Stressed at work? A daily drink of pomegranate juice could be the answer

Frazzled British workers are being thrown a lifeline today with the news that a glass of pomegranate juice per day will deliver a measurable reduction in their stress hormone levels. A recent study found that 41% of British workers claim to be stressed or very stressed in their jobs. Researchers at Queen Margaret University, Edinburgh studied the physiological effect of daily consumption of 500ml of Pomegreat Pure pomegranate juice over a two-week period. Sixty volunteers from a range of working environments took part in the study.

The study found that daily consumption caused a significant reduction in the level of stress hormone cortisol in saliva and a significant reduction in systolic and diastolic blood pressure in all volunteers. Cortisol (hydrocortisone) is a steroid hormone, or glucocorticoid, produced by the adrenal gland. It is released in response to stress.

Volunteers also showed an improvement in arterial health as measured by pulse wave velocity.

Volunteers were also assessed on mood status using a specialist test. After consumption of pomegranate juice most subjects reported that they were more enthusiastic, inspired, proud and active and all reported that they were less distressed, nervous, guilty and ashamed according to the attributes tested.

The full results of the study will be presented at an international conference in Barcelona in October.

Research Scientist, Dr Emad Al-Dujaili who led the study said: “On the basis of these findings there is a justified argument for busy workers to drink pomegranate juice to help alleviate chronic stress and maintain good health.”

“There is a growing body of evidence that pomegranate juice delivers wide-ranging health benefits that merit further research. It is very rare indeed for an all-natural juice to offer the range of health benefits that we are seeing in pomegranate juice.”

A recent study by the charity Mind found that stress is prevalent in the British workforce, with 41% of respondents describing themselves as currently stressed or very stressed in their jobs. Two-thirds said they had been put under more pressure by management since the economic downturn.

An earlier study by Queen Margaret University researchers found that pomegranate juice may redistribute weight around the body, moving flab away from bellies and muffin tops.

The study showed a significant reduction in plasma NEFA (a measure of blood composition) following 4-week consumption of Pomegreat pure fruit juice in 11 out of 19 subjects. A reduction in plasma NEFA may indicate a reduction in waist circumference.

Study detail and methodology

A controlled cross-sectional intervention study was carried out on 60 volunteers recruited from several work environments. The subjects vary in age (21-64y, mean=39.1 ±13.8y), sex (22 males and 38 females) and BMI (25.6± 4.5kg/m2) and were asked to drink one bottle of Pomegreat® Pure juice (500mL/day) for 2 weeks. There was a significant reduction in systolic and diastolic blood pressure (Systolic BP reduced from 122.4 to 119.6 mmHg, p<0.001; Diastolic BP reduced from73.3 to 72.2mmHg, p<0.001), and improvement in the mood PANAS-X test score (overall score increased from 73 to 77, p=0.0008; positive score increased from 29 to 31, p=0.017; and negative score decreased from 16 to14, p=0.029).There was also a significant reduction in Pulse wave velocity as measured by a Viacorder (7.1 to 6.9m/s, p=0.003). The stress hormone cortisol levels in saliva were also assessed on 3 days, before, during and at the end of intervention. There was a significant reduction in salivary cortisol levels (P value ranged from 0.03-0.001) at all 3 time points tested (AM, noon and PM) per day.

In conclusion, the study shows that consumption of pomegranate pure juice for 2 weeks has significantly reduced blood pressure and the feeling of stress and nervousness in a large group of office workers from different disciplines. This was substantiated by the reduction in the stress hormone levels. There was also an improvement of arterial health and the above results may suggest that pomegranate juice intake can alleviate work-related stress levels in addition to the cardiac protective effect of pomegranate.