{"id":1779945,"date":"2022-12-19T06:30:07","date_gmt":"2022-12-19T11:30:07","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/?p=1779945"},"modified":"2022-12-19T09:04:26","modified_gmt":"2022-12-19T14:04:26","slug":"why-pomegranate-juice-is-roto-rooter-for-the-arteries","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/why-pomegranate-juice-is-roto-rooter-for-the-arteries\/","title":{"rendered":"Why Pomegranate Juice Is \u201cRoto-Rooter\u201d for the Arteries"},"content":{"rendered":"<aside class=\"mashsb-container mashsb-main mashsb-stretched\"><div class=\"mashsb-box\"><div class=\"mashsb-count mash-medium\" style=\"&quot;\"><div class=\"counts mashsbcount\">16<\/div><span class=\"mashsb-sharetext\">SHARES<\/span><\/div><div class=\"mashsb-buttons\"><a class=\"mashicon-facebook mash-medium mash-nomargin mashsb-noshadow\" href=\"https:\/\/www.facebook.com\/sharer.php?u=https%3A%2F%2Fwww.conservativenewsdaily.net%2Fbreaking-news%2Fwhy-pomegranate-juice-is-roto-rooter-for-the-arteries%2F\" target=\"_top\" rel=\"nofollow\"><span class=\"icon\"><\/span><span class=\"text\">Facebook<\/span><\/a><a class=\"mashicon-twitter mash-medium mash-nomargin mashsb-noshadow\" href=\"https:\/\/twitter.com\/intent\/tweet?text=&amp;url=https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/?p=1779945&amp;via=ConservNewsDly\" target=\"_top\" rel=\"nofollow\"><span class=\"icon\"><\/span><span class=\"text\">Twitter<\/span><\/a><a class=\"mashicon-subscribe mash-medium mash-nomargin mashsb-noshadow\" href=\"#\" target=\"_top\" rel=\"nofollow\"><span class=\"icon\"><\/span><span class=\"text\">Subscribe<\/span><\/a><div class=\"onoffswitch2 mash-medium mashsb-noshadow\" style=\"display:none\"><\/div><\/div>\n            <\/div>\n                <div style=\"clear:both\"><\/div><\/aside>\n            <!-- Share buttons by mashshare.net - Version: 4.0.47--><p>One of the most amazing clinical studies ever performed has been hidden away behind a paywall for more than a decade. When I first stumbled upon this clinical pearl two years ago, in the form of the publicly indexed abstract on pubmed.gov, my jaw nearly dropped.<\/p>\n<p>\u201cPomegranate juice consumption resulted in a significant\u00a0IMT\u00a0[intima-media thickness] reduction, by up to 30 percent, after 1 year,\u201d reads the most eye-opening line in the study\u2019s abstract.<\/p>\n<p>But what does this pomegranate-induced reduction in the\u00a0intima-media thickness of the arteries mean?<\/p>\n<h2>Pomegranate Juice \u2013 Reversing Atherosclerosis<\/h2>\n<p>The\u00a0intima\u00a0media is the middle portion of the arteries that becomes inflamed and fills with plaque comprised of oxidized fats, immune cells, and their debris, in the condition known colloquially as \u201cblocked arteries,\u201d or clinically as \u201catherosclerosis.\u201d As the\u00a0intima\u00a0media grows thicker, less space is available for the blood contents to move through the opening (lumen) of the arteries. When the\u00a0arteries\u00a0eventually close or are blocked, catastrophic\u00a0injury or death may follow.<\/p>\n<p>Therefore, anything that can safely reduce, or better, reverse\u00a0intima\u00a0media thickening is the holy grail as far as obtaining a root cause resolution of atherosclerosis, and by implication would profoundly reduce deaths linked to cardiovascular mortality.<\/p>\n<p class=\"rtecenter\"><img decoding=\"async\" class=\"lazy\" src=\"https:\/\/www.theepochtimes.com\/assets\/themes\/eet\/images\/white.png\" data-src=\"https:\/\/greenmedinfo.com\/sites\/default\/files\/ckeditor\/Sayer%20Ji\/images\/imt.jpg\" alt=\"IMT\"   style=\"display:none\"><\/p>\n<p><noscript><img decoding=\"async\" src=\"https:\/\/greenmedinfo.com\/sites\/default\/files\/ckeditor\/Sayer%20Ji\/images\/imt.jpg\" alt=\"IMT\" \/><\/noscript><\/p>\n<p>Indeed, in a world where the top cause of death is cardiovascular disease, and where we preemptively medicate millions more with drugs that only reduce surrogate markers for cardiovascular disease risk\u2014i.e. lipoproteins carrying cholesterol\u2014without showing any convincing evidence that it\u2019s reducing cardiovascular disease or all-cause mortality, how could something as simple and powerful as pomegranate be overlooked?