The Healing Benefits of Pomegranate

The Healing Benefits of Pomegranate

Often referred to is as “ the divine fruit,” the Pomegranate is classified as a berry, and is the size of a grapefruit with a semi-hexagonal shape, and thick and hard ruby-reddish skin. Each seed has a surrounding water-laden pulp, ranging in color from pink to deep red or purple. The seeds are embedded in several white, spongy membranes, which are compactly encased.

Believed to have been harvested in the Garden of Eden, the Pomegranate is part of many ancient folk traditions – all of which consider it a form of medicine. In ayurveda, it is a symbol of both fertility and prosperity. It is considered a fruit-medicine. The pomegranate’s flowers, leaves, bark, peel and of course seeds are all edible.

Botanical Name:

Punica granatum

Native to

Iran and India

Healing benefits

  • Full of antioxidants, vitamin C and potassium

  • Controls body weight

  • Reduces cholesterol

  • Fights against cell damage

  • Inhibits viral infections

  • Pomegranate extracts have anti-bacterial effects which combat dental plaque

Aids with conditions such as

  • Heart disease

  • Cancer, especially prostrate and breast

  • Symptoms of diarrhea

For thousands of years, the pomegranate has been extensively used as a source of food-medicine in ayurveda. The rind and bark are used as a traditional remedy against diarrhea, dysentery and intestinal parasites.

Pomegranate juice also helps to reduce body heat and is useful for people suffering from low blood pressure. In addition, its seeds and juice are considered a tonic for the heart and throat, and help to burn toxins.

The flower juice, rind and tree bark also aid with the following: stopping nose and gum bleeds, toning skin, firming-up sagging breasts (after being blended with mustard oil), and treating hemorrhoids.

It is also fantastic for oral health (immediately controlling bad breath), slowing down the aging process, and (when used as eye drops) for slowing the development of cataracts.

Cautions

Eating pomegranates might interfere with certain medications in the same way that grapefruit juice does. Be sure to ask your doctor or pharmacist about drug interactions.

The pomegranate’s wine-red juice will stain your fingers, clothes and countertops. My best trick for getting the seeds out is submerging the fruit under water. This with soften the berry, making the seed removal much easier and cleaner.

Recipe: Vegetarian Fesenjān (A traditional Persian dish)

This recipe is best served over brown rice, quinoa, or roasted or raw vegetables.

Ingredients:

  • 2 cups of walnuts (ayurvedic option: soaked over night)

  • 2 large onions, finely chopped

  • 1/4 tsp ground saffron, dissolved in 1 tabs hot water

  • 1 tsp ground coriander

  • 3/4 cup of pomegranate molasses (make your own by reducing the juice over low heat)

  • 10 dried prunes (ayurvedic option: soaked in water overnight)

  • 3 tbs olive oil

  • Salt and pepper to taste

Procedure

Finely grind the walnuts using a food processor or coffee grinder. Heat one tablespoon of oil in a heavy bottom pan and set over medium heat. Add onions and cook until the onion is soft and translucent.

Add saffron water and ground coriander, stir. Add grounded walnuts; stir back and forth to prevent sticking. Continue to cook until the walnuts begin to release their oil – should take about a minute or so.

Now add the pomegranate molasses and a cup or more of water (if the sauce seems to thicken, add more water). Add salt and pepper to taste. Bring to a simmer. Add the prunes, and then give it another stir or two.

Lower the heat; simmer for about 45 minutes to an hour. Taste and adjust seasoning as needed.

Bon Appetit!



Best Foods for Healthy, Clear Skin: Treat Yourself to a Better Complexion

Healthy skin is beautiful skin and can be achieved by nourishing it from the inside out. Though its functions are often underestimated compared to other bodily systems, without the skin, we simply couldn’t survive.

Nutritious foods eaten consistently will begin to rebuild the cellular structure but this can take time as the skin has many layers. What you eat and drink now, can take four to six weeks to see the effects. By committing to a natural, whole foods diet, you’ll quickly begin to see healthy, beautiful, glowing skin.

List of Top 10 Best Foods for Healthy Skin

 

1. Lemon and Citrus Fruits – The Clarifiers

Citrus fruits, particularly lemon, juiced and sipped with water first thing in the morning or at any break are a wonderful complexion clearer. This little ritual gives your metabolism a kick start, your liver a much-needed mini cleanse, and your skin a vitamin C boost. Lemons are very cleansing to the body, so they help clarify the complexion. Another great way to incorporate it into your daily routine is to squeeze it over salad and vegetables or add slices to a jug of water.

2. Water – The Hydrator

Water makes up around 75-85% of your body—it’s even in your teeth and hair. Even though we’ve heard it all before, drinking pure water hydrates your body and prevents dry skin, keeping the cells hydrated, so they can easily uptake nutrients and remove waste.

Read Article

Our unique blend of yoga, meditation, personal transformation, and alternative healing content is designed for those seeking to not just enhance their physical, spiritual, and intellectual capabilities, but to fuse them in the knowledge that the whole is always greater than the sum of its parts.


Use the same account and membership for TV, desktop, and all mobile devices. Plus you can download videos to your device to watch offline later.

Desktop, laptop, tablet, phone devices with Gaia content on screens
Testing message will be here