Pomegranate and Atherosclerosis

From: http://www.lef.org/magazine/mag2006/ss2006_report_athero_01.htm

Reversing Atherosclerosis


While certain drugs, nutrients, and hormones can slow the progression of atherosclerosis, very little has ever been shown to reverse existing artery disease.



One reason it is so difficult to reverse atherosclerosis is that arterial disease is primarily caused by aging itself (via the destructive process known as endothelial dysfunction). This means that a person with atherosclerosis has to first stop the artery-damaging process and then reverse the damage and occlusion to the arterial wall that has accumulated over a lifetime.



Atherosclerosis can be measured in humans by conducting an ultrasound test of the carotid arteries in their necks. An ultrasound provides a specific reading of the narrowing (or blockage) that has occurred by measuring the thickness of the inner and middle walls of the carotid artery. This is known technically as an intima-media thickness test (IMT).



A controlled human study was conducted involving patients with severe carotid artery narrowing (stenosis).3 One group received conventional drugs only (statins and anti-hypertensives), while the other group received pomegranate juice plus the same drugs. The findings observed in the pomegranate group were unprecedented.



After one year, the group receiving the drugs, but not pomegranate showed a significant 9% increase in intima-media thickness. In contrast, the group receiving the pomegranate plus drugs showed a reduction in carotid intima-media thickness as follows:



After three months: 13%

After six months: 22%

After nine months: 26%

After one year: 35%

Carotid artery blood flow (as measured by end diastolic velocity) improved in the pomegranate plus drugs group as follows:



After three months: 16%

After six months: 20%

After nine months: 31%

After one year: 44%

Blood samples were collected before and during treatment with pomegranate in these patients with narrowed carotid arteries. The changes shown in the box above help explain why pomegranate so effectively reversed carotid intima-media thickness.



Another blood test used in this study measured paraoxonase-1, an antioxidant enzyme produced in the body. Paraoxonase-1 is associated with beneficial HDL and is believed to protect against the oxidation of LDL. Low levels of paraoxonase-1 predict increased severity of coronary artery disease. In patients administered pomegranate, the paraoxonase-1 levels increased by 83% after only one year!



After one year of taking pomegranate, there was also a 21% decrease in systolic blood pressure and more than 50% reduction in measured free radical activity in the carotid atherosclerotic plaque.



The scientists attributed the regression in carotid atherosclerotic lesion size in the pomegranate group to significantly reduced oxidative stress in both blood and atherosclerotic plaques, along with modestly lower blood pressure (beyond that of the anti-hypertensive drugs that were prescribed).



Previous studies have correlated the degree of carotid artery atherosclerosis to coronary and other artery diseases.4,5 The fact that pomegranate was shown to reverse carotid artery atherosclerosis indicates that even aged humans might be able to dramatically lower their risks of stroke, heart attack, impotence, etc.



EFFECT OF POMEGRANATE ON CARDIOVASCULAR RISK

Atherosclerosis Risk Factor

Effect of Pomegranate



LDL basal oxidative state

Reduced by 90%



LDL susceptibility to copper-induced oxidation

Reduced by 59%



Total antioxidant status

Improved by 130%











Improving Blood Flow to the Heart

Atherosclerotic coronary artery disease remains the leading cause of death in the Western world, despite record numbers of people taking prescription heart medications (such as statin drugs).6



Based on favorable animal data, doctors conducted a study on heart disease patients to ascertain pomegranate’s effects on inducible angina and the rate of blood flow through the coronary arteries. The entire group was subjected to a baseline stress test to induce angina and to an advanced tomography technique to measure coronary blood flow.



One group of cardiac patients received their medications plus placebo, while the second group received their medications plus pomegranate juice. After three months, coronary blood flow was again measured using the same tests performed at baseline. In the group receiving the pomegranate juice, stress-induced angina episodes decreased by 50%, whereas stress-induced angina increased by 38% in the placebo group.



When the test to measure coronary artery blood flow was performed, the placebo group worsened by 17% after three months, whereas coronary blood flow improved by 18% in the pomegranate group.



This study showed for the first time that daily consumption of pomegranate can improve blood flow to the heart in coronary artery disease patients in a relatively short period of time. The doctors noted that the test they used to measure coronary blood flow was recently shown to be the best predictor of future heart attack risk. The doctors attributed the anti-atherosclerotic benefits of pomegranate to the polyphenols, tannins, and anthocyanidins contained in the fruit. They pointed out that while grape juice/red wine contain some of these extracts, neither grape juice nor red wine has been shown to improve coronary blood low in patients with established heart disease.