A new study indicates that pomegranate juice could help to prevent complications among kidney disease patients who are on dialysis. The recent evidence backs up previous research that has found there are health benefits from drinking pomegranate juice.

The scientists from Western Galilee Hospital and the Technion-Israel Institute of Technology in Israel noted that the benefits of pomegranate juice are due to its high antioxidant levels, which also help to lower cholesterol and blood pressure.

For the research, 101 dialysis patients were examined and divided into one of two groups – one of which drank pomegranate juice while the other did not.

After one year, the tests indicated that swelling and damage from oxidative stress, which are both symptoms of kidney disease, was reduced in the patients who drank pomegranate juice, compared to the control group. The scientists also discovered that there were less hospitalizations due to infections among the pomegranate juice drinkers.

Overall, the scientists concluded that the decreased number of infections and improvement in heart health among the pomegranate group helped to improve the survival rate among these patients. Many of those who suffer from kidney disease often die due to heart problems.

The authors suggested that kidney disease patients on dialysis could drink a safe amount of pomegranate juice to reduce their risk of developing complications that are associated with this illness.

More than 10 percent of U.S. adults suffer from chronic kidney disease, according to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention.