Rosh Hashana, the Jewish New Year, is around the corner and as a diabetic I can’t participate in the tradition of eating apples dipped in honey, since honey sends my blood sugar soaring.  The good news, however, is that I can enjoy one of the other symbolic foods of Rosh Hashana, the pomegranate.

I’ve been a fan of the pomegranate since I was a child.  I love the taste, the color, and I don’t even mind the mess of it.   Cutting open a pomegranate is always a surprisingly exhilarating experience for me, kind like opening a treasure box full of rubies. (If you want to spend 4 minutes of your life watching someone neatly open a pomegranate, see here. For the record, I have never used this technique).

The pomegranate is one of the healthiest foods around.  It’s packed with nutrients and an excellent source of vitamin C, folic acid, and vitamins A and E.  And there is growing evidence that it’s great for diabetics too.  A 2006 study showed that drinking pomegranate juice could help diabetics reduce their risk of heart disease.  And last month the British Journal of Nutrition   published a University of Houston study that showed pomegranate seed oil improved insulin sensitivity in mice.

Some people chew the juice out of the pomegranate and spit the seeds out.  I eat the whole seed.  One of my favorite diabetes friendly breakfasts is plain yogurt mixed with pomegranate seeds.  To make it extra healthy, I sprinkle a big tablespoon of ground flax seeds on top.

There’s debate over how many seeds a pomegranate contains.  Jewish tradition says there are 613 seeds in each fruit, a number that corresponds with the number of commandments in the Torah.  Wikipedia says the number of seeds varies from fruit to fruit, while About.com claims there are 840 seeds in each pomegranate. Here are statistics (and graphs) from someone who has counted.  My sons are great counters too. I think I know what we’re going to do this Rosh Hashana.

Photo by: Jessica Apple