<\/p>\n<p>In fact, if a simple daily dietary intervention is capable of regressing or reversing the underlying disease process in millions of fatal cardiac cases,\u00a0it would seem highly unethical not to use it.<\/p>\n<p>Here, we wish to bring some of the finer details of this clinical trial to light, to further substantiate the value of botanical and food-based interventions\u2014not only in preventing but treating major chronic disease processes such as cardiovascular disease, the developed world\u2019s most deadly disease.<\/p>\n<h2>The Pomegranate \u2018Artery-Cleaning\u2019 Clinical Trial<\/h2>\n<p class=\"rtecenter\"><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" class=\"lazy\" src=\"https:\/\/www.theepochtimes.com\/assets\/themes\/eet\/images\/white.png\" data-src=\"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/wp-content\/uploads\/2022\/12\/scree.png\" alt=\"Epoch Times Photo\" width=\"467\" height=\"335\" \/><\/p>\n<p><noscript><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" class=\"\" src=\"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/wp-content\/uploads\/2022\/12\/scree.png\" alt=\"Epoch Times Photo\" width=\"467\" height=\"335\" \/><\/noscript><\/p>\n<p>Published in\u00a0Clinical Nutrition\u00a0in 2004 and titled \u201cPomegranate\u00a0juice\u00a0consumption for 3 years by patients with carotid artery\u00a0stenosis\u00a0reduces common carotid\u00a0intima-media\u00a0thickness, blood pressure and\u00a0LDL\u00a0oxidation,\u201d Israeli researchers discovered pomegranate, administered in juice form over the course of a year, reversed plaque accumulation in the carotid arteries of patients with severe, though symptomless, carotid artery\u00a0stenosis\u00a0(defined as 70 to 90 percent blockage\u00a0in the internal carotid arteries).<\/p>\n<p>The study consisted of 19 patients, five women and 14 men, aged 65 to 75, who were non-smokers.\u00a0They were randomized to receive either pomegranate juice or a placebo. Ten patients were in the pomegranate juice treatment group and nine patients who didn\u2019t consume pomegranate juice were in the control group. Both groups were matched with similar blood lipid and glucose concentrations, blood pressure, and with similar medication regimens, which consisted of blood-pressure lowering (e.g. ACE inhibitors, beta-blockers, or calcium channel blockers) and lipid-lowering drugs (e.g. statins).<\/p>\n<p>The 10 patients in the treatment group received 8.11 ounces (240 ml) of pomegranate juice per day, for a period of one year, and five out of them agreed to continue for up to three years.<\/p>\n<p>The remarkable results were reported as follows:<\/p>\n<p>\u201cThe mean intima media thickness of the left and right common carotid arteries in severe carotid artery stenosis patients that consumed pomegranate juice for up to 1 year was reduced after 3, 6, 9 and 12 months of pomegranate juice consumption by 13 percent, 22 percent, 26 percent, and 35 percent, respectively, in comparison to baseline values.\u201d<\/p>\n<p>You can only imagine what would happen if a pharmaceutical drug was shown to reverse plaque buildup in the carotid arteries by 13 percent in just three months! This drug would be lauded as a life-saving miracle drug, and not only would be promoted and sold successfully as a multi-billion dollar blockbuster, but discussion would inevitably follow as to why it should be mandated.<\/p>\n<p>While these results are impressive, if not altogether groundbreaking for the field of cardiology, they may be even better than revealed in the stated therapeutic outcomes above.<\/p>\n<p>When one factors in that the carotid artery stenosis\u00a0increased 9 percent within one year\u00a0in the\u00a0control group, the pomegranate intervention group may have seen even better results than indicated by the measured regression in intima media thickness alone. That is, if we assume that the pomegranate group had received no treatment, the thickening of their carotid arteries would have continued to\u00a0progress like the control group at a rate of 9 percent a year, i.e., 18 percent within two years, 27 percent within three years.