Saturday, December 15, 2012

Perfect Pomegranates

Pomegranates are certainly gaining publicity and popularity!  They're loaded with folate, vitamin C, vitamin K, and copper.  What will all of these great nutrients do for you?

Folate is an extremely important nutrient, especially for pregnant women.  Recommendations encourage women before and during pregnancy to have 400 mcg daily to prevent neural tube defects.

Vitamin C has been shown to reduce the complications and severities of colds, as well as improve immune function, skin health, and fetal development.  Vitamin C also aids in the absorption of iron, so for those iron-deficient folks, including vitamin C at meals when you're consuming iron helps to make sure your body will absorb iron more efficiently!
     Ex: Have a cup of vitamin-C rich, 100% orange juice in the morning with your iron-fortified cereal.  OR Stir-fry iron-rich white beans with vitamin C-loaded red bell peppers (which actually have twice as much vitamin C as an orange).

Vitamin K is the imporant vitamin that helps our blood clot.  We typically think of "clotting" as a bad thing (especially internally), but our bodies need to clot especially if we experience a cut or scrape.  When you hear vitamin K think Clot.

Copper is found in many foods such as seafood, nuts, cocoa, and organ meats.  This nutrient has been linked to proper bone health and a decrease in bone loss as we age.  Most of us don't have to worry about having a copper deficiency since our bodies need very little of this nutrient, so supplementation is not recommended

This video gives you a great step-by-step guide on how to keep your kitchen and clothes clean while getting those pesky little pomegranate seeds out:


You can find pomegranates for about 2 for $3 during this time of year.  Enjoy them on a salad, as a snack with nuts and seeds, sautéed in some whole grain rice, or sprinkled over some yogurt.  Let me know what you think!

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