hey guys welcome to another video i think a lot of people know that pomegranates
are healthy but it hasn't been until the last few years where there's been a lot of research showing
just how healthy they are now the pomegranate has made some other recent history including being
at the center of a heated courtroom battle five years ago a united states federal court and the
federal trade commission came down hard on the company p-o-m wonderful for false advertising
about the benefits of the pomegranate they ruled that the company used misleading health claims
about their pomegranate juice in supplements and some of their advertisements the u.s supreme court
had even declined to hear the case the irony is that pomegranates don't need any hype the
pomegranate is a fleshy berry and a great source of fiber vitamin c vitamin k iron and potassium
they're also rich in antioxidants and anti-inflammatory properties
many studies in humans indicate that pomegranates are an excellent defense against several diseases
they also contain a precursor to a powerful anti-aging molecule called urolithin a
the most significant source of its anti-oxidative properties is a chemical called puna caligan a
member of the family of elegantanines found an edible portion of the fruit when we eat a
pomegranate our gut bacteria convert aligotanins into urolithin a to understand why urolithin a
slows down the aging process we need to look at how our muscles age ninety percent of our energy
stems from microscopic structures in our cells called mitochondria the cells in your body contain
billions of tiny probably trillions of tiny little mitochondria you can think of them like
many batteries in order for your body to work well our bodies need to repair and sometimes replace
defective damaged and old mitochondria so when mitochondria are damaged or defective they
self-destruct through a process called mitophagy and once this happens your cells make brand new
mitochondria during this process dysfunctional and toxic elements in our cells are then recycled
or eliminated when we're younger the mitophagy process happens more often but when the process
of mitophagy slows down with age toxins may not be recycled or removed fast enough so this makes
our body cells age faster including muscle studies on humans and animals revealed that in the elderly
walking slower and poor muscle strength is associated with poor mitochondrial function
improving mitophagy in older people has been shown to slow muscle strength decline from aging
maintaining a regular exercise regimen triggers the production of new mitochondria and boosts
energy in our skeletal muscle cells when we age a study showed that urolithin a promoted mitophagy
produced more mitochondria and helped improve mitochondrial function in elderly individuals
these effects of uralistic a mimicked how a regular exercise regimen benefits our muscles
and helps us retain energy even when we're older additionally several rat and animal studies showed
that urolithin a increased endurance levels in young and old rats by improving muscle health
so does that mean that urolithin a and exercise combined have an even greater effect probably but
this is still an unknown the effect of urolithin a on humans is underway but the early results
do look promising and while we're on the topic of more energy i'm excited to announce that i created
a new online course on how to maximize your energy levels and i'll put a link in the description
below for you to learn more about that our gut is a collection of digestive organs that includes the
stomach small intestine large intestine aka the colon so there's a hundred trillion bacteria in
our digestive systems having a diverse range of the good bacteria in our gut is extremely healthy
and they're collectively known as the gut microbiome or the gut flora
so our gut microbiome it regulates our immunity it prevents inflammation fights against diseases
produces important vitamins like vitamin k and helps our body absorb nutrients from our food and
creates and regulates essential hormones not only that but good gut health also affects our sleep
memory moods and mental health when digested pomegranates act as a prebiotic after digesting
a pomegranate some of the breakdown products include gallic acid elegant acid and glucose
bacteria in the colon then convert that into something called urolithin a so these natural
substances keep our gut microbiome healthy similar to a prebiotic prebiotics are fiber-rich plant
foods that promote the growth of the good bacteria in our gut urolithin a promotes the growth of
good bacteria like bifidobacteria and lactobacilli while suppressing harmful bacteria like clostridia
however there is a catch much of our gut microbiome composition is determined at birth
and many lifestyle factors like smoking alcohol a bad diet too much exposure to antibiotics
these can all hurt our good gut bacteria suppose someone doesn't have the right gut
bacteria to make your listen a from elegatanins in that case they can't access the anti-aging
anti-inflammatory and antioxidant properties of urolithine a
more urolithin a related studies are underway to determine the benefits of ingesting urolithine a
directly so even people who can't produce urolithin a naturally can reap its benefits
also urolithin a produced by fecal bacteria is used to increase short chain fatty acid
production in our body short chain fatty acids they provide energy to the cells lining our gut
and are significant to gut health they also help our body digest carbohydrates and fat short chain
fatty acids help lower inflammation in our gut and keep our gut microbiome functioning well certain
cells in our colon called colon fibroblasts play a vital role in regulating our immune response
since they line our colon they're often exposed to byproducts of the food that we digest
if these cells become agitated by something we eat we may have to deal with chronic inflammation
through our bodies during this inflammation the immune regulating signals of the colon
fibroblast cells may be altered and can lead to ibs or irritable syndrome and it can even lead
to colorectal cancer colorectal cancer is the second leading cause of cancer-related deaths
urolithine is a family of molecules that includes urolithin a and b when we eat
a pomegranate legotanines in that fruit are then converted to urolithin a and b inside of our colon
in lab tests when inflammation producing cells were exposed to urolithin a and b and electric
acid at similar concentrations found in the colon it resulted in an anti-inflammatory response
further studies showed that urolithine a was the main active compound that produced this effect
these studies demonstrate the potential anti-inflammatory and anti-carcinogenic
effects of urolithin also the prebiotic effect of urolithin stimulates the production of short-chain
fatty acids which maintain colon health and help prevent colon cancer pomegranate has been shown to
have a positive effect on cardiovascular health as well so pomegranate juice can reduce triglyceride
levels improve high density cholesterol and lower blood pressure in hemodialysis patients
based on a study also pomegranate helps reduce the cardiovascular risk in diabetic and obese
individuals while lab results are promising more conclusive human studies are needed as a rule
of thumb eating fruit raw is much better for you than drinking their juice with pomegranate juice
you get a more concentrated version of multiple pomegranates in one bottle however pomegranates
are high in sugar juice in general eliminates the dietary fiber found in fruit and without
their essential fiber your blood sugar levels can spike here is the usda nutritional information for
raw pomegranate and that for bottled pomegranate juice so what's the final takeaway from this video
pomegranates are super healthy they're high in fiber vitamins and other nutrients they can act
as prebiotics and their anti-inflammatory properties can help keep our gut healthy
preliminary studies in the elderly also showed that the byproducts of digesting pomegranates
can help improve endurance and muscle strength and rejuvenate mitochondria for more energy
and slow the aging process while more studies and humans are required before pomegranate juice or
extracts can be certified as protective against cancer and cardiovascular disease preliminary
research is promising certain bacteria in our gut can digest pomegranates to make urolithin a
the molecule linked to several health benefits however individuals who don't have this gut
bacteria may not produce uralistin in this case directly ingesting urolithin a may be helpful so
that's going to be all for this video i appreciate you watching if you haven't done so already
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