UNUSUAL NEW BREAKFAST JUICE BLEND 'BEETS' STRESS...

1st July 2010       

A new juice blend which combines beetroot and pomegranate looks set to become the breakfast drink of choice for stressed workers.  The juice hits the supermarket shelves this week after new research suggested drinking a glass of beetroot juice lowers blood pressure.

The blend, from pomegranate juice specialists Pomegreat, has a 13 per cent beetroot content but is surprisingly sweet and may prove more palatable for people who don’t like the vegetable’s rather earthy taste. It offers a double benefit because pomegranates themselves are rich in nitrates and antioxidants, adding to the potential stress-busting properties of the mix. The pomegranate content is 20 per cent.

So frazzled workers will be gulping down a glass with their cereal and toast at the start of yet another hectic day.  About 16 million Britons suffer form high blood pressure, which is a major risk factor for coronary heart disease, strokes and heart attacks and is also linked to diabetes and kidney disease.

The research, published this week in the US journal Hypertension, discovered that blood pressure is significantly lowered within 24 hours in people who drink beetroot juice or take nitrate tablets. The higher the blood pressure, the greater the impact of the nitrates.

Adam Pritchard, owner of Pomegreat, said:  “We were looking for a new breakfast combination that packs a healthy punch and liked the idea of including beetroot.

“Increasing the antioxidant hit in our drinks is hard to do as pomegranates are already full of them, but beetroot brings its own goodness to the mix. Although this is an unusual fruit-vegetable mix, we were amazed at the taste and I’m confident that we have an unlikely breakfast winner on our hands.”

Amrita Ahluwalia, author of the study and professor of vascular pharmacology at Barts and the London School of Medicine and Dentistry said: "We showed that beetroot and nitrate capsules are equally effective in lowering blood pressure, indicating that it is the nitrate content of beetroot juice that underlies its potential to reduce blood pressure.”

Cardiovascular disease kills over 110,000 people in England every year.  More than 25% of the world's adult population is hypertensive, and it has been estimated that this figure will increase to 30% by 2025.

The new pomegranate and beetroot juice is available from Morrisons and Waitrose at £1.39 rrp for a litre carton.

ENDS

More information / samples:

Tracey Harrison
07708 044671
tracey.harrison@1238kmh.com

Hamish Thompson
07702 684290
hamish.thompson@1238kmh.com

About Pomegreat

At Pomegreat we are passionate about pomegranates.  Pomegranate juice is all we produce so we make it our priority to do it very well.  In fact we spent well over a year perfecting Pomegreat Original but we believe the result was well worth the wait. Our passion for the pomegranate and obsession with quality is reflected in every delicious drink we produce.

Adam Pritchard, founder, CEO and pomegranate expert, ensures only the best quality pomegranates are squeezed into each carton of Pomegreat, so that you can enjoy the healthy goodness of this ruby red and refreshing fruit drink.  For more information, visit our website, www.pomegreat.com, or follow us on Twitter @pomegreat.