some of the most powerful, polyphenol antioxidants are found in great abundance in POM Wonderful Pomegranate Juice. Which is why we call POM Wonderful Pomegranate Juice, “The Antioxidant Superpower™”. 

Carotid IMT - A stroke occurs when an adequate flow of blood to the brain is disrupted. The most common cause of this disruption is a narrowing or blockage of the carotid artery caused by the accumulation of plaque in the artery walls. 8 The carotid arteries are the main blood supply to the brain. The intima-media thickness (IMT) of the carotid arteries is a common way to measure how much plaque is lining the artery walls. The less, of course, the better.

Ellagic Acid - A naturally occurring phenolic compound phytochemical found in many fruits and vegetables, with levels much higher in berries and pomegranates than in apples, pears or walnuts.

Free Radicals - Free radicals are atoms or molecules in your body with an unpaired electron·making them highly unstable. Because electrons normally come in pairs, the free radicals collide with other molecules in an attempt to steal an electron, and may start a chain reaction, damaging your DNA and cells. Emerging science suggests this free radical damage may be linked to disease. 2 Free radical scavengers, or antioxidants, bind with the free radicals before they can do their damage. This brings us back to POM Wonderful Pomegranate Juice. The polyphenol antioxidants in POM Wonderful have been shown through emerging science to function as potent free radical scavengers.

HDL/LDL - High-density lipoprotein, or HDL cholesterol, is called “good” cholesterol because scientists believe it removes cholesterol from the blood, thereby reducing your risk of heart disease. You want your HDL count to be “high” and your LDL count to be “low.” Low-density lipoprotein, or LDL cholesterol, carries the majority of cholesterol through the blood stream. In order for cholesterol to travel through your blood (cholesterol can’t dissolve in water or blood), it’s coated with a layer of protein to make lipoprotein. Larger, less dense and less stable than HDL cholesterol, LDL can oxidize if attacked by free radicals and build-up on the walls of your arteries. This plaque can narrow the arteries, reduce blood flow or rupture, leading to heart disease or stroke. Which is why LDL cholesterol is known as the “bad” cholesterol.

Hypertension - Also called high blood pressure, it’s a major cause of damage to the arteries, heart and kidneys and can lead to atherosclerosis and stroke. When your blood vessels are narrow and filled with plaque, it’s harder for blood to flow through them and pressure against your artery wall increases. This can cause high blood pressure.

Nitric Oxide - Produced by several different kinds of cells and present in all humans and most animals, nitric oxide functions as a signaling molecule that tells the body to make blood vessels relax and widen. Nitric oxide controls our blood pressure, giving us more blood when we’re exercising and reducing the flow of blood when we’re at rest. Since heart attacks happen when the blood can’t flow through the blood vessels to the heart, we of course want to encourage lots of nitric oxide in our body…it can help by relaxing the blood vessels, allowing them to open and increasing blood flow.

Oxidation - When those unstable free radicals “borrow” an electron from a normal cell in your body, the process is called oxidation. It’s the same process as when metal rusts…or a cut up apple turns brown. Yuck. Free radicals cause oxidation inside your body which is why you want plenty of antioxidants…or compounds that inhibit chemical reactions with oxygen. You know, like POM Wonderful Pomegranate Juice.

Phytochemicals - Phytochemicals is simply a word that means “plant chemicals.” Once, researchers attributed the health promoting affects of plants to their numerous vitamins, minerals and fibers. More recently, however, researchers have discovered that the many other chemical compounds in plants also provide benefits to humans when consumed. Phytochemicals provide plants with protection from the environmental challenges they face, such as ultraviolet light. When we consume plants rich in phytochemicals, they seem to protect us as well. Some researchers estimate that up to 40,000 different phytochemicals will someday be fully catalogued and understood. Polyphenols are a class of phytochemicals that are particularly rich in antioxidants and plentiful in POM Wonderful Pomegranate Juice.

Plaque - Atherosclerosis occurs when fat, cholesterol and other substances accumulate in the walls of the arteries and form plaque. Eventually, plaque can erode the walls of the artery, diminish its elasticity and interfere with blood flow. Plaques can also rupture, causing debris to head downstream within the artery. What we’re talking about is a common cause for heart attack and stroke. Naturally, the less plaque, the better. And that’s where POM Wonderful comes in. A pilot study of 19 elderly patients with atherosclerosis showed that an 8 oz. glass a day can reduce plaque build-up in the arteries by up to 30%.

