Pomegranate is an incredibly delicious and refreshing fruit. Its juice has big amounts of antioxidants, in fact almost greater than any other fruit juice, red wine, green or black tea. The antioxidants within have phytonutrients like anthocyanins, polyphenol, and tannins. Drinking pomegranate juice on a daily basis has a better overall impact on improving the antioxidant function in comparison to any other fruit since it has a much higher amount of phenolic substances.

Benefit #1: It reduces the risk of developing a heart disease

The high antioxidant amount inside pomegranate juice, especially polyphenols, can block or inhibit the accumulation of cholesterol in the arteries. Antioxidants can protect your heart by decreasing the amount of low-density lipoprotein cholesterol, which is also called LDL and more popularly known as the “bad” cholesterol.

One study has shown that regular consumption of pomegranate juice can decrease the total levels of cholesterol and LDL cholesterol and can also reduce the likelihood of developing a heart disease in people who have type II diabetes and who already have high fat and cholesterol levels in their blood.

Benefit #2: It improves fertility and performance in the bed

Pomegranate juice can help with improving fertility and sexual performance. Studies have shown that drinking pomegranate juice can improve erections for men who suffer from erectile dysfunction. Some researchers partially attribute this to the impact that pomegranate juice has on nitric oxide which is a compound that enables the muscles in blood vessel walls, like in the penis, to widen, relax and increase the flow of blood.

Pomegranate juice has been shown to have a powerful antioxidant activity which prevents the destruction of nitric oxide and increases its impact on muscle cells found in blood vessels. Pomegranate juice intake can also increase the quality of sperm according to one study.

Risk #1: How it interacts with other medicaments

Daily consumption of pomegranate juice is healthy. However, it has been shown to sometimes interact negatively with prescription drugs or medications which treat high blood pressure or high cholesterol levels. Several studies have shown that regular daily consumption of pomegranate juice can increase the risk of rhabdomyolysis, if you already happen to be taking rosuvastatin, which is a medication for treating high cholesterol. Rhabdomyolysis is actually a condition in which muscle tissue breakdown is occurring which can ultimately lead to failure of the kidneys.

Risk #2: It increases blood sugar levels

Pomegranate juice is extremely rich in sugar. One cup or 8 ounces of pomegranate juice has around 132 calories and around 31.18 grams of total sugars, half of which come from glucose and the other half from fructose. That’s around the same amount a 16-ounce cola soda would have at 129 calories and 31.12 grams of total sugar content. Consuming high amount of sugar will increase total blood sugar levels.

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