Pomegranate may be a pain to eat, but it is packed full of nutrients that are useful to our bodies. The reputation for the fruit has grown to encompass how healthy it potentially is for us, but recently this reputation has taken another turn as some scientists have claimed it may be the secret to defying age. A multi-layered identity means any discussion of its abilities requires focus. With this in mind, we’re going to discuss the many ways in which the fruit can be related back to helping us to age gracefully. One thing to keep in mind throughout all this is that science is a process and early findings need to be replicated many times before they are considered valid. As a result, don’t get too hopeful about some of what we’re discussing as the research still needs replication and proof that the effect is valid for humans as well.

The Fruit of Dreams
Interestingly enough, pomegranates actually have a long association with the idea of the passage of time, life, and death. In Greek myth, they were a fruit of the underworld that eating the seeds of which trapped the goddess Persephone in the underworld for duration of winter each year. The fruit does have less fanciful applications than trapping goddesses though. It is a decent source of nutrients like vitamin K, calcium, and manganese that are good for aging bodies. They help with maintaining bone density and joint strength. It makes it a rather useful fruit to include in one’s diet. However, it also has other nutrients in it that actually work to help preserve and boost your skin as well. Some of the proteins in it actually help to hydrate and protect your skin. Some studies have even shown that it helps to promote the production of collagen as well. Naturally, pomegranate is viewed as being useful for defying age for these reasons.

The Fruit of Science
Science has a very focused approach to things. This ends up taking time to try to dissect anything being studied using scientific techniques and trying to isolate precisely what provides the effect we want. Pomegranates have come up before, but there has never been a detailed enough study to figure out what about pomegranate might help ward off aging. Recently, scientists studying it have isolated a compound called urolithin A that helps keep your muscle cells operating effectively by encouraging their natural recycling process that keeps the cells operating effectively. The compound is acquired by eating the fruit, but the scientists have been working with concentrated doses for the purpose of their study to test their ideas. Thus far the study has been conducted on both nematodes, a kind of worm, and on mice with a noticeable effect. In both cases, it appeared to extend the healthy lifespan of the subjects to a degree by helping maintain their overall health. They’ve looked into starting human trials as a result of these findings.

What Does This Mean?
The exact mechanic the scientists observed was that urolithin A helps to maintain the health and quality of muscle cells in the bodies of those exposed to it. It helps maintain the cell health longer and as a result, actually improves the quality of life. The scientists have yet to make any claims of fantastical life extension. Instead, they believe that the compound holds promise for helping to extend how long humans experience quality of life. The severe tapering of quality of life towards the end of our lives could be improved simply by the fact that many vital organs are forms of muscle tissue. As a result, helping the cells of the muscle tissue to keep repairing themselves for longer would reduce the overall symptoms of aging on our health. It could potentially aid both in heart health and late life mobility if the research pans out. It is still too early to tell if the effect with translate well to humans, but the scientists are hopeful.

New media is enjoying itself with this news, but in truth, people are seldom looking into as much detail as they should about pomegranate. It does have the potential to help with quality of life as we age in many ways, but it is not quite an anti-aging miracle like some are promoting it. Currently, the nutrients in the fruit are a useful addition to any diet to help ward off some effect of aging. The compound urolithin A requires more study and may be useful in the future. At the moment we need to know more about the concentration required for an effect and whether humans benefits as well. Only time will tell us the answers to these questions. For now, pomegranate must remain helpful in the same way as any other part of healthy diet.