Polyphenols - Polyphenols are a class of phytochemicals found in plants and there may be at least 10,000 unique polyphenols in the world! Polyphenols literally means “many phenols”. A phenol is a kind of molecule, a carbon-based chemical structure, and many of them bound together form a polyphenol. Among the most potent of the antioxidants, polyphenols, like tannins, particularly punicalagin and anthocyanins, are really plentiful in pomegranate juice, which is why POM Wonderful is so good for you. 1

Punicalagin - A hydrolyzable tannin, punicalagin is found almost exclusively in pomegranates. This highly unique and potent polyphenol antioxidant breaks down to ellagic acid.

Systolic/Diastolic Blood Pressure - The systolic measurement is the first, or top number in a blood pressure reading. It’s the pressure of blood against your artery walls when the heart has just finished pumping or contracting. The diastolic measurement is the second, or bottom number in a blood pressure reading. It’s the pressure of blood against your artery walls when your heart is relaxed and filling with blood. When the numbers are at 140/90 or higher, you have high blood pressure. That means that your heart and arteries work harder and you’re in more danger of suffering from a stroke or heart attack.

Tannins - Tannins are plant polyphenols that add color and a slightly tart taste to pomegranates and many other vegetables and plants. The word tannin comes from the Celtic word for Oak and refers to the source of tannins used to convert animal skins into leather. In folk medicine, tannins were used to treat burns and as an astringent. While there are tannins in some teas and in red wine, tannins are truly abundant in POM Wonderful Pomegranate Juice, which account for the juice’s incredible antioxidant properties

Juice May Slow Prostate Cancer Growth (with recipe)

Janet Raloff

Prostate cancer will claim the lives of an estimated 30,000 men in the United States this year. The second leading cause of cancer death in men, its incidence climbs with age. In Western countries, the disease is reaching nearly epidemic proportions among the elderly. However, the cancer can grow so slowly that many men with prostate cancer will die of something else first.

A mystery has always been what factors might improve a man's odds of having a slow-growing malignancy. A new study suggests that drinking pomegranate juice might be one of them.

Several studies have associated diets high in plant-derived polyphenols—principally, the deeply pigmented antioxidants in many fruits and vegetables—with lower risks of malignancies including prostate cancer. Because the blood-red juice of pomegranates is especially rich in such compounds, Allan J. Pantuck of the David Geffen School of Medicine at the University of California, Los Angeles and his colleagues decided to test it against metastatic prostate cancer. These are malignancies that have spread beyond the gland, which in these men had been removed or destroyed, along with tumors, by radiation.

Over time, the presence of these residual cancer cells was confirmed by rising concentrations of a protein in the men's blood: prostate-specific antigen (PSA). Because PSA is made by prostate cells—usually cancerous ones—and because these men no longer had intact prostates, the presence of the substance indicated that cancerous prostate cells continued to exist in the men's' bodies, Pantuck explains.

The researchers calculated that the men's average doubling time in PSA concentrations—a rough gauge of cancer growth—was 15 months. After men drank a glass of juice a day, their average doubling time more than tripled. In nearly one-third of men, Pantuck notes, PSA values actually fell—in a few cases, dramatically.

Although this is just one study and the juice showed no sign of curing the disease, Pantuck says it shows that pomegranate juice might be a beneficial adjunct to other therapies in men with this potentially lethal disease.

A glass a day

Last fall, researchers at the University of Wisconsin–Madison reported related laboratory data. They incubated cells from an aggressive form of prostate cancer with pomegranate-fruit extract. The higher the concentration of the extract the greater the inhibition of the cancer cells' growth, notes team leader Hasan Mukhtar.

The team also injected human–prostate-cancer cells into lab mice. The cells grew into tumors, but the rate was reduced in animals fed pomegranate extract, his team reported in the Oct. 11 Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences. The team confirmed the juice's effect by measuring PSA concentrations in the animals' blood.

The new study extends these trials into people. Pantuck's group recruited 46 men who, despite having undergone prostate-cancer surgery, were exhibiting rising PSA values, as measured over a 6-month period. Concentrations of the protein at the start of the study ranged from 0.2 to 5 nanograms per liter of blood, indicative of small residues of cancer cells. These men had no medical sign of metastatic disease except for the PSA concentrations and were on no anticancer drugs or other therapies.

