Pomegranate (Anar): The ‘Blood-Increasing’ Claim and Real Iron

Anar khoon banata hai, every desi household says it. A doctor handed a lab report showing low haemoglobin will tell a different, more useful story. Pomegranate helps, just not in the way, or the amount, most people assume.

Where the “blood increasing” belief comes from

Pomegranate’s deep red juice and seeds have long looked like blood, and that visual link, combined with a genuinely old tradition of recommending anar for weakness and recovery after illness, turned into the shorthand “anar khoon badhata hai,” pomegranate increases blood. The fruit is genuinely nutritious. It is just not a strong source of the mineral that actually makes red blood cells: iron.

The real iron numbers

An adult woman needs about 18mg of iron a day, and a man needs about 8mg. A whole medium pomegranate provides under 1mg. To put that in perspective, that is a smaller iron contribution than a single serving of cooked spinach (around 2.7mg per 100g), chickpeas (about 2.9mg per 100g cooked), or red meat, which carries a more absorbable form of iron altogether. Someone relying on pomegranate to correct anaemia, while genuine iron-rich foods stay off the plate, is likely to stay tired, breathless and pale no matter how much anar they eat.

Where pomegranate does help is indirectly: its vitamin C content improves how well the body absorbs the non-heme iron found in lentils, chickpeas, spinach and other plant sources, when eaten in the same meal. Pairing dal with a small bowl of pomegranate seeds is a genuinely sound pairing, just not because the pomegranate itself is “building blood.”

Myth: pomegranate juice is a healthier way to get these benefits

Juicing removes the white membrane and most of the fibre, and concentrates the natural sugar. A 250ml glass of commercial or fresh pomegranate juice can carry 30g of sugar or more, depending on how many fruits went in, which is comparable to a can of soft drink. The polyphenols and antioxidants pomegranate is known for do survive juicing reasonably well, but so does all that sugar, arriving without the fibre that would normally slow its absorption. Eating the arils whole, seeds and all, is the better everyday choice for most people; juice is fine occasionally, in a small glass, not as a daily habit.

A better everyday combination for iron

If the goal is genuinely supporting iron levels through food, the more effective habit is pairing an actual iron source, lentils, chickpeas, dark leafy greens like palak or a small amount of red meat, with something high in vitamin C at the same meal, rather than relying on any single fruit. Pomegranate can be that vitamin C partner, alongside citrus, guava, or a simple squeeze of lemon over a dal or salad. This is a small, free habit that does more for iron absorption over weeks than eating pomegranate alone ever will.

Buying and storing anar

1. Choose fruit that feels heavy for its size and has taut, slightly angular skin rather than perfectly round and smooth (angular often means fuller arils inside).
2. Avoid fruit with soft spots, deep bruising, or a strong fermented smell at the crown.
3. Whole pomegranates keep at room temperature for about 1 week, or in the refrigerator for up to 4 to 6 weeks, in a loose bag.
4. To deseed cleanly, cut a shallow ring around the crown, score the skin into quarters along the natural ridges, then break it open into a bowl of water; the white membrane floats and the seeds sink.
5. Refrigerate deseeded arils in an airtight container and use within 4 to 5 days, or freeze in a single layer for up to 3 months.

Other genuine benefits worth knowing about

Pomegranate’s real nutritional strengths lie elsewhere. It is a good source of vitamin K, involved in normal blood clotting, and provides potassium, useful for most people’s daily intake though worth watching for anyone on a potassium-restricted diet. Its polyphenol and antioxidant content, particularly punicalagins concentrated in the peel and pith rather than the juice alone, is genuinely higher than in many common fruits, which is part of why the peel and white membrane are used in some traditional preparations rather than discarded. None of this amounts to a treatment for any diagnosed condition, but as an addition to an otherwise varied diet, pomegranate earns its reputation as a nutritious fruit, just not for the specific reason most households repeat.

Fresh is generally preferable to bottled juice for another reason beyond sugar: bottled pomegranate juice sold commercially can vary widely in how much actual juice it contains, with some products diluted and sweetened further with added sugar or other fruit concentrates. Checking the ingredient list for “100 percent pomegranate juice” without added sugar is a simple way to know what you are actually drinking, since labelling around fruit juice blends is not always as clear as it should be.

For the food combinations that actually move the needle on anaemia, our guide to iron-rich desi foods and the chai trap covers that ground in full. If pomegranate seeds and peel interest you specifically for tea, our detailed Anardana and Pomegranate Peel Tea guide covers drying and brewing. For another sweet summer fruit with its own myths, see Watermelon: Summer Myths and Real Portions. Browse more fruit and remedy guides under Desi Remedies.