Tips for Healthy Living

We’ve partnered with Dr. Doug Husbands of Holistic Health Bay Area to bring you a new set of Tips for Healthy Living. Dr. Husbands is a functional medicine doctor, clinical nutritionist, anti-aging health practitioner and doctor of chiropractic. I appreciate that he encourages visiting the doctor to focus on staying healthy instead of only visiting when you’re sick. – Carmelo Sigona

Pomegranates: Exotic Fruit With Powerful Health Properties

By Dr. Douglas Husbands

Pomegranates (Punica granatum )  are a fruit that, until relatively recently, has not been readily available in this area.  In ancient times, the trees were originally native to an area of what is now Iran.  It was then spread from there to what is now Eastern Europe, and Northern India.  It’s now cultivated throughout the middle east, China, and Northern Africa, Latin America,  Arizona, and here in California.

In the Northern Hemisphere, pomegranates are usually in season from September to February. 

The health benefits of pomegranates are many, including:

• Provides  polyphenols, such as the flavenoids and tannins ,that studies have shown help prevent cancer cell growth
• The seeds contain fiber and unsaturated fatty acids
• The Oxygen Radical Absorbance Capacity (ORAC) of the juice is 2860 units per 100 grams.  ORAC is a method of measuring antioxidant capacities of biologic substances
• An article published in the American Journal  of Clinical Nutrition in 2000 showed that healthy men who consumed pomegranate juice daily for 2 weeks experienced up to a 90% reduction in LDL cholesterol oxidation
• As published in the journal Atherosclerosis in 2001, consumption of 50 ml per day of pomegranate juice  for 2 weeks decreased angiotensin converting enzyme (ACE) in hypertensive patients by 36% with a 5 % reduction in systolic blood pressure

So eat your pomegranates while they are in season!

About Dr. Doug:
Dr. Douglas Husbands is a Functional Medicine Doctor, Clinical Nutritionist, Anti-Aging Health Practitioner, and Doctor of Chiropractic.  As a health advocate and coach, he is dedicated to achieving optimal health through resolving the underlying disease processes through diet, nutrition and lifestyle modification.   To contact Dr. Doug, call 650-394-7470 or visit http://www.HolisticHealthBayArea.com

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