Food Worship #5: The Pomegranate

To be honest, it'd been forever since I've had a Pomegranate.  In fact I bet a lot of my readers have never tried one before in their life.  Actually, you might not even know what one looks like (that's OK, it's a pretty strange fruit, not a common buy.)  But last night, when visiting home, I found a big ol' red pomegranate just sitting there on the counter, inconspicuously.  Upon asking about it, my mom said I was welcome to slice it in half and have one of the pieces, as the other was to be saved for my sister (who saves food for months.  She still has Easter candy from two years ago.)  I immediately cut that sucker open and dug in.

The only really edible part of a Pomegranate are the seeds, which seems strange because usually we avoid those in most fruits.  The actual fleshy part of the fruit itself is quite bitter, and although I tried a couple bites, I definitely don't think I could've stomached the rest of it.  Pomegranates have both an interesting flavor and texture, both of which are very distinct.  The seeds are quite sweet, juicy, and slightly crunchy as well.  It's definitely a flavor I REALLY enjoy, and I'd suggest picking up a pomegranate from your local grocery store sometime in the near future and trying it out, as you might find you are very partial to it.

Interestingly enough, the humble pomegranate has had a rich history with all sorts of ancient civilizations.  It's believed that Eve (from the bible) actually picked a pomegranate from the Garden of Eden, not an apple like we've come to believe.  Ancient Egyptian mummies were often buried with pomegranates because it was believed they could offer immortality to the dead.  And in both ancient Greece and China, pomegranates are a symbol of good luck.  That's a lot of history for one fruit.

But what I've found most interesting with pomegranates are that for some reason, to me, they just feel healthy.  The taste is powerful enough to convince you that this big red bulbous fruit is definitely helping your body in some way or another.  And you'd be right to think that.  Pomegranates are one of the best fruits going in terms of nutrients and antioxidants.

Here's a few of their numerous bodily benefits:

Heart healthy:  The antioxidants in pomegranate seeds and it's juice have a plethora of uses in your body, such as preventing the oxidation of bad cholesterol and causing the hardening of arteries.  The juice can even help to clear already clogged arteries to a certain degree.  This will help to keep your blood flowing smoothly, allowing it to deliver more oxygen where it's needed, lowering your blood pressure, and putting less strain on your heart.

Fights Cancer:  There have been all sorts of studies done on pomegranate juice's effect on various types of cancer.  The juice supposedly kills breast cancer cells, can help prevent and slow the growth of prostate cancer (this was proven in an experiment involving mice), and may even help prevent certain types of lung cancer.  That's an impressive resume for a simple fruit, and all the more reason to get a little bit of pomegranate juice into your diet.

Pomegranate juice has been shown even to help prevent an already existent cancer from spreading cancer.  Here's a quote from an article regarding prostate cancer and pomegranate juice:

"The Martins-Green lab applied pomegranate juice on laboratory-cultured prostate cancer cells that were resistant to testosterone (the more resistant a cancer cell is to testosterone, the more prone it is to metastasizing).

The researchers -- Martins-Green, graduate student Lei Wang and undergraduate students Andre Alcon and Jeffrey Ho -- found that the pomegranate juice-treated tumor cells that had not died with the treatment showed increased cell adhesion (meaning fewer cells breaking away) and decreased cell migration."

I definitely suggest reading more of that article, as it shows some pretty extraordinary supporting evidence for the benefits of pomegranate.  Here's the link:  http://www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2010/12/101212121741.htm

Vitamins/Other Nutrients:  Pomegranates, like other fruit, are a very rich vitamin source.  They tend to have an especially large amount of Vitamin C, an extremely important vitamin in the now full blown cold season.  Pomegranates also have large amounts of Beta Carotene, as well as Polyphenol, another assistant to decreasing bad cholesterol.

Fiber:  The seeds in pomegranates have a decent amount of fiber in them, which as you can tell by my previous articles I'm a HUGE fan of, because fiber has so many great benefits.  It can help control your weight, aid in healthy digestion, and help keep you satiated.  Just plain awesome.

Clearly, pomegranates are quite the health food.  They taste AMAZING in my opinion, and I would definitely recommend trying one out.  It'll only do your body good, and can be a great alternative to the boring old fruit bowl filled with apples and oranges day in and day out.  Get some variety in your diet, try a fruit you haven't before.  Make the pomegranate a new staple in your clean eating endeavors.

Oh, one more note, pomegranate juice stains any sort of fabric.  I found that out last night while cutting into the darn thing.  Make sure you're wearing an old shirt, or are well protected.

Try some variety, pick up a fruit with both an amazing history and a bright future.  Good luck!

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A few reference sites:

http://www.globalhealingcenter.com/natural-health/the-health-benefits-of-pomegranates/

http://www.ehow.com/facts_5049955_vitamins-pomegranates.html

http://www.globalhealingcenter.com/natural-health/the-health-benefits-of-pomegranates/

http://www.healthdiaries.com/eatthis/11-health-benefits-of-pomegranate-juice.html

http://www.globalhealingcenter.com/natural-health/the-health-benefits-of-pomegranates/

Vegetables: To Cook or not to Cook?

