Monday, February 19, 2007

Pomegranate Juice

I don’t believe there are any miracle foods. I do however believe there are some foods that can contribute to our bad health, and there are some foods that can contribute to our good health. Pomegranate juice may be one of the latter. This article says the juice may help fight atherosclerosis, hardening of the arteries, and actually contribute to unclogging the arteries. This article says it may reduce plaque in the brain and help fight Alzheimer's disease. And this article says that it is so effective against prostate cancer that it might help older men outlive the disease.

These are some pretty impressive claims. Maybe it is a miracle food after all? I bought a jar of pomegranate juice last night at my local Lebanese store. It was something like $7 at my neighborhood grocery, but about $5.50 at NeoMonde. I had a glass last night with my snacks of hummus, tomatoes, olives, and pumpkin seeds. (NB: if you can't buy Pomegranate Juice in your area, you can search for it in the Google box on the right. Just type buy pomegranate juice.) One thing I would like to say: even at $7 a bottle it is cheaper than a bottle of wine, because you get more in a bottle. I used to drink two glasses of wine per day. Now I drink one glass of wine and one glass of pomegranate juice.

While I’m on this topic, there are a few things I would like to say. Whenever I go into NeoMonde Restaurant it is like entering into a foreign country, with the Lebanese music, the Middle Eastern aromas, and all the foreign foodstuffs on sale in the grocery section. It makes me really nostalgic for the Middle East. I went to Egypt in 1976. And even though it was one of the happiest experiences of my life I doubt I will go again. With the way the situation is now, and with the way we are hated in that area of the world I just don’t think it is safe for an American to travel in the Middle East, and that is too bad. I really resent that.

All that aside, I really admire the Mediterranean Diet. I think it is a very healthy way to go. And of course there is no better place to eat it than on the Mediterranean Sea. But with the Americanization of the world it is getting more difficult to find places that are unadulterated by such things as fast food restaurants. So I can visit the Mediterranean again if I want to, but it won’t be the way it was in 1976, before McDonald’s moved in.


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1 comment:

Raggedy said...

I read about pomegranate juice a long time ago. They sell it here at the grocery store. It is very pricey! I love pomegranates so I thought I would really like the juice. I did not find it very different than cranberry juice. At any rate at the price it is not going to be a staple here in our home but I did want to taste it and I did.
I think it is fabulous that you were able to travel to Egypt! It sounds like you have many fond memories to cherish.
We don't have any Middle East eateries or stores that sell that type of food. The NeoMonde sounds like a very neat place to shop.
Have a wonderful day!
*^_^
(=':'=) hugs
(")_ (")Š from
the Cool Raggedy one