Where to find pomegranate products
Lots of places!
I was asked what pomegranate products to buy on Amazon and my search results were not that obvious but it was also late and I didn’t go right to Amazon.
Amazon is not supporting small businesses and may have a wide range of products that may vary in quality. Pomegranate peel as a health product or food is a new market, early adopter phase for product availability. When you buy pomegranate you get a lot of peel for your money. Economic and sustainability wise, preparing your own can get you far more health for your dollar and some time. Opening and prepping the seeds and peel takes time. I put it off sometimes until I have more energy or I just use one section of the seeds and save the peel and fruit for later processing. I use the inner pith faster than the more potent rind and I have backstock from previous years.
My now edited reply:
I stress seasons because I have run out myself. So now I stock up when in season.
Quality brand should be looked for in the packaging or site, as there has been fake product found on the market. Pomegranate products are kind of pricy. Mercola has a pomegranate peel product that I've heard is okay.
Etsy has a organic handmade peel product for sale bulk: (etsy.com). It is small piece that could be used in tea or extracts or ground into a finer powder to add small amounts to food or use in a capsule. It looks like a mix of the inner and outer peel.
A finer powder and it looks like the outer rind, from India. I have seen that they tend to not use the inner pith. (ebay.com)
This product has a potentially glyphosate residue rich gelatin capsule and is priced and labeled as if it might be a fake product - too cheap and standardized to 40% ellagitannins which may mean it has been boosted with some from elsewhere. *I'm tired. The one I wouldn't necessarily trust: (puritan.com).
*I searched "Amazon pomegranate peel"
If you want a capsule product you end up paying a lot more, easily $1 a capsule/a day/ one dose for many products.
On the other hand, try something and if it is potent there should be a diuretic effect. Too much pomegranate peel/outer rind particularly potent, causes more trips to the bathroom - too much of a diuretic effect. It is best to not consume a large amount late in the day as it will still cause many trips to the bathroom.
I use pomegranate and peel several times a day usually in tea and foods or as juice and seeds, so that is also why I encourage viewing it as a food item rather than capsules to buy. The phytonutrients in the juice and seeds complement the peel - additive in that both the fruit and the peel have health benefits, some similar, but some different - an additive value to use the whole fruit.
Going to Amazon.com
The price of this Zazzee product is good and it says vegan, non-GMO, amazon.com/Zazzee-Extra-Strength-Pomegranate-Antioxidant. $16.47 for 120 veggie capsules. 20-1 Extract standardized to 40% Ellagic Acid - which are polyphenols/hydrolyzable tannins.
A Life Extension product includes Pomella extract, standardized for punicalagins, (400 mg) also polyphenol/hydrolyzable tannins, with some clinical research support showing benefits; and proprietary pomegranate blend standardized for punicic acid (flower extract and seed oil) (137.5 mg). https://www.amazon.com/Life-Extension-Pomegranate-Complete-Softgels/ *Gelatin capsule but it says Non-GMO product - I am never sure what that means - Non-GMO pomegranate? or Non-GMO gelatin too? I don’t think there is such a thing. $17.10 for 30 softgels.
This is an organic product by True Veda that says Vegan Friendly, Pomegranate Extract Supplement - Ellagic Acid, High Punicalagins | USDA Certified Organic Pomegranate Supplement | Blend of Pomegranate Fruit, Seeds and Peel Extract | 60 Vegan Pomegranate Capsules (400 mg of a 15-1 Extract standardized to 40% polyphenols and 50 mg of 20-1 Extract standardized to 40% punicalagins. They recommend taking one capsule three times a day with meals. Which is more how I use pomegranate peel. (amazon.com/Organic-Pomegranate-Capsules-Punicalagins-Cardiovascular
Pomegranate flowers, seeds, leaves, and the peel are all beneficial for health. The leaves, bark and peel extracts have anti HIV-1 potency. (Sanna, et al., 2021)
India grocery markets or websites have dried seeds whole or ground into powder called Anardana (pomegranate). The seeds are tart sweet and chewy and the powder is a little gritty and I used it in soup. It added a tangy accent, and the grittiness wasn’t too noticeable when using a tablespoon in a pot of soup.
*Anardana from my travel kit, two years old now and drier but still okay. Like very crunchy and tart candy when fresher, a little chewy, a little moist juicy effect but mostly crunchy.
A note about inflammation and chewing- if it hurts to chew crunchy things and it feels like your teeth are bruising your gums, then you are severely inflamed. Reduce the inflammation and chewing crunchy things shouldn't hurt still. I have experienced the pain with chewing and had to stop using my favorite lunch - a raw carrots, an apple and two rice cakes with Tahiti and ginger. It all hurt! Normally chewing doesn't hurt my gums and I love crunchy things.
