Pomegranate Nutrition Facts

Pomegranate is a very popular fruit with rich nutrient content. This fruit is native to Iran, Afghanistan, Pakistan and parts of northern India. Today, it is also grown in various other regions like Southeast Asia, Peninsular Malaysia, tropical Africa, California, Armenia and so on. The skin of this fruit has a leathery texture and are mostly found in red or purple or slightly orange-yellow color. It has a diameter of about 6 to10 cm and weighs around 200 grams. The inner part of a pomegranate has compartments that are packed with juicy pink arils of pomegranate with a seed inside each of them.

Pomegranate Nutrition Facts

The most vital nutritional component of pomegranate juice is antioxidants, particularly punicalagins. Research studies have found that the antioxidant content of pomegranate is much higher than antioxidant that are obtained from other sources like green tea or acai berry juice.

It is a rich source of vitamin C. If you take just 100 ml of pomegranate juice, it can provide you with 16 percent of the daily requirement of your vitamin C. It has vitamin B5 or pantothenic acid which is necessary for metabolism of carbohydrates, fat and proteins. Vitamin K supplied by the pomegranate juice is needed for blood and bone health.

The two essential minerals that we get from pomegranate juice are potassium and manganese. Potassium is important to maintain various cellular functions and fluid balance in our body. Manganese on the other hand helps in formation of bone structures and for various metabolic process. Besides these, calcium, magnesium, iron, zinc, phosphorus are some of the other minerals that are obtained from pomegranate.

The fat content of pomegranate is almost negligible and is merely 0.3g. It does not contain any cholesterol. Pomegranate calorie count lies in between 130 to 150. Out of the total pomegranate calories, nearly 105 calories are obtained from its seeds. The seed contains carbohydrate, sugar and unsaturated oil that contributes to the calorie count of pomegranate. The rich dietary fiber obtained from pomegranate is provided by its seeds. The seeds of the pomegranate contain some amount of protein too.

Health Benefits of Pomegranate

Now that you are aware of the pomegranate juice nutrition facts and pomegranate seeds nutrition facts, let us discuss how these nutrients affect our health. Some key benefits of pomegranate are as follows:

• As pomegranate is rich in antioxidant, it provides protection to the cells from the damaging effect of free radicals. Thus it reduces the risk of various forms of cancer including breast cancer and prostate cancer.
• It can reduce the plaque deposits in the arteries and prevent unnecessary clotting of blood. Thus it can reduce the chances of stroke and heart attack. Thus who are suffering from heart diseases have found improvement in the condition after regular consumption of pomegranate juice.
• The dietary fibers present in the pomegranate seeds can improve the functioning of the digestive system and provide relief from constipation. These fibers facilitate weight loss and hence included in diet for weight loss.
• It possess anti-inflammatory properties and can bring down inflammation in various parts of the body. For this reason, it is effective in conditions like asthma, piles, diarrhea, etc.
• The vitamin C present in pomegranate helps to improve the resistance power of the body against any kind of infections. In this way, it helps to boost up the overall immune system.

After reading about the pomegranate nutrition facts, you must be eager to eat the fruit. You can simply eat a fresh, juicy pomegranate arils after breaking the outer skin. You can use these arils to garnish various dishes. Of course, you can drink freshly prepared pomegranate juice too. As the pomegranate seeds are highly nutritious, you should not discard them while eating a pomegranate, or else you will be deprived of its nutritional benefits.