Jan. 29--If you could believe everything you read or hear, pomegranates are the wonder fruit of the 21st century.

Articles, advertisements, talk shows, health food literature and a myriad other sources tout the health potential of this fruit. Difficulty peeling the deep, red fruit is a big reason why many stores offer pomegranate juices.

Does the fashionable hype have substance?

"It is true. Pomegranates are a superfood," said Vicki Stoepzer of Five Seasons Whole Foods Market in Ocean Springs. "Pomegranate is one of the highest anti-oxidant fruits that there is."

Stoepzer says pomegranates rate a 106 on the ORAC scale, or "oxygen radical absorbance capacity" scale, which measures anti-oxidant capacities of foods. Simply put, anti-oxidants go to war against free radicals produced during normal metabolism and cell function and implicated in everything from aging to DNA damage.

Foods high in anti-oxidants are touted as defenses against premature aging, heart disease, inflammation. blood sugar levels and other concerns. Compared to the pomegranate's 106 ORAC, blueberries, one of the best-known anti-oxidant fruits, are 32.

The anti-oxidant qualities of pomegranate are included in ongoing studies on hypertension, Alzheimer's, hemorrhoids, fertility, cancers such as breast, skin and prostate, osteoarthritis, cholesterol, premature births and more.

If anti-oxidant qualities don't impress you, you should know that pomegranates are high in vitamin C, A and E and folic acid. In a move to get Americans to eat more fruits and vegetables, the U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention named the pomegranate a "Fruit of the Month."

As in any health claims, research and decide for yourself. Several studies indicate pomegranate juice may interfere with certain medications, as grapefruit juice does, so if you are in that category, consult your physician.

If you decide to take the pomegranate plunge, learn the best ways to add it to your diet.

"Most fruit juices, even when 100 percent fruit juice, have a high concentration of sugar, and we don't want that much sugar in our diets," said Stoepzer. "We recommend buying pure, unsweetened, undiluted pomegranate juice and dilute it yourself with 50 percent juice and 50 percent water. Drink one 8-ounce glass of that a day."

A 32-ounce bottle of the organic pure juice, which would make a gallon when doubled with water, is about $12.

Another way to get your daily pomegranate intake, suggests Lily West of Valley Health Foods in Long Beach, is to buy the unsweetened concentrate. She suggests taking a tablespoon or two of that a day, either by itself, added to water or a beverage. A 24-ounce bottle with 48 tablespoons of concentrate is about $28.

"Pomegranate picks up your immune system and is excellent for the stress many people of today face in their lives," said West. "My customers get mad if they come in and I don't have it. They say when they are not taking it, they can tell the difference."

Of course, another way to get a pomegranate health fix is by eating the fresh fruit, usually available in the winter months. Although a few pomegranate trees grow and occasionally produce fruit in South Mississippi, this tree prefers the warmer climates of California, the Mediterranean and Asia.

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