On Nutrition: Pomegranate juice is no miracle food
DEAR DR. BLONZ: Would you please be so kind as to enlighten me on pomegranate juice? It is touted as being the best antioxidant. Are other juices just as good? It is quite delicious, but very expensive. — E.A., Glassboro, N.J.
DEAR E.A.: Pomegranates are a wonderful food. Their deep color and concentrated flavors are a rich source of nutrients, including potassium and a wide variety of beneficial antioxidant compounds. Findings concerning pomegranate juice’s effect against processes associated with cancer appeared in the March 21, 2005, Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences. Not to lessen the healthfulness of this food, but similar scenarios have also been written for other fruits, including the blueberry, red raspberry, concord grape, orange and cherry. All contain their share of healthful compounds, as do other whole foods. There is no question that pomegranates are special, but there is no one-size-fits-all diet, nor should there be a single food held up as an answer to all our needs.
DEAR DR. BLONZ: My husband has been diagnosed with polymyositis. There seems to be only the most basic information available about this disease. I would like to know if you can make any dietary recommendations. Is there an anti-inflammatory diet that you believe to be based on factual information? I really hope you can help us with this, as we are very concerned about the high dose of prednisone he is taking, and want to do everything we can to have it reduced as soon as possible. — J.K., no city or state given
DEAR J.K.: Let me express my sincere sympathy. Facing a condition about which so little is known is extremely difficult. Polymyositis is a disease of the muscles that results in an inflammation of the muscle fibers. The cause is unknown, and doctors turn to anti-inflammatory agents to provide relief. Unfortunately, I cannot give any medical advice, and know very little about you or your husband.
That said, any medical professionals working with your husband should be looking closely at his history to see if there were other signs or symptoms before the emergence of this problem. These might include such questions as: Did any digestive problems precede, or accompany, the emergence of the polymyositis? What is his family history — is there celiac disease, Crohn’s disease or some other autoimmune disease in the family? If there were an autoimmune process underway — the start of which might be traced back to a viral infection — the polymositis might be how his body reacted to the assault. All these issues should take place in a session in which you, your husband and his clinician troubleshoot the situation.
In the meantime, the anti-inflammatory agents should be considered wonder drugs. The aim is to extinguish the fire, but also to eventually get off the medications when things settle down. In tandem with the relief would be problem-solving to hopefully identify the cause. It would be ideal to find some weird autoimmune/inflammatory twist on a food allergy, but the solutions are usually complex.
I don’t know of any anti-inflammatory diets that I could recommend with confidence. Sticking with a diet based on nutrient-dense, plant-based whole foods makes sense, but it is unclear how they work with your husband’s particular situation. For additional background, you might want to consult one of the online medical resources such as www.medicinenet.com, www.emedicine.com, www.arthritis.org and www.mayoclinic.com.
The best to you and your husband.
Send questions to: “On Nutrition,” Ed Blonz, c/o Newspaper Enterprise Association, 200 Madison Ave., New York, NY 10016. For e-mail, address inquiries to: [email protected]. Due to the volume of mail, personal replies cannot be provided.
Ed Blonz, Ph.D., is a nutrition scientist and the author of “Power Nutrition” (Signet, 1998) and the “Your Personal Nutritionist” book series (Signet, 1996).