All recruits were then assigned to drink an 8-ounce bottle of pomegranate juice daily. PSA and other cancer indicators were measured every 3 months, and men were removed from the trial if they showed signs that their disease was advancing rapidly. By 33 months into the trial, PSA values had changed measurably in enough men to allow the researchers to calculate the concentration's new doubling time. On average, that figure was then about 54 months.

Overall, "more than 80 percent [of recruits] had a prolongation in their PSA doubling time," says Pantuck. "This means [that] for the majority of patients, their cancer's growth slowed."

PSA concentrations decreased in about a third of the study participants, the team reports in the July 1 Clinical Cancer Research. Most such decreases were small, but four men exhibited declines in the cancer indicator of more than 50 percent while taking the juice. One man's PSA concentration dropped a whopping 85 percent, Pantuck says. Once PSA becomes detectable, the urologist explains, it tends to rise inexorably—"you don't expect it to spontaneously decrease."

The researchers also conducted a few biochemical tests. For instance, they grew standard cultures of human-prostate cells in test tubes and fed the cells blood serum taken from the recruits at the beginning and end of the trial. The procedure was intended to reveal whether something changed in the men's blood that might affect cancer growth. Pantuck's group found that the cells' growth rate was 12 percent slower when the lab cultures were fed serum from the men after they had been drinking the juice.

The men's blood also tended to be less vulnerable to oxidation—a chemical reaction that can damage cells—once pomegranate-juice supplementation began.

What's next?

In this trial, no one was treated with a placebo instead of pomegranate juice. Such a study design is the gold standard for medical trials, because it rules out the possibility that just the idea of treatment—or some other factor—might be responsible for any effect that emerges from the study.

That's why Pantuck's group and others at institutions around the nation recently began just such a placebo-controlled, follow-up trial of pomegranate juice. The researchers' goal is to recruit some 350 patients with prostate cancer. Some men will receive pomegranate juice containing 570 milligrams of polyphenols per 8 ounces. Others will get juice with twice that quantity of polyphenols, and some men will receive a pomegranate substitute with no polyphenols.

Even if it turns out that the juice doesn't affect prostate growth in the new trial, there are plenty of reasons to enjoy this fruit. A growing library of published studies show that its antioxidant-rich flesh and juice inhibit cholesterol oxidation in human blood, lower blood pressure, retard the development of atherosclerosis, and even slow progression of Alzheimer's disease.

People in sunny climes may derive yet another unexpected benefit from pomegranate consumption: skin protection from the sun's harmful ultraviolet rays. Earlier this year, Mukhtar's group showed that treating cultured skin cells with a pomegranate extract minimized the development of precancerous changes when those cells were later irradiated with ultraviolet light. The scientists reported their findings in the March Photochemistry and Photobiology.

You say you don't like pomegranates? There may still be ways to fight prostate cancer naturally, via the diet—such as by drinking tea.

At a meeting 2 years ago, Suzanne Henning of the University of California, Los Angeles and her colleagues reported that polyphenols in tea appear to make men's blood less nourishing to prostate cancer cells. Moreover, drinking tea prior to prostate cancer surgery made noticeable changes in the tissue's cells. Those cells were less susceptible to runaway growth, a hallmark of cancer, in men who drank tea than in those who didn't. Her team's findings have now been formally published, in the July Journal of Nutrition.

Other evidence suggests that soy and aged garlic inhibit prostate cancer, as might foods rich in selenium (such as certain grains)—or boron (such as grapes and red wine). Indeed, Mukhtar argues, the best approach is always to strive for diversity in the diet, especially plenty of products made from different fruits and vegetables.

Recipe:

Grilled Eggplant with Pomegranate Sauce

POMEGRANATES AND EGGPLANT. This recipe shows how pomegranates can be used to dress up the flavor and eye appeal of a bland entrée.

Serves 6

Ingredients:

• 1 large eggplant
• 2 Tbsp olive oil
• 3 cloves garlic
• 2 to 3 pomegranates, or 1 cup juice
• 3/4 cup sugar
• 1 tsp salt

Garnish:

• Minced parsley
• 1/2 cup pomegranate seeds

Directions:

Cut eggplant into 1/4-inch slices, and place them on paper towels. Sprinkle slices with salt, and weight them down with heavy plates or a board for 30 minutes. Then pat them dry with paper towels.

Prepare pomegranate syrup by cutting 2 or 3 pomegranates in half and juice using a citrus reamer or juicer until you have 1 cup of liquid, or use 1 cup of commercial pomegranate juice. Combine juice and 3/4 cup of sugar in a small saucepan; bring to a boil. Reduce heat and simmer about 20 minutes until reduced to 1/2 cup, stirring frequently.

