Pomegranate lowers stress hormone cortisol

Posted on Mon, 17 Sep 12

Several studies have shown potent heart health benefits from pomegranate fruit though exactly how it works is still somewhat of a mystery. It was recently discovered that pomegranate lowers the stress hormone cortisol.

Pomegranate juice has been shown to have some remarkable health benefits with clinical studies showing it can reduce your blood pressure, improve your blood sugar and even reduce the thickness of your arteries. Because pomegranate is packed full of phytonutrients these benefits have been ascribed to antioxidant properties but there could be other secrets to the fruits benefits.

High levels of stress hormone cortisol have been associated with heart disease and a research team from Queen Margaret University, UK guessed that pomegranate might be working, at least in part, by lowering cortisol.

To test their theory they gave a group of men and women 500 ml of pomegranate juice (Pomegreat Pure^®) or placebo for 4 weeks. Sure enough, those drinking pomegranate juice had significant reductions in cortisol; they also had improvements in important heart health markers (e.g. blood pressure, insulin resistance) as well.

This discovery reinforces the benefits of pomegranate juice for people with or at risk of heart disease.

Reference:

Tsang C, et al. Intake of polyphenol-rich pomegranate pure juice influences urinary glucocorticoids, blood pressure and homeostasis model assessment of insulin resistance in human volunteers. Journal of Nutritional Science; Volume 1; August 2012 , e9