石榴有助于预防冠状动脉疾病

Pomegranate helps prevent coronary artery disease

A study released in Atherosclerosis suggests that pomegranate fruits may help prevent or even reverse cardiovascular disease which has something to do with the accumulation of fatty materials – a pathological process called atherosclerosis.

In the study, mice that were genetically susceptible to spontaneous coronary artery blockages were treated with pomegranate extract for two weeks. The mice received the treatment starting at three weeks of age.

The treatment increased very low density lipoprotein cholesterol levels, but reduced the size of the atherosclerostic plaques in the aortic sinus. And it also reduced coronary arteries with occlusive atherosclerotic plaque.

Other benefits associated with treatment with pomegranate extract include reduce oxidative stress, reduced inflammation in the arteries, reduced liquid buildup in the heart muscle, reduced macrophage infiltration in the heart muscle, reduced fibrosis in the myocardium, minimized cardiac enlargement and mitigated ECG abnormalities.

The secret may lie with the fact that pomegranate has high loads of antioxidants which are critical for the protection against cardiovascular disease. Nobel Prize winner Linus Pauling suggested that vitamin D deficiency is the primary cause of cardiovascular disease.

Another possible explanation for the cardiovascular protection is that the astringents in pomegranate can help clease the arteries by removing some aged epithelial cells.

Another study conducted by Israeli researchers and published in Clinical Nutrition in 2004 resulted in similar conclusions that pomegranate can clease arteries.

In that study, patients with severe carotid artery stenosis defined as 70 to 90% blockage in the internal carotid arteries used pomegranate juice for a year.

The researchers observed that administration of pomegranate juice reversed plagues accumulation in the carotid ateries in the patients who received the treatment.

Nineteen patients with similar cardiac conditions were either given 8.11 ounces or 240 ml of pomegranate juice or placebo. Five out of the ten treated continued to drink the juice for up to three years.

The treated group had their mean intima media thickness of the left and right common carotid arteries reduced by 13%, 22%, 26% and 35% after 3, 6, 9 and 12 months of treatment with pomegranate juice, respectively.

By contrast, those who did not drink pomegranate juice increased the carotid artery stenosis by 9% within one year.

So the researchers believe that pomegranate juice helps cardiovascular disease in three ways.

1) As a abundant source of antioxidants. It has been known that atherosclerosis is due largely to oxidized cholesterol particles and antioxidants can help prevent the oxidation that leads to the pathology.

2) As an anti-hypertension agent. That is why patients treated with pomegranate juice experience significant lowering of blood pressure. Specifically, the systolic blood pressure dropped by 7%, 11%, 10%, 10% and 12% after 1,3,6,9 and 12 months of the treatment, respectively.

3) As an agent to help stabilization of plaques. Two patients out of the ten treated patients eventually received carotid surgery due to their determinative condition. But their cholesterol levels and lipid peroxides were reduced. Glutathione and low density cholesterol oxidation were also reduced.

Please note that all patients, treated with pomegranate or not, were treated with conventional medications for cardiovascular disease, that is, cholesterol and blood pressure lowering agents. The conclusion is that those untreated with pomegranate juice got their condition progressively worse during the course of trial.

These two studies are not the only studies that proved the benefits of pomegranate juice for patients with atherosclerosis.  （Dr。Lu）