Eating pomegranate delivers oxygen and nutrients to cells and carries away carbon dioxide and other waste products. The blood circulation system is responsible for transporting oxygen and nutrients to cells and carrying away carbon dioxide and other waste products to different tissues of the body and back to the heart. The blood circulates through the body, delivering nutrients, oxygen, metabolites, and even waste metabolites like carbon dioxide, urea, uric acid, etc., to different tissues and back to the heart.
Inadequate blood flow can lead to various health issues, including pain, reduced muscle strength, numbness, heart conditions, blood pressure, digestive problems, and kidney disorders.
There can be various reasons for poor circulation. There is often an underlying disorder when someone experiences erectile dysfunction, such as obesity, diabetes mellitus, or peripheral artery disease. Unhealthy lifestyles can lead to decreased blood flow. The following are major reasons behind circulatory disorders: smoking, excessive alcohol, a sedentary lifestyle, obesity, and lack of exercise.
Many people, including those with poor circulation and athletes, want to improve blood flow. Good circulation is key to an active and healthy life in later years. Circulatory and cardiac issues are becoming more common in young adults. There are two significant reasons for this: bad lifestyle choices and bad eating habits.
There are various medical treatments for circulatory disorders, ranging from medication to surgery.
Although medication can be effective in increasing blood flow, there are also certain foods that can have the same effect. A change in your diet may also improve blood circulation.
Pomegranate
Fruits are a rich source of nutrients and are considered a mandatory part of a healthy diet. Pomegranates contain high levels of vasodilators like polyphenols, antioxidants, and nitrates, making them three times more effective than green tea and red wine. Pomegranate consumption can improve blood circulation, whether in the form of juice, raw fruit, or even as a supplement.
Pomegranate juice can help to prevent heart disease by reducing the stiffness of arteries and lowering the amount of plaque and cholesterol that can build up. These functions help to improve blood circulation by reducing damage from free radicals and inflammation.
Different studies have been done to show that pomegranate is effective. A study found that taking 1000 mg of pomegranate extract before exercising improves blood flow and the diameter of blood vessels and also improves performance.
A study of weightlifters showed that drinking 500 ml of pomegranate juice before or during lifting can reduce soreness, muscle deterioration, and inflammation.
Benefits of Pomegranate
Improving Blood Flow to the Heart
In the Western world, atherosclerotic coronary artery disease is still the most common cause of death, even though there are more people than ever taking heart medications that are prescribed by a doctor.
After finding that pomegranate had positive effects on animals with heart disease, doctors decided to study whether it would also help humans with heart disease. Specifically, they wanted to see if pomegranate could help with inducible angina (a chest pain that occurs when the heart isn’t getting enough oxygen) and if it could improve blood flow through the coronary arteries. To begin, the whole group was given a stress test designed to cause chest pain, along with an advanced tomography technique to measure coronary blood flow.
The first group of cardiac patients had just received their medications, while the second group also received pomegranate juice along with their medications. After three months had passed, the coronary blood flow was measured again using the same tests that were performed at the start. The group that consumed pomegranate juice had 50% fewer episodes of stress-induced angina than the group that consumed the placebo.
The test to measure coronary artery blood flow was performed on two groups, one that was given a placebo and one that was given pomegranate. After three months, the group given the placebo worsened by 17%, while the group was given pomegranate improved by 18%.
This is the first study to show that pomegranate juice can improve blood flow to the heart in people with coronary artery disease. The effects were seen in a short period of time. The doctors noted that a recent study showed the test they used to measure coronary blood flow was the best predictor of future heart attack risk. The doctors explained that the anti-atherosclerotic benefits of pomegranate come from the polyphenols, tannins, and anthocyanidins contained in the fruit. The researchers noted that while grape juice and red wine both contain some of the same extracts, there is no evidence to suggest that either grape juice or red wine improves coronary blood flow in patients with existing heart conditions.
Preventing Breast Cancer
There are many similarities between breast and prostate cancer cells. However, most doctors are unaware of this fact. An example of this would be that breast cancer cells secrete small amounts of PSA (prostate-specific antigen). For women, the prostate-specific antigen is not really specific to the prostate but is instead breast-specific. Prostate cancer is more common in men whose mothers had breast cancer.
The facts show that pomegranates may help to reduce the risk of breast cancer. Although there is still a lack of human studies on breast cancer, the available data is very convincing.
Several in vitro studies show that pomegranate exerts anti-tumor effects against human breast cancer cell lines.28-31 Pomegranate has been shown to inhibit breast cancer cell proliferation, inhibit invasion of these cancer cells across a membrane matrix, and induce apoptosis (cell destruction).
Pomegranates can help prevent mammary cancer, according to a study of its effects on mammary gland cells. In the study, pomegranate caused a 47% reduction in the formation of cancer in response to a known carcinogen.
Scientists studying how pomegranates might help prevent breast cancer found that the fruit appears to discourage the growth of new blood vessels that tumors need to thrive. VEGF is important for breast tumors because it helps them grow new blood vessels. This is important because the tumor needs new blood vessels to keep growing. Pomegranate has both anti-angiogenic and apoptotic properties, making it an interesting candidate for clinical studies testing its efficacy against breast cancer.
Although pomegranate may help to prevent breast cancer, it is not as important as preventing heart attack and stroke, which are the leading causes of death in women. This fruit has shown multiple benefits in protecting the arterial system, so maturing women should consider adding it to their daily routine.
