Move over coconut, we've got a new fruity best friend.
A study published in Nature Medicine journal about the effects of pomegranate juice has come to the conclusion that pomegranate juice is the newest in a long line of superfoods.
Pomegranates have long been considered a health food, as they are a rich source of antioxidants, but new research proves that they significantly increase muscle quality and can lead to a longer life.
When we eat pomegranates, or drink pomegranate juice, our bodies produce the chemical Urolithin A. This chemical has been tested by scientists on worms and rodents, to see what effects it has on both length of life and strength.
The effects were overwhelmingly positive, with the worms living 45 per cent longer, and the rodents being able to run 42 per cent further.
Human trials are starting soon, and then we'll know for sure the full effect of pomegranate juice...but there's no harm in grabbing a pom juice on the way home!
Pomegranates are not only good for your health, but are good for your karma too.
Afghanistan was the world's largest grower of poppies, the seeds of which are made into opium, the primary ingredient in heroin. In 2007, James Brett started 'Plant For Peace' an organisation aimed at ensuring food security in rural communities around the world, through encouraging sustainable development.
Brett travelled all over Afghanistan, convincing farmers and communities to pledge to stop growing poppies and grow pomegranates instead.
After promising to support the farmers through their first years of transition and showing that they are, in fact, more profitable than poppies, pomegranates have now flourished in Afghanistan, along with their economy.
Afghan pomegranates are supposedly among the best in the world, so support your health as well as a creative solution to social problems, by sprinkling some pomegranate seeds over your salad!
Find out more about 'Plant For Peace' here.
Looking for tasty pom recipes? Look no further.
