The Natural Miracle for Menopause Symptoms

The pomegranate is credited with many benefits for a woman's body during menopause: significant relief from low mood and emotional swings, a lower risk of osteoporosis, a decreased risk of heart disease and a lower risk of breast cancer.

The magic in the pomegranate

Many women who are in midlife today, in what some call “menopause,” experience familiar symptoms such as mood swings, depression, decreasing bone density and fluctuating estrogen levels in the body. Perhaps the most surprising source of natural relief for this range of symptoms comes from an ancient food: the bountiful pomegranate.

Pomegranates have accompanied humanity for more than 4,000 years. The word pomegranate is documented as early as 750 BCE and comes from the Latin phrase Punicum malum, “the Phoenician apple,” and today, in some cultures, it is called “the Chinese apple.”

Despite the common comparison to an apple, the pomegranate actually bears a striking resemblance to a woman's ovaries. It's no coincidence that the pomegranate served as a symbol of fertility in Zoroastrianism, one of the oldest religions in the world, which originated in ancient Persia about 3,500 years ago, as well as in other ancient cultures.

In general, fruits are defined as “an ovary that developed from the plant’s seed” (“the developed ovary of a seed plant”), but in the case of the pomegranate, the physical resemblance to a woman's ovaries is exceptional. If we placed a pomegranate and an ovary side by side, we would see how much the pomegranate seeds resemble eggs. But the resemblance doesn't end with appearance: the pomegranate also naturally contains estrone, one of the estrogens found in a woman's body.

And what does this mean for women in menopause?

In a 2004 study conducted in Japan and published in the Journal of Ethnopharmacology, rats whose ovaries had been removed experienced an accelerated decline in bone density, a process similar to what happens in women during menopause. After being fed pomegranate seeds and pomegranate extract, a renewed increase in their bone mineral content was observed within just two weeks. The same researchers also found a decrease in depressive markers, and concluded that the pomegranate has significant clinical potential for emotional support during this period.

Heart health also benefits from eating pomegranate. Death rates from coronary heart disease among postmenopausal women are 2-3 times higher than among women of the same age who have not yet gone through menopause. Studies have shown that pomegranate juice, rich in antioxidants, prevents the oxidation of LDL cholesterol, thereby supporting the blood vessel walls and reducing the processes of atherosclerosis.

Drinking a glass of pomegranate juice daily lowers blood pressure, reduces plaque buildup in the carotid arteries, improves blood flow to the heart and even reduces clotting.

In addition, the anthocyanidins (sugar-free plant pigments), flavonoids and oils, all of which come from the pomegranate, have anti-cancer effects. Also, although some women worry that foods with estrogenic components may increase the risk of breast cancer, in practice this is not the case. In fact, the pomegranate is a natural adaptogen: it raises estrogen levels when they are low, but blocks stronger estrogens when levels are too high.

This natural ability to adapt its action to the body's needs is a significant advantage of natural food over medications.

In a study published in 2011 in the Journal of Nutritional Biochemistry, pomegranate extract was compared with the drugs tamoxifen and estradiol (drugs for the treatment and prevention of estrogen-dependent breast cancer), and it was found that pomegranate extract may indeed help prevent estrogen-dependent breast cancer.

If any doubt remains about eating pomegranate daily and its many benefits for the health of women in menopause,

A 240 ml cup of pomegranate contains 40% of the recommended daily intake of vitamin C, as well as vitamins A and E and folic acid. The pomegranate contains antioxidants called phytochemicals, which protect the plant from harmful environmental factors. When these same phytochemicals are in our digestive system, they protect the cells of our body as well.

Pomegranate juice contains higher levels of antioxidants than any other fruit juice, including cranberry or blueberry, and even more than green tea and red wine.

The benefits of the pomegranate don't leave much room for hesitation, certainly not for women in menopause, and not for any of us.

We'll choose to drink its sweet juice or eat its wonderful seeds, and it will take care of the rest.

To days of miracles and nature.

With love,

Ran ❤️

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