Bring the Pom Poms Out for Pomegranates
Pomegranates are a delicious fruit to add to a summer salad, on top of your cereal or in a smoothie or yoghurt. Beyond the sweet taste benefits, this fruit can boast being a great source of urolithin A.
If you are unsure what urolithin A is, you would not be alone. This compound is a postbiotic, in other words, a healthful compound the health promoting microbes expel after eating foods which contain a polyphenol called ellagitannins. Polyphenols are a naturally occurring compound found in plants. They have many phenol groups, a chemical structure. Polyphenols have antioxidant, cell-protective and anti-inflammatory benefits to your body.
Ellagitannins are found in other foods apart from pomegranate including berries, walnuts and chestnuts. However, you get more bang for your buck with pomegranates containing ten times more than these foods. On top of this the type of ellagitannins is much bioavailable, meaning easier for your body to use.
Benefits to Energy Cells
The energy cells in your body are called mitochondria. Urolithin A supports a process called mitophagy. Mitophagy is a process of clearing out your old, damaged mitochondria. In doing this, it helps your body create new mitochondria much more efficiently called mitochondria biogenesis.
As you get older, your body’s ability to clear out old and damaged mitochondria cells reduces. This causes more accumulation of damaged mitochondria in your body. This means that your overall energy system is reduced as these damaged mitochondria do not produce energy as effectively as non-damaged mitochondria.
Muscle Gains
Your muscles rely on mitochondria for their energy, muscle growth and muscle repair. Urolithin A helps your mitochondria to functioning optimally. Promoting your muscles to have greater strength, faster recovery and greater endurance.
Read the Fine Print
The not-so-great news is that only certain gut microbes produce urolithin A. Consequently, not everyone will produce urolithin A. Research suggests that around forty percent of people produces urolithin A effectively.
This is no reason to give up of pomegranates. This fruit still has many health benefits including the ellagitannins which provide antioxidant, cell protective and anti-inflammatory properties. So enjoying a delicious pomegranate is not a waste of time for its health benefits if you cannot process urolithin A effectively. It is simply one of the many perks.
Corn Thins slices make a perfect match with pomegranate.
Try these delicious recipes:
Baked Sweet Potato, Mint, Pomegranate, Pepita & Feta recipe
Take home message: If you are yet to discover the delicious taste of a pomegranate, this blog is your message to put this fruit on your shopping list.
Reference:
- Direct supplementation with Urolithin A overcomes limitations of dietary exposure and gut microbiome variability in healthy adults to achieve consistent levels across the population, Nature / American European study, 2021