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Lilach Shema, PhD (Western Galilee Medical Center in Israel) and colleagues investigated the long-term effects of drinking pomegranate juice on heart disease risk factors -- such as high cholesterol and blood pressure -- in kidney disease patients. Pomegranate juice is rich in antioxidants and has been touted as having a variety of health benefits.
The researchers randomized 101 dialysis patients to receive about three-and-a-half ounces of pomegranate juice or placebo, three times a week. After one year, the number of blood pressure drugs patients took decreased in 22% of patients drinking pomegranate juice compared to 7.7% in the placebo group, while an increase was documented in 12.2% of patients drinking pomegranate juice compared to 34.6% in the placebo group. Patients who drank pomegranate juice also had healthier blood pressure and cholesterol levels and less plaque build-up in their arteries. These results suggest that drinking pomegranate juice might decrease the high rates of illness and death among kidney disease patients.
Lilach Shema, PhD (Western Galilee Medical Center in Israel) and colleagues investigated the long-term effects of drinking pomegranate juice on heart disease risk factors -- such as high cholesterol and blood pressure -- in kidney disease patients. Pomegranate juice is rich in antioxidants and has been touted as having a variety of health benefits.
The researchers randomized 101 dialysis patients to receive about three-and-a-half ounces of pomegranate juice or placebo, three times a week. After one year, the number of blood pressure drugs patients took decreased in 22% of patients drinking pomegranate juice compared to 7.7% in the placebo group, while an increase was documented in 12.2% of patients drinking pomegranate juice compared to 34.6% in the placebo group. Patients who drank pomegranate juice also had healthier blood pressure and cholesterol levels and less plaque build-up in their arteries. These results suggest that drinking pomegranate juice might decrease the high rates of illness and death among kidney disease patients.
