POM Wonderful Juice- How Wonderful is it?
3 02 2009I recieved a box of Pom Wonderful 100% pomegranate juice and was asked to review it.
I immediately opened one of the adorable little bottles and chugged away.
Plus, it tasted great- had the bite of grape juice but with a more natural tasting sweetness.
I was all set to slap together a great review and drink my free juice. Until I inspected the bottle.
It expired the day before.
I checked the rest of the bottles.
Expired as well.
My stomach began to churn, as I am highly impressionable and can freak myself out like you wouldn’t believe, and emailed the POM rep to let her know all my juice had turned.
I recieved an email back that said, “You should be fine. I look forward to the review!”
Um, ok.
I continued to drink them because they are free and I’m disgustingly cheap I was assured they are fine. No adverse effects yet, but if you find me wandering around in my underwear with a lampshade on my head, its because I drank fermented juice and you should probably call an ambulance. Then take cell phone pictures to plaster all over the internet so I feel like a celebrity.
I decided to let this slide, and not let my tainted juice taint my veiw of the juice itself. Im assuming what I tasted is the way the juice is supposed to taste fresh. But, again, I have no idea.
POM Wonderful grows their own fruit, picks it by hand and processes it in their own presses. POM is the only brand guaranteed to contain 100% pomegranate juice. If anyone has ever tried to actually eat a pomegranate, you know what a painstaking, and stain-enducing process it can be. Having all the healthy benefits of the the fruit right there in a cute little bottle without the mess and added junk is a blessing.
Good, tasty, healthy juice- it’s benefits stand out on their own.
POM included a bunch of stats with my juice, touting all the scientific research they paid for themselves ($25 million worth) proving its amazing healing power. As I read these stats, I began to grow confused, and then suspicious.
“Decrease in arterial plaque of up to 30% was seen among elderly patients with advanced atherosclerosis who drank 8 oz. of POM Wonderful 100% pomegranate juice daily for one year. 19 patients were included in this study.”
Wait, what? A study with 19 people? Up to 30% decrease was seen- in one person? All of them? Half of them? What does this even mean?
This one is better:
“Drinking 8 oz. of POM Wonderful 100% pomegranate juice per day for two weeks lowered the incidence of LDL oxidation, believed to be a key factor in arterial plaque formation. The pilot study included 13 patients.”
I repeat: Wait, what? lowered the incidence- by how much? 1%? 100%? How many people saw this effect? 1? All 13? (which again- 13 people in a study?) There are no numbers in that stat- which means it’s not a stat- right?
This is good juice. It’s all natural, contains tons of antioxidants, no added sugars or fillers, is delicious and unique. I highly recommend it for something a little different, and in place of soda or sugar-filled juices, and as a good source of antioxidants. There is no need to try and over-sell me with “facts”.
If you can afford it (it’s pretty pricey, but that’s cause its real juice) pick some up- just check the expiration date.
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Great entry, so well written! I think it is disgusting of them to send you expired juice – even if it was just a day or a week. Those dates are there for a reason, and even though I am sure you will be fine, it just isn’t right of them. Good for you on picking up the absurdities of the “studies”. My boyfriend is a cardiologist and I am going to show him this to see what he says!
Either way, the benefits of pomegranate are clear and you did a great job with this.
Ha! Pom is sending me some juice to review as well. I’ll be checking the expiration date–thanks for the heads-up.
hah. i can’t believe they sent you “expired juice” and i had no idea juice expired,… it takes awhile doesn’t it? i’ve had the POM teas before, but i’m def interested in trying this juice. plus yeah the bottle is freaking cute like you said.
I’m glad you have a good attitude or are showing us your good side. I would have been a little more PO’d by the rep’s answer. That was kind of rude of him/her to say that. I mean you are writing a review, don’t they want to ensure a good review? Hello? Well, they blew it now.
So, if you have fermented pomegranate juice does it become pomegranate wine?? I am not a huge fan of drinking my calories but if I do drink something, I quite like pomegranate juice.
PS> Am reviewing this as well – thanks for the heads-up on the expiration date!
I love Pom! Such yum. Their teas are great too. You’re right about being pricey, but well worth it…for taste and the uh, questionable health benefits. (Hey, it’s got zero added sugar. That’s a huge benefit!)
And don’t worry about the expiration – if it’s “gone bad” it’d be wine! And where’s the harm in that?!? : )
I have heard such great stuff from Dr. Oz about the pomegranate. I still have yet to try it
but will make sure to check the date :0
Kelly, you are a dang genius. I asked myself those same questions, but I’m a biology master’s student and clearly had to pay loads of money and promise my first born to the sciences to learn how to ask those questions. I’m thorougly impressed.
Quick question: What are the benefits of staying within the “recommended” HR zone? Will I burn more fat? Burn more calories? Gain increased cardio benefits? What is the point?? Everyone says do it, but I don’t get why. I guess I didn’t pay attention during most of my undergrad work b/c I remember learning this once.