Chewing more crunchy foods has been linked to enhanced cognition. Maybe the repetitive motion is increasing energy flow to the brain. It improves hippocampus function (Chen, et al., 2015) … which would help protect against Alzheimer’s dementia.
****So please consider that “Not liking the crunchy seeds” may really be a symptom of chronic inflammation - and drink the juice or pom peel tea to reduce inflammation, and try to find out what the inflammatory triggers in your life are and remove them. 🤔 Crunching is a SMART habit!
Chen, et al., 2015) Chen H, Iinuma M, Onozuka M, Kubo KY. Chewing Maintains Hippocampus-Dependent Cognitive Function. Int J Med Sci. 2015 Jun 9;12(6):502-9. doi: 10.7150/ijms.11911. PMID: 26078711; PMCID: PMC4466515. https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC4466515/
Powdered juice may be available from varied companies, but I found it kind of pricy. The seeds freeze well, and specialty stores may carry them frozen year-round or have containers of the seeds separated from the fruit (seen at Trader Joe’s). They last for a couple weeks compared to a fragile raspberry with a brief shelf life.
When I was first using pomegranate for my akathisia/extreme anxiety I would have half a pomegranate worth of seeds in the morning, and then occasionally the other half in the evening if my anxiety got too bad again. And then the season ended and I was scrambling. I first read about the use of pom peel for pancreatic cancer - successfully (animal study) and so I started experimenting with doses based on the amounts used for the animals - which by weight would be A LOT of extract each day and throughout the day is better for pacing out the diuretic effect more gradually. I learned the hard way about having too much late at night.
Addition: The ‘akathisia/extreme anxiety’ turned out to be histamine excess and a low histaminediet helped IMMENSELY. Pomegranate helps by inhibiting the mast cell degranulation and reducing neuroinflammation. While pomegranate is great, not being extremely anxious in the first place is better.
The diuretic effect is part of the medicinal benefits when edema, poor fluid balance, is a problem. It is also an easy way to tell if a product is any good or not - if a quality product, it should cause a diuretic effect (‘peeing like a race horse’).
”Vitamin C water” is just what I call - opening a capsule of vitamin C powder or using some ascorbic acid powder in water to prevent browning of the fruit/apples/bananas. Lemon juice in water works similarly. Rinse the peel/fruit and drain and freeze or make apple pie.
Disclaimer: This information is provided for educational purposes within the guidelines of fair use. While I am a Registered Dietitian this information is not intended to provide individual health guidance. Please see a health professional for individual health care purposes.
Reference List
(Sanna, et al., 2021) Sanna C, Marengo A, Acquadro S, Caredda A, Lai R, Corona A, Tramontano E, Rubiolo P, Esposito F. In Vitro Anti-HIV-1 Reverse Transcriptase and Integrase Properties of Punica granatum L. Leaves, Bark, and Peel Extracts and Their Main Compounds. Plants (Basel). 2021 Oct 7;10(10):2124. doi: 10.3390/plants10102124. PMID: 34685933; PMCID: PMC8539310. https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC8539310/
Abstract: In a search for natural compounds with anti-HIV-1 activity, we studied the effect of the ethanolic extract obtained from leaves, bark, and peels of Punica granatum L. for the inhibition of the HIV-1 reverse transcriptase (RT)-associated ribonuclease H (RNase H) and integrase (IN) LEDGF-dependent activities. The chemical analyses led to the detection of compounds belonging mainly to the phenolic and flavonoid chemical classes. Ellagic acid, flavones, and triterpenoid molecules were identified in leaves. The bark and peels were characterized by the presence of hydrolyzable tannins, such as punicalins and punicalagins, together with ellagic acid. Among the isolated compounds, the hydrolyzable tannins and ellagic acid showed a very high inhibition (IC50 values ranging from 0.12 to 1.4 µM and 0.065 to 0.09 µM of the RNase H and IN activities, respectively). Of the flavonoids, luteolin and apigenin were found to be able to inhibit RNase H and IN functions (IC50 values in the 3.7–22 μM range), whereas luteolin 7-O-glucoside showed selective activity for HIV-1 IN. In contrast, betulinic acid, ursolic acid, and oleanolic acid were selective for the HIV-1 RNase H activity. Our results strongly support the potential of non-edible P. granatum organs as a valuable source of anti-HIV-1 compounds.
Thank you Jennifer! I found you while trying to solve the post-Covid chaos happening in my body; rediscovered how much I love pomegranates thanks to you.
Do you have a recommendation for how much would be a good target “dose” per day if ingesting the peel and pith powder? I dry it my air fryer (dehydrate setting), grind in a spice grinder and add to my yogurt (also Turmeric -- very colorful!). Have been using 500 mg but wondering if that’s not enough to be effective.
Bookmarking this post for when I run out of my current stock...
Excellent advice, thank you! I’ve been dehydrating my own peel and piths ever since I saw a post about you doing it. I need to learn how to clean the seeds so I can save them for planting.