By David Blyweiss, M.D., Advanced Natural Wellness

August 15, 2016

• 2 healing juices you should drink every day
• The power of pomegranate
• Fortify your health with cherry juice

One of the things I like about certain juices is that the nutrients are highly concentrated and easy to absorb. But that doesn’t mean all juices have a positive impact on your health. In fact, many store-bought juices aren’t any better than drinking a soda. Just read the label to see how many grams of sugar  have been added…one teaspoonful = 3 grams; so that favorite juice with 28 grams of sugar has more than 9 teaspoons full of sugar!

However, there are two juices that are real stand-outs when it comes to boosting your health. They do everything from protecting your heart to slashing your risk of cancer and crushing joint pain.

It’s hard to say that one is better than the other, because they both have a great deal of power behind them. On the other hand, there’s no reason you can’t enjoy each of them on a regular basis.

Let’s take a look at what these juices can do for you…

The Power of Pomegranate

One of the things pomegranate juice is best known for is its power to cut men’s risk of prostate cancer.

It reduces PSA production, slows PSA doubling time, and lowers levels of inflammation that put you at risk for prostate cancer. I also stops cancer cells from spreading, and may even help kill them off.

Pomegranate may have similar effects when it comes to breast cancer in women. It appears to decrease the spread of cancer cells without harming normal breast cells.

It’s also great for your heart. In fact, both of the juices mentioned in this issue are.

In particular, each of them helps to raise your levels of nitric oxide, or NO. This something your body makes on its own. But by the time you reach age 40, your body makes about half as much NO as it did in your youth.

This is a problem, because NO is absolutely necessary to keep blood flowing freely throughout your body. It keeps your blood vessels open, relaxed and functioning properly.

Pomegranate juice helps boost the production of nitric oxide, then goes a few steps further.

It also cuts oxidation of LDL cholesterol, lowers blood pressure, reduces arterial plaque and helps prevent your arteries from thickening. Additionally, it can increase your antioxidant status by about 130%, which can help cut down on inflammation.

This makes pomegranate juice a pretty powerful addition to your diet.

Fortify Your Health With Cherry Juice

Montmorency cherry juice is another winner in my book. This tart juice is filled with antioxidant and anti-inflammatory action.

Like pomegranate, cherry juice boosts the nitric oxide levels in your body. It also helps lower blood pressure and triglycerides. So it’s another great heart-healthy choice.

It can also help with joint and muscle pain.

If you’ve ever experienced an attack of gout, you know that this juice is your “go-to” cure for pain symptoms. It lowers levels of uric acid, which is what causes those attacks of severe pain associated with gout.

Additionally, it helps reduce the pain of osteoarthritis. In six weeks, it can decrease pain levels, improve function and lower levels of the inflammatory marker c-reactive protein (CRP).

And if you exercise, especially when you really push yourself (like with some of the high intensity workouts I send you every now and then!), drinking Montmorency cherry juice can reduce muscle pain and protect against muscle damage.

SOURCES:

Pantuck AJ, et al. Phase II study of pomegranate juice for men with rising prostate-specific antigen following surgery or radiation for prostate cancer. Clin Cancer Res. 2006 Jul 1;12(13):4018-26.

Rocha A, et al. Pomegranate juice and specific components inhibit cell and molecular processes critical for metastasis of breast cancer. Breast Cancer Res Treat. 2012 Dec;136(3):647-58.

Aviram M, et al. Pomegranate juice consumption for 3 years by patients with carotid artery stenosis reduces common carotid intima-media thickness, blood pressure and LDL oxidation. Clin Nutr. 2004;23(3):423-433.

Martin KR, Bopp J, Burrell L, Hook G. The effect of 100% tart cherry juice on serum uric acid levels, biomarkers of inflammation and cardiovascular disease risk factors. FASEB J. April 2011;25:339.2

Bell PG, et al. Montmorency tart cherry (Prunus cerasus L.) concentrate lowers uric acid, independent of plasma cyanidin-3-O-glucosiderutinoside. Nov 2014;11:82-90.

Schumacher HR, et al. Randomized double-blind crossover study of the efficacy of a tart cherry juice blend in treatment of osteoarthritis (OA) of the knee. Osteoarthritis Cartilage. 2013 Aug;21(8):1035-41.

Connolly DAJ, et al. Efficacy of a tart cherry juice blend in preventing the symptoms of muscle damage. Br J Sports Med. 2006;40:679-83.

Bowtell JL, Set al. Montmorency cherry juice reduces muscle damage caused by intensive strength exercise. Med Sci Sports Exerc. 2011;43:1544-51.