Pomegranate (Mathalam,
Anar)
Due to rise in popularity in recent year’s pomegranate
became a ‘royal fruit’ in our society. It is great surprise that the sudden
price hike of pomegranate in our local market after the eruption of Dengue
Fever.
Pomegranate is
a tropical, bushy shrub grows up to a height of 10-15 feet. It bears orange-red
bell shaped flowers and red, thick skinned, fruit looks like red apple.
Pomegranate trees are planting throughout Asia, Africa and Europe. The fruit is
delicious, nutritious and refreshing. It
is one of the healthiest fruit available in earth.
Some believes about pomegranate in
religions
Pomegranate is a symbol of belief in almost
all religion. Let us check some of that ancient believes…
It is one of
the top ten fruit mentioned in Holy Bible. Christians believe the red seeds of
pomegranate fruits, symbolize Jesus Christ’s renaissance from dead.
Ancient
Persian’s believed that that the Adam ate a pomegranate fruit (not an apple),
which was given by Eve in the Eden Garden.
Hindu’s
considered this holy plant and fruit came from heaven and is a high-quality fertility
enhancer.
Chinese
believes pomegranate will bring good luck.
Burying the
dead bodies along with pomegranate fruits offers everlasting life to the person
who died, according to Egyptians.
According to
Islam, the seeds came from heaven and should eat all the seeds inside the
fruits to get good luck.
Health benefits of pomegranate
The bark of
the fruit is using as a natural medicine to treat digestive problems like
dysentery and diarrhea.
Pomegranate is rich with powerful antioxidants
(polyphenols, punicalagin) which protect the heart by oxidizing the
low-density-lipoprotein (LDL, or bad cholesterol). The seeds of this fruit acts
like Aspirin pills (natural Aspirin) and this reduces the chances of coagulation
(clotting) of blood inside the vessels. The phytochemical content in
pomegranate is enabling to reduce blood pressure and protects the heart.
This higher antioxidant content in this fruit
is greater than in green tea and red wine. These rich antioxidants help to delay
the aging process also.
The natural
content of ‘aromatase’ inhibits the production of estrogen, and thus slows down
the progress of cancer.
Daily
consumption of one glass pomegranate juice will increase the testosterone
production and increases the blood flow to the erectile tissues. This aphrodisiac
effect increases the sexual drive (libido) and act as a medicine against
erectile dysfunction. This also improves
sexual performance, sperm quality and fertility. Pomegranate juice is a good
natural remedy to controls menstrual bleeding. In addition, the rich iron
content in this fruit helps to reduce anemia.
