CHINESE APPLE

"Pomegranate"

Pomegranate
"Chinese Apple"

     Years ago this fruit was known as the Chinese Apple.  I have remembered when my parents bought (still does) bags of the fruit for us to eat as a healthy snack during the summertime as a kid.  The fruit was so popular back in the late 70s and 80s. The memory was so vivid that I recalled playing outside in front of our building in Brooklyn, picking out those tiny fleshy liquid seeds and eating them like sweet sour candy with the red juice dripping down my fingers, hands, and staining.  

Edible Seeds
inside of a pomegranate
"Life's Treasures"

     Fast forward to the 3rd millennium, who knew this particular powerful fruit would be very popular today in the forefront of the medical world.  As a child, I've known it as the Chinese Apple not pomegranate.  It makes me wonder when did the name change?  

     The big red round fruit with a weird stem on top remind you of a Christmas ornament.  You would have to split open the fruit to reveal the inside, which are numerous fluid filled sac seeds individually separated by inedible membranes.  The seeds are edible.  A health treasure for the human body.  The pomegranate helps cardiovascular system function preventing damage to arterial walls, improving blood circulation, maintaining healthy blood pressure levels, protects against cancer, and diabetes.

     According to the Medical College of Wisconsin, scientists says by sipping a half cup of pure 100% pomegranate juice daily, or eating 2/3 cup of pomegranate seeds could reduce your risk of colon cancer 33% or more.  Studies shows high consumption in fruit and vegetable is associated with lower cancer risk.  Diets rich in polyphenols from specific plant foods fends off cancer.

     The ellagic acid, a compound found in the pomegranate strengthens and protects the digestive tract lining so the toxins can't easily harm its cells.  Pomegranate is a rich source of antioxidants the body craves to have on a daily basis.  Besides being categorized as a  "superfood", the pomegranate has a significant symbolic meaning in the ancient world of mythology.  The ancient world symbolizes the fruit to represent fertility, abundance, life, love, rebirth, hope, prosperity, beauty, eternity, and marriage.  

     Well, it seems my parents was on to something years ago in giving us the give of life.  Would you consider in having this magnificent treasure fruit, Chinese Apple or Pomegranate, in the center of your table as a daily reminder that Mother Nature has given us the gift of life, literally?