<\/p>\n<p>This could be interpreted to mean that after three years of pomegranate treatment, for instance, the thickening of the arteries would have been reduced more than 60 percent beyond what would have occurred had the natural progression of the disease been allowed to continue unabated.<\/p>\n<h2>3 Ways Pomegranate Heals the Cardiovascular System<\/h2>\n<p>The researchers identified three likely mechanisms of action behind pomegranate\u2019s observed anti-atherosclerotic activity:<\/p>\n<h3><strong>Antioxidant Properties <\/strong><\/h3>\n<p>Subjects receiving pomegranate saw significant reductions in oxidative stress, including decreases in autoantibodies formed against ox-LDL, a form of oxidized low-density lipoprotein associated with the pathological process of atherosclerosis.<\/p>\n<p>Decreases in oxidative stress were measurable by an increase in the blood serum enzyme paraoxonase 1 (PON1) of up to 91 percent after three years; PON1 is an enzyme whose heightened activity is associated with lower oxidative stress.<\/p>\n<p>All of this is highly relevant to the question of pomegranate\u2019s anti-atherosclerotic activity because of something called the lipid peroxidation hypothesis of atherosclerosis, which assumes that it\u2019s the quality of the blood lipids (i.e., whether they are oxidized\/damaged or not), and not their quantity alone that determine their cardiotoxicity\/atherogenicity.<\/p>\n<p>Essentially, pomegranate prevents the heart-disease-promoting effects of oxidative stress.<\/p>\n<h3><strong>Blood Pressure Lowering Properties<\/strong><\/h3>\n<p>The intervention resulted in significant improvement in blood pressure: the patient\u2019s systolic blood pressure was reduced by 7 percent, 11 percent, 10 percent, 10 percent, and 12 percent after 1, 3, 6, 9, and 12 months of pomegranate consumption, respectively, compared to values obtained before treatment.<\/p>\n<p>Pomegranate\u2019s ability to reduce systolic blood pressure indicates it has a healing effect on the endothelium, or the inner lining of the artery which fails to relax fully in heart disease; a condition known as endothelial dysfunction.<\/p>\n<h3><strong>Plaque Lesion Stabilization<\/strong><\/h3>\n<p>Because two of the 10 patients on pomegranate juice (after three and 12 months) experienced clinical deterioration, carotid surgery was performed and the lesions were analyzed to determine the difference in their composition to those who didn\u2019t receive pomegranate. The researchers noticed four distinct positive differences in the composition of the pomegranate-treated lesions:<\/p>\n<p><strong>1. Reduced Cholesterol Content:\u00a0<\/strong>\u201cThe cholesterol content in carotid lesions from the two patients that consumed pomegranate juice (PJ) was lower by 58 percent and 20 percent, respectively, in comparison to lesions obtained from CAS patients that did not consume PJ.\u201d<\/p>\n<p><strong>2. Reduced Lipid Peroxides:\u00a0<\/strong>\u201cThe lipid peroxides content in lesions obtained from the patients after PJ consumption for 3 or 12 months was significantly reduced by 61 percent or 44 percent, respectively, as compared to lesions from patients that did not consume PJ.<\/p>\n<p><strong>3. Increased Reduced Glutathione Content:<\/strong> \u201cA substantial increase in the lesion reduced glutathione (GSH) content, (GSH is a major cellular antioxidant) by 2.5-fold, was observed after PJ consumption for 3 or 12 months.\u201d<\/p>\n<p><strong>4. Reduced LDL Oxidation:<\/strong>\u00a0\u201cLDL oxidation by lesions derived from the patients after PJ consumption for 3 or 12 months, was significantly (Po0.01) decreased by 43 percent or 32 percent, respectively, in comparison to LDL oxidation rates obtained by lesions from CAS patients that did not consume PJ.\u201d<\/p>\n<p>Essentially, these results reveal that not only does pomegranate reduce the lesion size in the carotid arteries, but \u201cthe lesion itself may be considered less atherogenic after PJ consumption, as its cholesterol and oxidized lipid content decreased, and since its ability to oxidize LDL was significantly reduced.