{"id":287538,"date":"2026-02-08T16:41:10","date_gmt":"2026-02-08T16:41:10","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ie\/287538\/"},"modified":"2026-02-08T16:41:10","modified_gmt":"2026-02-08T16:41:10","slug":"doctor-tells-everyone-to-add-1-fruit-to-diet-to-boost-heart-health","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ie\/287538\/","title":{"rendered":"Doctor tells everyone to add 1 fruit to diet to &#8216;boost heart health&#8217;"},"content":{"rendered":"<p>Dr Amir Khan has shared the health benefits of a fruit that&#8217;s in season now, and is packed with antioxidants that can improve heart health and protect against disease<\/p>\n<p>Danielle Kate Wroe Senior Social News Reporter <\/p>\n<p>15:46, 08 Feb 2026<\/p>\n<p><img decoding=\"async\" alt=\"bowl of fresh fruit\" loading=\"eager\"  src=\"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ie\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/02\/1_bowl-of-fresh-fruit.jpg\" \/><\/p>\n<p aria-label=\"The fruit could help to boost your health (stock image)\" class=\"ImageCaption_caption-title__ccyQU\" data-testid=\"caption-title\">The fruit could help to boost your health (stock image)(Image: Getty)<\/p>\n<p class=\"Paragraph_paragraph-text__PVKlh \" data-tmdatatrack=\"content-unit\" data-tmdatatrack-type=\"paragraph\">If enhancing your health is amongst your priorities this year, Dr Amir Khan <a aria-label=\"has shared that there&#039;s a fruit you ought to incorporate into your diet that you&#039;re likely not consuming regularly at presentLink opens in a new tab.\" class=\"TextLink_text-link__dBSS0 TextLink_enabled__dJF3l\" href=\"https:\/\/www.irishmirror.ie\/news\/irish-news\/health-news\/eating-more-household-fruit-could-35096160\" rel=\"follow nofollow noopener\" tabindex=\"0\" target=\"_blank\">has shared that there&#8217;s a fruit you ought to incorporate into your diet that you&#8217;re likely not consuming regularly at present<\/a>. We&#8217;re all aware that we should be striving to consume five portions of fruits and vegetables daily according to <a aria-label=\"healthLink opens in a new tab.\" class=\"TextLink_text-link__dBSS0 TextLink_enabled__dJF3l\" href=\"https:\/\/www.irishmirror.ie\/all-about\/health\" rel=\"follow nofollow noopener\" tabindex=\"0\" target=\"_blank\">health<\/a> advice around the world, but selecting fruit that is &#8220;in season&#8221; will make the experience considerably more enjoyable for you.<\/p>\n<p class=\"Paragraph_paragraph-text__PVKlh \" data-tmdatatrack=\"content-unit\" data-tmdatatrack-type=\"paragraph\">Dr Amir noted that it&#8217;s &#8220;pomegranate season&#8221; as he displayed the &#8220;beautiful&#8221; fruit. &#8220;But the beauty isn&#8217;t just skin deep. Pomegranates have loads of health benefits, too,&#8221; he shared.<\/p>\n<p class=\"Paragraph_paragraph-text__PVKlh \" data-tmdatatrack=\"content-unit\" data-tmdatatrack-type=\"paragraph\">&#8220;They&#8217;re exceptionally high in antioxidants, which can help us protect ourselves from damage done from things like cigarette smoking and air pollution. Specific antioxidants in pomegranate include panallergens, anthocyanins and ellagitannins.&#8221;<\/p>\n<p class=\"Paragraph_paragraph-text__PVKlh \" data-tmdatatrack=\"content-unit\" data-tmdatatrack-type=\"paragraph\">Sharing <a aria-label=\"expert adviceLink opens in a new tab.\" class=\"TextLink_text-link__dBSS0 TextLink_enabled__dJF3l\" href=\"https:\/\/www.irishmirror.ie\/all-about\/expert-advice\" rel=\"follow nofollow noopener\" tabindex=\"0\" target=\"_blank\">expert advice<\/a>, he revealed that &#8220;small studies have suggested that pomegranate may have some anti-cancer properties,&#8221; but further research is required to be able to state this &#8220;definitively&#8221;.<\/p>\n<p>Content cannot be displayed without consent<\/p>\n<p class=\"Paragraph_paragraph-text__PVKlh \" data-tmdatatrack=\"content-unit\" data-tmdatatrack-type=\"paragraph\">Pomegranate can also &#8220;improve heart health,&#8221; according to the doctor, as he outlined that, in a 2022 review of 10 of the most commonly purchased fruits and &#8220;their effects on cardiovascular disease&#8221;, researchers discovered that pomegranate and pomegranate juice &#8220;can have significant benefits for improving a number of heart conditions, including high blood pressure and damage done by cholesterol&#8221;.<\/p>\n<p class=\"Paragraph_paragraph-text__PVKlh \" data-tmdatatrack=\"content-unit\" data-tmdatatrack-type=\"paragraph\">He went on to explain that pomegranates contain antioxidants called ellagitannin, and they are &#8220;believed to produce a compound in the gut called urolithin A, which is being studied for its ability to reduce inflammation in the brain, and perhaps delay the onset of cognitive disease&#8221;.