Lightly brush eggplant slices with olive oil, and place them on grill. Grill them for 3 minutes on each side, or until they are lightly browned on both sides. Remove from grill. Arrange the eggplant by overlapping the slices on a serving dish.

In a mortar, crush garlic cloves with 2 tsps salt to a paste. In a non-metallic bowl, combine the garlic paste and pomegranate syrup. Spread a little of the mixture on each eggplant slice. Sprinkle the slices with minced parley and pomegranate seeds for garnish and chill covered.

Nutritional Analysis: Calories 239, Protein 1g, Fat 2g, Calories from Fat 27%, Cholesterol 0mg, Carbohydrate 55g, Fiber 2g, Sodium 397mg.

Credit: Pomegranate Council

References:

Afaq, F., . . . and H. Mukhtar. 2005. Pomegranate fruit extract modulates UV-B–mediated phosphorylation of mitogen-activated protein kinases and activation of nuclear factor kappa B in normal human epidermal keratinocytes. Photochemistry and Photobiology 81(January):38-45. Abstract available at http://dx.doi.org/10.1562/2004-08-06-RA-264.1. Preprint available at http://phot.allenpress.com/pdfserv/
10.1562%2F2004-08-06-RA-264.

Henning, S.A., et al. 2006. Tea polyphenols and theaflavins are present in prostate tissue of humans and mice after green and black tea consumption. Journal of Nutrition 136(July):1839-1843. Abstract available at http://jn.nutrition.org/cgi/content/abstract/136/7/1839.

Malik, A., . . . and H. Mukhtar. 2005. Pomegranate fruit juice for chemoprevention and chemotherapy of prostate cancer. Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences 102(Oct. 11):14813-14818. Available at http://www.pnas.org/cgi/content/full/102/41/14813.

Pantuck, A.J., et al. 2006. Phase II study of pomegranate juice for men with rising prostate-specific antigen following surgery or radiation for prostate cancer. Clinical Cancer Research 12(July 1):4018-4026. Abstract available at http://clincancerres.aacrjournals.org/cgi/content/abstract/12/13/4018.

Syed, D.N., . . . and H. Mukhtar. 2006. Photochemopreventive effect of pomegranate fruit extract on UVA-mediated activation of cellular pathways in normal human epidermal keratinocytes. Photochemistry and Photobiology 82(March): 398-405. Abstract available at http://dx.doi.org/10.1562/2005-06-23-RA-589.

Further Readings:

Brownlee, C. 2005. Pomegranate juice could fight Alzheimer's. Science News 168(Dec. 3):366. Available to subscribers at http://www.sciencenews.org/articles/20051203/note12.asp.

Harder, B. 2003. Predicting prostate cancer's moves. Science News 164(Aug. 23):123-124. Available at http://www.sciencenews.org/articles/20030823/bob9.asp.

Centers for Disease Control and Prevention. Fruit of the Month – Pomegranate. Available at http://www.cdc.gov/nccdphp/dnpa/5aday/
month/pdfs/Pomegranate.pdf.

Raloff, J. 2006. Chocolate as sunscreen. Science News Online (June 10). Available at http://www.sciencenews.org/articles/20060610/food.asp.

______. 2005. Food colorings. Science News 167(Jan. 8):27-29. Available at http://www.sciencenews.org/articles/20050108/bob9.asp.

______. 2004. Vitamin boost. Science News 166(Oct. 9):232-233. Available at http://www.sciencenews.org/articles/20041009/bob8.asp.

______. 2004. Tea yields prostate benefits. Science News Online (May 1). Available at http://www.sciencenews.org/articles/20040501/food.asp.

______. 2003. Selenium's value to prostate health. Science News Online (May 3). Available at http://www.sciencenews.org/articles/20030503/food.asp.

______. 2001. Boosting boron could be healthful. Science News 159(April 14):228. Available at http://www.sciencenews.org/articles/20010414/fob1.asp.

______. 1999. Soy slows growth of prostate cancers. Science News 156(Nov. 6):295. References and sources available at http://www.sciencenews.org/pages/sn_arc99/11_6_99/fob8ref.htm.

______. 1997. Aged garlic could slow prostate cancer. Science News 151(April 19):239. Available at http://www.sciencenews.org/pages/sn_arc97/4_19_97/fob3.htm.

