A new study has shown that pomegranate juice derived from the California-grown Wonderful variety of pomegranate is the most healthy beverage, as it has superior antioxidant power as compared to other beverages like red wine, grape and acai juices, and is the only pomegranate juice guaranteed to contain 100% pomegranate juice.
The study, led by Dr. David Heber at the Center for Human Nutrition, David Geffen School of Medicine, University of California Los Angeles, found that the Wonderful variety of pomegranate is the leader in the healthy beverage category because of its most complete free radical scavenging activity, greater protection of LDL-cholesterol from oxidation, and the highest polyphenol content compared to red wine and several juices.Researchers discovered that POM Wonderful 100% Pomegranate Juice tested higher in overall phenolic content and antioxidant activity than red wine and Concord grape, blueberry and orange juices.
POM Wonderful 100% Pomegranate Juice even ranked higher than other beverages that have recently been touted as containing superior levels of antioxidants such as acai juice and white and green teas. Unlike all previous studies that only included one test against these other types of beverages, this Heber study conducted a series of seven tests on all the beverages, resulting in a novel and more accurate methodology.
“Often times, a beverage will make a claim about its superior antioxidant content based on the results of one test alone that provides the highest antioxidant capacity,” said Dr. Heber.
“What is important about this study is that all the beverages included were run against several tests resulting in a more complete assessment of a beverage’s antioxidant activity and capability,” he added.
Results of the study showed that POM Wonderful 100% Pomegranate Juice had the greatest range of free radical fighting ability. The antioxidant potency composite index was at least 20 percent greater than any other beverage included in the study.
To determine overall antioxidant content and functionality, each of the polyphenol-rich beverages included in the study were run against four tests for antioxidant potency. In addition, all beverages were tested for their ability to inhibit LDL oxidation and evaluated for total polyphenol content.
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The study appears in the Journal of Agriculture and Food Chemistry.
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