\u201d<\/p>\n<p>This finding is quite revolutionary, as presently, the dangers of carotid artery stenosis\u00a0are understood primarily through the lesion size and not by assessing the quality of that lesion.<\/p>\n<p>This dovetails with the concept that the sheer quantity of lipoproteins (i.e. \u201ccholesterol\u201d) in the blood can not accurately reveal whether those lipoproteins are actually harmful (atherogenic); rather, if lipoproteins are oxidized (e.g. ox-LDL) they can be harmful (or representative of a more systemic bodily imbalance), whereas non-oxidized low-density lipoprotein may be considered entirely benign, if not indispensable for cardiovascular and body-wide health.<\/p>\n<p>Indeed, in this study the researchers found the pomegranate group had increased levels of triglycerides and very low-density lipoprotein, again, underscoring that the anti-atherosclerotic properties likely have more to do with the improved quality of the physiological\u00a0milieu\u00a0within which all our lipoproteins operate than the number of them, in and of itself.<\/p>\n<p>Finally, it should be pointed out that all the patients in this study were undergoing conventional, drug-based care for cardiovascular disease, e.g. cholesterol- and blood pressure-lowering agents. Not only did the pomegranate treatment not appear to interfere with their drugs, making it a suitable complementary\/adjunct therapy for those on pharmaceuticals, but it should be pointed out that the control group\u2019s condition got progressively worse (e.g. the mean\u00a0IMT\u00a0increased 9 percent within one year), speaking to just how ineffective drugs are, or how they may even contribute to the acceleration of the disease process itself.<\/p>\n<h2>Pomegranate\u2019s 100-Plus Health Benefits<\/h2>\n<p>Believe it or not, pomegranate has many other ways in which it can help to heal the cardiovascular system, as well as other organ systems. Our <a href=\"https:\/\/greenmedinfo.com\/substance\/pomegranate\">research project<\/a> has identified more than 100 distinct health benefits of pomegranate.<\/p>\n<div class=\"author_wrapper\">\n<div class=\"one_author_block round\">\n<div class=\"top_row\">\n\t\t\t\t\t<a href=\"https:\/\/www.theepochtimes.com\/author-sayer-ji\"><img decoding=\"async\" src=\"https:\/\/img.theepochtimes.com\/assets\/uploads\/2022\/04\/21\/tr3p5c4vmkqbogmeqjlpo6fbb8.__01_SX120_CR00120120__.jpg\" alt=\"Sayer Ji\" \/><\/a>\n\t\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n<p>Sayer Ji is founder of Greenmedinfo.com, a reviewer at the International Journal of Human Nutrition and Functional Medicine, Co-founder and CEO of Systome Biomed, Vice Chairman of the Board of the National Health Federation, Steering Committee Member of the Global Non-GMO Foundation.<\/p>\n<\/p><\/div>\n<\/div>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>One of the most amazing clinical studies ever performed has been hidden away behind a paywall for more than a decade. When I first stumbled upon this clinical pearl two<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":1779948,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_mo_disable_npp":"","fifu_image_url":"https:\/\/cndimages.nyc3.digitaloceanspaces.com\/breaking-news\/wp-content\/uploads\/2021\/01\/IMG_2758-scaled-1.jpg","fifu_image_alt":"","footnotes":""},"categories":[547],"tags":[10242,10243,5458,10241,10244,3819],"class_list":["post-1779945","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-the-bongino-report","tag-roto-rooter","tag-arteries","tag-bongino","tag-juice","tag-pomegranate","tag-report"],"fifu_image_url":"https:\/\/cndimages.nyc3.digitaloceanspaces.com\/breaking-news\/wp-content\/uploads\/2021\/01\/IMG_2758-scaled-1.jpg","_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/1779945","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/1"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=1779945"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/1779945\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/1779948"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=1779945"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=1779945"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=1779945"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}