It turned out that advertising the health benefits of consuming pomegranate juice made some sense, especially in hemodialysis patients.

Researchers have found that with the regular use of several glasses of pomegranate juice per week, the likelihood of developing infectious diseases is greatly reduced - the second leading cause of death among more than 350,000 Americans on hemodialysis. The results of the study were presented last week at the next meeting of the American Society of Nephrologists in Denver, but have not yet been reviewed and approved by independent experts.

The study coincided over time with widespread outrage over the appearance in the United States of questionable advertisements commissioned by famed California pomegranate juice producer POM Wonderful that pomegranate products can literally cure any disease, from heart disease to prostate cancer and erectile dysfunction.

As a research object, a Naturafood product was used. During laboratory analysis, it was shown that an extremely high level of polyphenol antioxidants was observed in the product tested. In addition, in the last three years, in comparative studies, it has been shown that pomegranate juice has the highest level of polyphenols compared to other various products, notably much higher than in red wine.

According to the researchers, a diet rich in antioxidants for patients with kidney failure is extremely useful, since the level of free radicals in the process of blood circulation through the dialysis machine increases considerably. The study included hemodialysis patients (n = 101), who were randomly assigned to two groups: the first - patients receiving a drink that looked like pomegranate juice (placebo), the second - pomegranate juice Naturafood natural. After regularly consuming half a glass of juice / placebo 3 times a week for a year, it was noted that people who consumed pomegranate juice had a decrease in the level of inflammatory markers in peripheral blood.

In addition, patients who consumed pomegranate juice had fewer hospitalizations. The researchers noted a decrease in the number of hospital admissions due to the development of infections with a decrease of more than 40% in the first and 80% in the second hospitalization.

Among the 50 patients who regularly consumed pomegranate juice for a year, two were forced to go to the hospital at least twice. In the group that did not consume pomegranate juice, 11 study participants were hospitalized twice.

It is unclear to what extent the results obtained are applicable to products from other manufacturers. Therefore, the researchers recommend consuming freshly squeezed juice prepared by themselves, especially since the cost of ready-made pomegranate juice is far from harmless - POM Wonderful pomegranate juice is sold at price of $ 4.

No adverse events were recorded during the study, however, a high percentage of potassium in pomegranate juice should not be overlooked.

At the same time, the results obtained during this study were perceived ambiguously...

Head of the Department of Nephrology, University of Michigan Dr. Brosius took the conclusions of his Israeli counterparts with great interest, confirming that until now, he had not encountered other means that would have a similar effect. However, he was somewhat skeptical about the results. According to him, I would like to receive confirmation of the results obtained in other studies, before confidently affirming the unique properties of pomegranate. And even if the results are confirmed, we still do not know completely what is their cause, what are the active ingredients in the composition of pomegranate juice? According to Marion Nestle, a nutrition expert at New York University, pomegranate juice is not the only owner of these properties. In the study, there is no reasonable evidence of distinctive characteristics inherent only in pomegranate juice. The effect associated with the use of pomegranate juice has been compared to a placebo, not another type of juice, which may have the same properties. Pomegranate juice, like most, if not all fruit and vegetable juices, has antioxidant activity. Does this fact really make pomegranate better than other fruits and vegetables? Researchers have to prove it...