Thanks, Love you (in that non-creepy, completely hetero way that I can only love someone I’ve never met)
Ooh, you seem to be the link between many of us who were offered POM samples. Hopefully if I keep commenting here I’ll get some more offers! Also, hopefully this doesn’t mean they had a bunch of oops-almost-expired juice to get rid of…
Ha! I’m supposed to be getting some soon as well!! I’ll be sure to check my dates and see if we’re all getting free juice because it’s too old to sell.
Great review!! I probably never would have even read the included info to be honest!
Dori- id be interested to hear what the boy says. and what he thinks of pom juice: I know it has benefits but cant get a clear idea from the stats i was provided.
Jess- its good even when its expired!
lacey- isnt it? and they are so tiny, too. I thought it takes a while- but i dunno. You have to keep it cold, i know that.
dawn- do i usually show my bad side? Id have to have a bad side to show it- ba- ZING! i didnt mean it to be a bad review- i like the juice, its good and good for you, I just had to be honest cause for all i know its supposed to taste way different.
charlotte- i try not to drink my cals either (hence the diet coke im drinking right now) but its pretty good for being natural. no word on the wine yet, but i have a few bottles left i could experiment with.
bdaiss- I heard they have kind of infused flavors, too- not teas but pom plus another flavor. i bet those are good too.
annette- its way easier to drink it than to try and eat one, too. That dr oz, he’s a smart cookie.
GreenTea- you can use my first born, because if i have one it would be by accident anyway. Im glad it didnt make sense to anyone else either cause i bounced them off my boyfriend to see if they made sense to him and all he said was, “what’s for dinner.”
I love you in a slightly homosexual way, but only to the point that guys think its hot.
Ill answer your question in an upcoming post.
tfh- yeah seems like most companies kind of just hit up this circle. cause we are the cool crowd, obviously.
chandra- haha, atleast you’re honest. and i hope thats not whats going on- if you POM tatses like peanut butter throw it out immediately!
ha, that’s kinda rediculous about their response to the expired juice!! and i find it hard to believe any nutritional or health research… too many factors :-/
That’s one thing I always check for whenever buying food, the Best Before Date. I even check tins and dried foods and wouldn’t eat anything even a day over. I bought some chicken once that was a couple of days BEFORE the BB Date and it smelt off.
haha, that was just about the best review of something i’ve ever read.
the first time i cut apart a pomegranate i thought, no wonder the juice is so stinkin’ expensive, this is a lot of work for what you get! buuuut i still love them.
Oh no! They are sending me some for a review as well. Hopefully mine would be a different batch. =) But I am not too worry. I think most food items it is ok a few days after the expiration date.
what an ODD experience!? haha…hey there’s an ad at my gym that it is a big fighter of prostate disease- not that that helps you..but still, fun fact.
btw, in case you care or feel like participating …. i just tagged you ; )
I saw one “expert” on TV that said the average person needed less then 2oz of POM juice per day to get most of the benefits. I am not a fan of drinking my calories so I decided to take my vitamins each day with the POM juice (about 2oz). It is a nice treat and gives me an incentive to remember to take those pills.
Haha. I actually didn’t love the POM juice by itself when I tried it, but I really love it mixed with a bit of Simply Orange.
free is free but…their stats are scary!!!!
always see that stuff at safeway. perhaps I’ll try it now!
OOOH, does that mean I’m in the cool crowd?! I ain’t drinking mine if its expired though. I know its probably fine, but its a matter of principle.
My boyfriend said that those studies are very sketchy and it was great of you to be suspicious. He said that pomegranates MAY be beneficial because of the antioxidants and MAY do all the great vascular stuff and heart stuff (clearly I am paraphrasing), but nothing has been studied to concretely prove this for sure yet. He also said it’s always a good choice to choose the POM over a soda or whatever.
Also, he said that it is disrepectful to you that POM sent you expired juice!
I am still not a big fan of juice. I wouldn’t say it’s completely empty calories but it’s always better to just eat the whole fruit. And if I was POM I’d send out only my freshest product for review.
[...] POM Wonderful sent me a package of single serving 100% pomegranate juices. First impression: they are incredibly cute. Second impression: they are not expired like Kelly’s. [...]
I intentionally let my POM sit until it ferments and that creates carbonation. It’s fabulous. Sparkly like Martinelli Sparkling apple juice. I buy the largest size POM makes, let it sit unopened until the bottom of the container swells slightly from the fermentation, then refrigerate it and it’s ready to drink. It rocks!
Usually takes a week or two at least.
We need to realize that subsidizing whole fruit consumption with fruit juices is not good. Even if there is no added sugar the natural sugar from the fruit is still sugar. Fruit should be consumed in its natural state, not pressed and getting all the sugar out and throwing the healthy part away. I think one of the biggest scams that fruit juice companies have created and marketed to the consumer is that fruit juice is “healthy” for you, when in fact it is comparable to soda.