Rosh Hashana and the Pomegranate

Rosh Hashana, the Jewish New Year, is just around the corner.  Traditionally, Rosh Hashana meals include apples and honey which symbolize a sweet new year, and guarantee a fast rise in blood glucose levels.  So what’s a diabetic to do?

One option is, of course, to have a tiny bite and call it quits.  But chances are that will lead to frustration.  A second option is pass on the apples and honey altogether and give your full attention to the pomegranate, which is also a traditional Rosh Hashana food.

According to Paul Mendes-Flohr, Professor of Jewish Thought at the University of Chicago and Professor Emeritus of Jewish Thought, Hebrew University, “The fullness of the seeds of the pomegranate signifies the multiplicity of goodness and sweetness in the world—-a wish for the new year. It also symbolizes fertility.”

Another reason to eat pomegranate is that it’s one of the healthiest foods around.  Pomegranate is loaded 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. The British Journal of Nutrition published a University of Houston study that showed pomegranate seed oil improved insulin sensitivity in mice.

Not sure how to open your pomegranate?  Take a look at this:

[youtube]http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=sHyqoeB0Wlk[/youtube]

Jessica Apple

Jessica Apple grew up in Houston. She studied Bible and Ancient Near Eastern Studies at the University of Michigan, and completed an MA in the same field at the Hebrew University. She began to write and publish short stories while a student, and has continued to write essays and fiction while raising her three sons (and many pets).

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Jessica Apple

Jessica Apple grew up in Houston. She studied Bible and Ancient Near Eastern Studies at the University of Michigan, and completed an MA in the same field at the Hebrew University. She began to write and publish short stories while a student, and continues to write essays and fiction while raising her three sons (and many pets). Jessica’s work has appeared in The New York Times Magazine, The Financial Times Magazine, The Southern Review, The Bellevue Literary Review, Tablet Magazine, and elsewhere. She is the diabetes correspondent for The Faster Times. In 2009 she and her husband, both type 1 diabetics, founded A Sweet Life, where she serves as editor-in-chief. Jessica loves spending time with her sons, cooking with her husband, playing with her cats, reading, biking, drinking coffee, and whenever possible, taking a nap. Follow Jessica on Twitter (@jessapple)