The Babylonians apparently believed that chewing pomegranate seeds before battle made them invincible, and the prophet Muhammad said that eating pomegranates purged the body of longing.

Perhaps a certain celeb who recently got himself into trouble with nanny might need a glass or two of pomegranate juice. He wouldn’t be alone. Stars from Eva Longoria (of Desperate Housewives) to J-Lo and Will Smith are downing the juice of what can only be described as an awkward and not particularly delicious fruit, all because of its huge antioxidant properties.

PJ, as pomegranate juice has been renamed on the circuit, has three times the antioxidant ability of the same quantity of green tea or red wine, without the hangover. So it is even better at staving off ageing, disease and other damage caused by free radicals that are present in the environment and linked to smoking and stress. PJ cocktails seem to be flying off the counters of chi-chi establishments, and even pomegranate risotto seems to be the choice of those in search of eternal beauty.

Perhaps they forget that risotto can be packed full of cream and butter, which pile on the pounds, and that the vodka and Martini in the PJ cocktails can give us a heavy head in the morning.

However, for all my cynicism about over-inflating the health properties of individual foods, the pomegranate does seem to be effective in one respect: protecting our hearts. Scientists at the Lipid Research Laboratory in Israel have confirmed that drinking PJ regularly can greatly reduce the size of atherosclerotic lesions, the fatty plaques that can block arteries, causing heart attacks or strokes.

A recent study of 19 people with carotid atherosclerosis stated: “Individuals drinking 50ml of pomegranate juice each day enjoyed an average 35 per cent reduction in the extent of their carotid atherosclerosis over the course of a year.” And a single pomegranate delivers 40 per cent of an adult’s daily requirement of vitamin C.

Despite all these health benefits I still can’t enjoy eating the fruit. I find the taste bitter and it’s too much faff; every pomegranate has exactly 840 seeds. So I prefer a new drink, Pomegreat, which is made from 30 per cent pomegranate concentrate.

One 330ml glass of Pomegreat supplies not only 50 per cent of the recommended daily amount of vitamin C but also vitamins A and E, and 100 per cent of the recommended daily intake of folic acid. But beware, it also contain 10.6g sugar/330ml.

Many of you are already downing this juice: Tesco reports sales up 300 per cent since the start of the year. Superfood it may be, but we still need a well-balanced diet to stave off diseases and wrinkles.

Here’s health

Fresh raspberry and pomegranate cocktail

Lightly crush a handful of fresh raspberries into a 12oz glass, with a spoon. Add crushed ice, 50ml gin, 20ml elderflower cordial and a splash of angostura bitters. Top with freshly squeezed pomegranate juice, or Pomegreat. Stir in the juice of a lime. Serve.

Jane answers your questions in times2 on Mondays; e-mail Jane.Clarke@htetimes.co.uk and visit www.janeclarke.com. She cannot enter into personnal correspondence

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