Bodybuilding Nutrition - Antioxidant Health Benefits of Pomegranate

Taking in high levels of antioxidants is important if you're a bodybuilder, as they help avert heart disease, premature aging and even cancer by preventing free radicals in your body from reaching toxic levels. Basically, antioxidants keep you healthy and thus able to give 100% at each workout.

Pomegranates are a great source of antioxidants - in fact, the juice from pomegranates is higher in antioxidants than any other drink (including much-hyped red wine and green tea). Pomegranates also provide plentiful doses of vitamin C and potassium, which are important nutrients for bodybuilders.

The pomegranate has an illustrious history in the Middle East, where it has been consumed since before biblical times, both as a food flavoring - it has a sparkling sweet/tart flavor - and as a folk medicine used to treat inflammation, sore throats and rheumatism. Since then, the fruit has caught on in Western recently when its health benefits were revealed. California is the main center of commercial cultivation for sale in the United States.

The pomegranate is a somewhat mysterious and unwidely fruit, but worth the effort.

Pomegranates are ripe in the fall and will stay fresh two to four weeks in a crisper after purchase. Look for full round fruit that feels slightly heavy. The red seeds are technically referred to as "arils," and each aril has a white seed within it, which can be consumed for additional fiber.

Pomegranate seeds can be sprinkled on salads, mixed into rice pilaf, used as a garnish for meat or fish, or pressed into juice. You can readily find pomegranate juice bottled by POM Wonderful, available in the refrigerated produce section. Keep in mind that pomegranates - like any other fruit - are a simple carbohydrate (27 grams of carbs per fruit), so limit your intake, especially in the later hours of the day.