Drink up

Diabetics who shy away from pomegranate juice because of the drink's high sugar content may be doing themselves a disservice. An Israeli study of those with the disease has found that the juice could offer heart health benefits.

In a small clinical trial, 10 diabetics and 10 healthy individuals were asked to drink fresh-squeezed pomegranate juice for three months. The researchers were surprised to find that the juice did not elevate blood sugar levels, cholesterol, or triglycerides, parameters of diabetes that often worsen after consumption of fruit juice. While most other fruit juices contain free and harmful forms of sugars, pomegranate juice contains sugars that are attached to unique antioxidants, which makes the drink especially protective against atherosclerosis.

Those that drank the juice saw their serum lipid peroxide levels drop by 56 percent and their TBARS levels fall by 28 percent. TBARS is a measure of oxidation levels of LDL cholesterol.

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