______. 1997. Cancers do not savor garlic (with recipes) Science News Online (April 19). Available at http://www.sciencenews.org/pages/sn_arc97/4_19_97/food.htm.

Seppa, N. 1998. Can selenium avert prostate cancer? Science News 154(Sept. 19):188. References and sources available at http://www.sciencenews.org/pages/sn_arc98/9_19_98/note4ref.htm.

Sources:

Hasan Mukhtar
Department of Dermatology
Medical Sciences Centre
University of Wisconsin, Madison
Room B25
1300 University Avenue
Madison, WI 53706

Allan J. Pantuck
Department of Urology
David Geffen School of Medicine
University of California, Los Angeles

66-118 Center for Health Sciences
Box 951738
Los Angeles, CA 90095-1738

Pomegranate Council
19 Sherwood Court
San Francisco, CA 94127
 

How Advertising Is Becoming Child's Play (July 29, 2006) Demand for Ethanol May Drive Up Food Prices (July 22, 2006) Farm Fresh Pesticides (July 8, 2006)   ACE - ACE stands for angiotensin-converting enzyme. By splitting proteins, these enzymes convert angiotensin I into angiotensin II, a substance that increases salt and water in the body and leads to high blood pressure, a real no-no. ACE inhibitors make blood vessels relax, helping to lower blood pressure and allowing more oxygen-rich blood to reach the heart. Research shows POM Wonderful reduced ACE by 36% in ten elderly patients with high blood pressure after drinking an 8 oz. glass a day for only 2 weeks and also lowered their systolic blood pressure by 5%. 11 Anthocyanins - Naturally occurring polyphenolic compounds give many fruits, vegetables and plants their bright colors. Originally derived from two Greek words meaning plant and blue, anthocyanins are what make eggplants purple and pomegranates red. Many of the antioxidant characteristics in plants are due largely to anthocyanins. In fact, the darker, more deeply red and blue fruits usually have higher values of antioxidants; the rich, red pomegranate is absolutely loaded. 1 Atherosclerosis - Often called hardening of the arteries, atherosclerosis starts when oxidized cholesterol and other substances build up in the inner lining of an artery. The build-up is called plaque. Damage occurs when the plaque reduces the blood’s flow or when the plaque ruptures and causes blood clots. When a blood vessel that feeds the heart is blocked, it can cause a heart attack. If it blocks a vessel feeding the brain, it can cause a stroke. Naturally, the less plaque, the better. And that’s where POM Wonderful comes in. A pilot study of 19 elderly patients with atherosclerosis showed that an 8 oz. glass a day can reduce plaque build-up in the arteries by up to 30%. Antioxidants - Antioxidants are scavengers that may neutralize free radicals before they get a chance to harm you body. They get their name from their ability to inhibit oxidation. There are lots of different substances we call antioxidants, including many vitamins and minerals. Of course, not all antioxidants are created equal, and some of the most powerful, polyphenol antioxidants are found in great abundance in POM Wonderful Pomegranate Juice. Which is why we call POM Wonderful Pomegranate Juice, “The Antioxidant Superpower™”. 1 Carotid IMT - A stroke occurs when an adequate flow of blood to the brain is disrupted. The most common cause of this disruption is a narrowing or blockage of the carotid artery caused by the accumulation of plaque in the artery walls. 8 The carotid arteries are the main blood supply to the brain. The intima-media thickness (IMT) of the carotid arteries is a common way to measure how much plaque is lining the artery walls. The less, of course, the better. Ellagic Acid - A naturally occurring phenolic compound phytochemical found in many fruits and vegetables, with levels much higher in berries and pomegranates than in apples, pears or walnuts. Free Radicals - Free radicals are atoms or molecules in your body with an unpaired electron·making them highly unstable. Because electrons normally come in pairs, the free radicals collide with other molecules in an attempt to steal an electron, and may start a chain reaction, damaging your DNA and cells. Emerging science suggests this free radical damage may be linked to disease. 2 Free radical scavengers, or antioxidants, bind with the free radicals before they can do their damage. This brings us back to POM Wonderful Pomegranate Juice. The polyphenol antioxidants in POM Wonderful have been shown through emerging science to function as potent free radical scavengers. 6 HDL/LDL - High-density lipoprotein, or HDL cholesterol, is called “good” cholesterol because scientists believe it removes cholesterol from the blood, thereby reducing your risk of heart disease. You want your HDL count to be “high” and your LDL count to be “low.” Low-density lipoprotein, or LDL cholesterol, carries the majority of cholesterol through the blood stream. In order for cholesterol to travel through your blood (cholesterol can’t dissolve in water or blood), it’s coated with a layer of protein to make lipoprotein. Larger, less dense and less stable than HDL cholesterol, LDL can oxidize if attacked by free radicals and build-up on the walls of your arteries. This plaque can narrow the arteries, reduce blood flow or rupture, leading to heart disease or stroke. Which is why LDL cholesterol is known as the “bad” cholesterol. 