• Pomegranate has been mentioned in the Qur’an for its health benefits.
• A molecule in pomegranates, transformed by microbes in the gut, protects muscle cells against aging.
• The effect is amazing in animals, and clinical trials are underway.

The pomegranate has been mentioned in the Qur’an in three places: 

“It is HE Who sends down rain from the skies; with it WE produce vegetation of all kinds: from some WE produce green (crops), out of which WE produce grain, heaped up (at harvest); out of the date palm and its sheaths (or spathes) (come) clusters of dates hanging low and near: and (then there are) gardens of grapes, and olives, and pomegranates, each similar (in kind) yet different (in variety): when they begin to bear fruit, feast your eyes with the fruit and the ripeness thereof. Behold! in these things there are Signs for people who believe.” (Surat Al-Anaam 6:99).

Also mentioned in the Quran Chapter 6:

“It is HE Who produceth gardens, with trellises and without, and dates, and tilth with produce of all kinds, and olives and pomegranates, similar (in kind) and different (in variety): eat of their fruit in their season, but render the dues that are proper on the day that the harvest is gathered. But waste not by excess: for ALLAH loveth not the wasters.” (Surat Al-Anaam 6:141).

As well as in Chapter 55:

“In them will be Fruits, and dates, and pomegranates: Then which of the favors of your Lord will you deny?” (Surat Ar-Rahman – 68-69).

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Not only that. There are also some hadiths that mention the fruit: 

Anas bin Malik (Radhiyallahu anhu) narrated that Prophet Muhammad (PBUH) said, “There is not a pomegranate which does not have a pip from one of the pomegranate of the Garden (of Jannah) in it.” (Abu Nu’aim). Rasulullah (PBUH) has also said, “Pomegranate and its rind strengthen digestion(stomach).” (narrated Ali(radhiyallahu anhu), Abu Nuaim, Al-Jozi).

Are pomegranates really the superfood that will counteract aging? Scientists have discovered that a molecule in pomegranates, transformed by microbes in the gut, enables muscle cells to protect themselves against one of the major causes of aging.

In animals, the effect is nothing short of amazing. Clinical trials are underway, but some initial findings have already been published in the journal Nature Medicine according to Ecole Polytechnique Fédérale de Lausanne of Switzerland.

As we age, our cells increasingly struggle to recycle their powerhouses. Called mitochondria, these inner compartments are no longer able to carry out their vital function, thus accumulate in the cell.

This degradation affects the health of many tissues, including muscles, which gradually weaken over the years. A buildup of dysfunctional mitochondria is also suspected of playing a role in other diseases of aging, such as Parkinson’s disease.