Erectile Dysfunction and Atherosclerosis
This was once a theory, but it is now an established fact. When older men have trouble getting or maintaining an erection, it’s often a sign that they have atherosclerosis, which is the hardening of the arteries. Erectile dysfunction is often caused by a narrowing or blockage of blood flow through the penile arteries, which is why there is a correlation.
Scientists conducting a study on rabbits found that fruit juices, red wine, and green tea can all help improve blood flow to the penis, potentially combating erectile dysfunction. Pomegranate juice was found to be the most effective at reducing free radical activity out of all the agents tested, reducing it by 71%.
In this rabbit study, it was found that pomegranate increased blood flow to the penis and improved the ability to get and maintain an erection. The laboratory results revealed that there was a decrease in LDL oxidation and other parameters that are related to erectile dysfunction.
This is because older men are spending hundreds of millions of dollars a year on drugs that can only provide them with temporary relief from erectile dysfunction. These drugs work by increasing blood flow to the penis. Anyone taking these drugs (like Viagra®) should also be enrolled in a comprehensive program designed to reverse the underlying cause of impotence, which is penile atherosclerosis. Pomegranate appears to improve blood flow throughout the body and may be a critical component of a strategy to improve blood flow.
Healthy Lifestyle You Should Practice
Stopping Smoking
Smoking is harmful to your health and is the root cause of various chronic diseases. One of them is negatively affecting blood flow by decreasing the diameter of the blood vessels.
Keeping the body Hydrated
Water is a major content of blood composition. Drinking plenty of fluids helps improve blood circulation. Since blood pressure is not a frequent occurrence in a hydrated body, this improves circulation.
Reducing Weight
Being obese or having unwanted weight leads to compiling fat and plaque in the body and narrowing of vessels. When blood vessels narrow, it results in less blood flow.
Anxiety and Stress Management
Stress and anxiety can have a significant negative effect on a person’s mental and physical health, especially the cardiovascular system. Increased stress levels increase blood pressure. When a person is stressed, their circulation typically worsens because stress causes the blood vessels to constrict, which reduces blood flow to the organs.
Health professionals always recommend managing stress by doing yoga, meditation, gardening, or spending time with healthy people. Increasing blood flow through regular exercise is a good way to prevent circulatory disorders.
The article discusses various ways to increase blood flow and supply to organs of the body. Sometimes the reduced blood flow is just a symptom of an underlying disorder. If you experience symptoms of blood flow on a regular basis, even after improving your diet and exercise, you need to consult a doctor. A specialist can create a health profile and offer a medical solution that is tailored to your individual needs.
Other Food Besides Pomegranate That Helps Blood Flow
Cayenne Pepper
Cayenne pepper gets its spicy taste from an ingredient called capsaicin. This item not only improves the taste of food but also has many benefits for blood circulation. It relaxes the blood vessels, promoting blood circulation and lowering blood pressure by releasing nitric oxide and other vasodilators. Vasodilators help blood flow more easily by relaxing the muscles around the blood vessels. Cayenne pepper not only strengthens blood vessels but also reduces the amount of plaque buildup in arteries. Pepper is also an ingredient in some pain-relieving creams.
Onions
Onions are rich in flavonoid antioxidants, which are good for heart health. Onions can help improve blood circulation by widening the arteries and veins, which can help blood flow more easily. The vegetable can reduce inflammation and improve circulation by dilating blood vessels.
Garlic
Garlic is well-known for its beneficial effects on the heart and blood circulation system. The sulfur compounds in garlic, including allicin, work to increase blood flow and lower blood pressure by relaxing blood vessels. Flow-mediated vasodilation is improved when consuming a diet high in garlic, which is an indicator of how well blood flows. If you want to improve your circulation, try eating two or three raw cloves of garlic every day. Garlic can help remove the plaque that can block blood flow, making it more efficient.
A study was conducted on a group of people suffering from coronary artery disease, and it was found that those who took 1200mg of allicin in tablet form twice a day for three months had a 50% increase in blood flow.
What Makes Pomegranate So Special?
There have been many studies that show that pomegranate is nature’s most powerful antioxidant. The pomegranate’s ability to help with various human disorders is very impressive, making one wonder if there is more to this fruit than just its ability to suppress free radicals.
Pomegranate is absorbed into the bloodstream more efficiently than other fruit extracts. One study showed that a pomegranate extract is 95% absorbed, which is far greater than any other fruit extract of its kind that contains polyphenols.
Pomegranate has shown such incredible clinical findings partly because it contains a unique polyphenol group called punicalagin. Punicalagins have potent antioxidant effects and interfere with growth factors needed by cancer cells to propagate. Punicalagins have been shown to reduce the levels of pathological growth factors, which induce the destruction of common cancer cells.
Pomegranate suppresses an inflammatory cytokine called interleukin-1 beta, which can be dangerous. As humans age, their bodies produce more interleukin-1 beta, which causes damage to tissues throughout the body. The following editions of Life Extension magazine will feature pomegranates as an alleviation for a number of inflammatory disorders. Chronic inflammation can be a cause of or exacerbate, atherosclerosis and cancer.
Where to Obtain Pomegranate
Pomegranate juice is available at some supermarkets and most health food stores.
The high cost of pomegranate juice is the first complaint of most people. One reason is that transporting heavy juice bottles that are mostly water is expensive. Some people are concerned that pomegranate juice is high in sugar, like all fruit juices.
Consuming high-calorie drinks can lead to weight gain and is a concern for those looking to maintain a healthy body weight. The calories in pomegranate negate the benefits of the polyphenols it contains.
There are new extraction methods that allow people to get the active parts of pomegranates without eating the sugar or paying high prices for pomegranate juice.