8 Hypertension - Also called high blood pressure, it’s a major cause of damage to the arteries, heart and kidneys and can lead to atherosclerosis and stroke. 8 When your blood vessels are narrow and filled with plaque, it’s harder for blood to flow through them and pressure against your artery wall increases. This can cause high blood pressure. Nitric Oxide - Produced by several different kinds of cells and present in all humans and most animals, nitric oxide functions as a signaling molecule that tells the body to make blood vessels relax and widen. Nitric oxide controls our blood pressure, giving us more blood when we’re exercising and reducing the flow of blood when we’re at rest. Since heart attacks happen when the blood can’t flow through the blood vessels to the heart, we of course want to encourage lots of nitric oxide in our body…it can help by relaxing the blood vessels, allowing them to open and increasing blood flow. 10 Oxidation - When those unstable free radicals “borrow” an electron from a normal cell in your body, the process is called oxidation. It’s the same process as when metal rusts…or a cut up apple turns brown. Yuck. Free radicals cause oxidation inside your body which is why you want plenty of antioxidants…or compounds that inhibit chemical reactions with oxygen. You know, like POM Wonderful Pomegranate Juice. 3 Phytochemicals - Phytochemicals is simply a word that means “plant chemicals.” Once, researchers attributed the health promoting affects of plants to their numerous vitamins, minerals and fibers. More recently, however, researchers have discovered that the many other chemical compounds in plants also provide benefits to humans when consumed. Phytochemicals provide plants with protection from the environmental challenges they face, such as ultraviolet light. When we consume plants rich in phytochemicals, they seem to protect us as well. Some researchers estimate that up to 40,000 different phytochemicals will someday be fully catalogued and understood. Polyphenols are a class of phytochemicals that are particularly rich in antioxidants and plentiful in POM Wonderful Pomegranate Juice. Plaque - Atherosclerosis occurs when fat, cholesterol and other substances accumulate in the walls of the arteries and form plaque. Eventually, plaque can erode the walls of the artery, diminish its elasticity and interfere with blood flow. Plaques can also rupture, causing debris to head downstream within the artery. What we’re talking about is a common cause for heart attack and stroke. Naturally, the less plaque, the better. And that’s where POM Wonderful comes in. A pilot study of 19 elderly patients with atherosclerosis showed that an 8 oz. glass a day can reduce plaque build-up in the arteries by up to 30%. Polyphenols - Polyphenols are a class of phytochemicals found in plants and there may be at least 10,000 unique polyphenols in the world! Polyphenols literally means “many phenols”. A phenol is a kind of molecule, a carbon-based chemical structure, and many of them bound together form a polyphenol. Among the most potent of the antioxidants, polyphenols, like tannins, particularly punicalagin and anthocyanins, are really plentiful in pomegranate juice, which is why POM Wonderful is so good for you. 1 Punicalagin - A hydrolyzable tannin, punicalagin is found almost exclusively in pomegranates. This highly unique and potent polyphenol antioxidant breaks down to ellagic acid. Systolic/Diastolic Blood Pressure - The systolic measurement is the first, or top number in a blood pressure reading. It’s the pressure of blood against your artery walls when the heart has just finished pumping or contracting. The diastolic measurement is the second, or bottom number in a blood pressure reading. It’s the pressure of blood against your artery walls when your heart is relaxed and filling with blood. When the numbers are at 140/90 or higher, you have high blood pressure. That means that your heart and arteries work harder and you’re in more danger of suffering from a stroke or heart attack. Tannins - Tannins are plant polyphenols that add color and a slightly tart taste to pomegranates and many other vegetables and plants. The word tannin comes from the Celtic word for Oak and refers to the source of tannins used to convert animal skins into leather. In folk medicine, tannins were used to treat burns and as an astringent. While there are tannins in some teas and in red wine, tannins are truly abundant in POM Wonderful Pomegranate Juice, which account for the juice’s incredible antioxidant properties.