I've always been intrigued by the debate about which is healthier:  Cooked vegetables or raw vegetables.  The claim by many is that cooking vegetables removes significant levels of the nutrients in them, therefore they become less beneficial to the human body.  The other side of the argument (which I tend to lean toward) is the fact that we as humans have weak digestive systems, and are unable to process much of the raw, fibrous plant matter contained in uncooked vegetables, so while even though more nutrients may be present in raw veggies, we can't actually absorb them.  There's good data for both sides of this argument, and many reasons to mix it up and have both cooked and raw veggies in your diet.

Reasons to cook vegetables:

1.  Easily accessible nutrients:  Across the board, all the vitamins present in vegetables (A, B1, B2, B3, C, E, etc.) tend to be more easily absorbed because the vegetables are softer, and easier to digest.  This means theoretically that while cooked vegetables have a tad less of each vitamin compared to their raw counterpart, you end up getting MORE of those leftover nutrients than you would have gotten originally if you'd just eaten the vegetable raw.

(Here's a chart displaying the amount of each main vitamin in various vegetables when they're both raw and cooked:  http://www.beyondveg.com/tu-j-l/raw-cooked/raw-cooked-2f.shtml)

2.  Beta Carotene- This extremely powerful nutrient present in many vegetables (especially carrots) is absorbed much more readily when the vegetables are lightly steamed.  Beta Carotene converts to Vitamin A in the body, which will aid in eyesight (ever heard the myth that if you eat enough carrots you can see in the dark?)

3.  Antioxidants- Same deal here.  Useful antioxidants like carotenoids and ferulic acid are utilized by the body much more effectively if vegetables are steamed or boiled.   

4.  They taste better!  At least this is what the majority of people agree upon.  I am partial to cooked vegetables myself, they're quite delicious, warm, easy to chew, and the flavors are much more palatable.  My friends would be a little stunned to see this because I'm usually munching on a pack of raw baby carrots or a stick of celery.  However if given the choice, I'll choose cooked every time.

5.  You can eat more of them!  Cooked veggies aren't as fibrous as raw veggies, and therefore won't fill you up as fast.  That means you can cram more of those useful nutrients down your gullet before your body tells you to stop.  On a muscle building diet, this is a must.  

6.  Anti nutrients are destroyed:  These things won't kill you, but they definitely won't help you.  But what exactly is an anti nutrient?  A good analogy is an apple seed.  The seeds are the valuable part of the apple, and the apple tree doesn't want you to eat its future offspring, therefore apple seeds have evolved to contain traces of cyanide.  Raw grains contain many anti nutrients, and the amount you absorb can be reduced by cooking them before consumption.  This destroys a good portion of those pesky little devils, and the analogy holds true with vegetables (mostly beans) as well.  

Reasons to leave them raw:

1.  They fill you up!  Raw vegetables are extremely fibrous, especially greens like lettuce, broccoli, celery, and spinach.  These foods all are extremely low calorie, healthy snacks that can fill your belly in a heartbeat if you're having one of those hungry hungry hippo moments.  Try a cup of raw broccoli sometime.  No, it may not taste great, but you'll definitely feel like you've eaten a significant meal.  

2.  Easy to snack on:  Raw veggies are easy to pack up.  Try packing a bag full of carrots, celery, pepper slices, and broccoli and I guarantee you'll end up with a filling snack that didn't take more than two minutes to make.  Raw vegetables are firm and robust, and won't be easily crushed.  They're relatively dry as well, so you won't soak the rest of your lunch by accident.  Plus, raw vegetables give that satisfying crunch, and if you can get used to the natural taste, you're golden.  

3.  More Vitamin C:  This vitamin tends to be the one that gets the bad end of the stick when veggies are cooked.  Much of the vitamin C is destroyed by steaming, boiling, or frying, so if you're looking for a little more in your diet (and you should be) then crunch on a few raw veggies today.  

4.  They make your body work!  Have you ever heard of negative calorie foods?  Well stop thinking about them right now, because there are huge debates on whether they exist or not, and the evidence is leaning toward a big fat NO.  However that doesn't mean your body isn't expending large amounts of energy to digest raw foods such as celery and broccoli, and the few calories that are in those foods make them great choices to give your digestive system a workout.  This isn't a pointless endeavor, a healthy digestive system can save you from all sorts of health troubles later in life.  The fiber in those tomatoes will only do you good!  

I say have them both ways!  Veggies are good for you no matter if they're steamed, boiled, fried, cooked, or right off the vine.  I love the way they taste each way, and once you try a few I bet you'll like them too.  Buy some baby carrot packs and much on them at work, or on a walk, or while you're outside reading a book, or while you're cooking dinner, whenever, wherever however you like!  In my opinion, there isn't really ever a bad time to have some vegetables.  

Load those plates high, crunch into a few carrots, and enjoy!