<\/p>\n<p class=\"Paragraph_paragraph-text__PVKlh \" data-tmdatatrack=\"content-unit\" data-tmdatatrack-type=\"paragraph\">Dr Amir stated: &#8220;They also have plenty of vitamin C, phosphorus and potassium, all of which are really good for our health, so it&#8217;s important to include some pomegranate in a well-balanced diet while it&#8217;s still in season&#8221;.<\/p>\n<p>What are the advantages of pomegranate?<\/p>\n<p class=\"Paragraph_paragraph-text__PVKlh \" data-tmdatatrack=\"content-unit\" data-tmdatatrack-type=\"paragraph\">According to Healthline, they&#8217;re loaded with nutrients, and pomegranates are low in calories and fat but high in fibre, vitamins and minerals.<\/p>\n<p class=\"Paragraph_paragraph-text__PVKlh \" data-tmdatatrack=\"content-unit\" data-tmdatatrack-type=\"paragraph\">They&#8217;re abundant in antioxidants, and obtaining antioxidants from fruits such as pomegranates is an excellent way to support overall health and help prevent disease.<\/p>\n<p class=\"Paragraph_paragraph-text__PVKlh \" data-tmdatatrack=\"content-unit\" data-tmdatatrack-type=\"paragraph\">Consuming pomegranates may help prevent the inflammation linked to some chronic conditions. As Dr Amir highlighted, they may also possess anti-cancer properties, but further research is needed.<\/p>\n<p class=\"Paragraph_paragraph-text__PVKlh \" data-tmdatatrack=\"content-unit\" data-tmdatatrack-type=\"paragraph\">There is evidence that fruits rich in polyphenolic compounds, such as pomegranate, may benefit heart health. For instance, in a study on people with heart disease, drinking pomegranate juice reduced the frequency and severity of chest pain, as well as certain biomarkers that suggest a protective effect on heart health.<\/p>\n<p class=\"Paragraph_paragraph-text__PVKlh \" data-tmdatatrack=\"content-unit\" data-tmdatatrack-type=\"paragraph\">Laboratory and clinical studies have discovered that pomegranate extract might assist in preventing kidney stone development and could possess antimicrobial qualities, whilst also potentially supporting your gut microbiome.<\/p>\n<p class=\"Paragraph_paragraph-text__PVKlh \" data-tmdatatrack=\"content-unit\" data-tmdatatrack-type=\"paragraph\">The polyphenols present in pomegranates may enhance exercise stamina. One limited study revealed that pomegranate extract extended time to exhaustion and boosted performance in trained cyclists.<\/p>\n<p class=\"Paragraph_paragraph-text__PVKlh \" data-tmdatatrack=\"content-unit\" data-tmdatatrack-type=\"paragraph\">They also diminish inflammation, and ellagitannins present in pomegranate may safeguard the brain against Alzheimer&#8217;s and Parkinson&#8217;s disease by lessening oxidative damage and enhancing the survival of brain cells, though further research is required.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"Dr Amir Khan has shared the health benefits of a fruit that&#8217;s in season now, and is packed&hellip;\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":287539,"comment_status":"","ping_status":"","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[10],"tags":[7466,103,1350,61,60],"class_list":["post-287538","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","category-health","tag-expert-advice","tag-health","tag-healthy-eating","tag-ie","tag-ireland"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ie\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/287538","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ie\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ie\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ie\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/2"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ie\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=287538"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ie\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/287538\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ie\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/287539"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ie\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=287538"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ie\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=287538"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ie\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=287538"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}