Q: Someone told me about an interesting use for pomegranate juice, but for the life of me, I can’t remember what it is. Could you help me? Was it for blood pressure, high cholesterol or arthritis, perhaps?

A: How about all of the above? Scientists reviewing the medical literature write: “Pomegranates are known for their antihypertensive and cardioprotective effects. The PJ (pomegranate juice) is rich in polyphenols, tannins, and anthocyanins which are potent antioxidants and have anti-atherosclerotic activities” (Cureus, Oct. 15, 2024).

There is even an explanation for the anti-hypertensive effect. Pomegranate juice blocks the same enzyme (ACE) affected by blood pressure drugs such as lisinopril (Journal of Agricultural and Food Chemistry, Aug. 2, 2023). Pomegranate juice can also lower LDL cholesterol and other undesirable blood lipids (Nutrients, Nov. 22, 2023).

The antioxidant properties of pomegranate juice may help with cancer prevention (Food Science & Nutrition, Jan. 31, 2025). On the other hand, we could find no large clinical trials of pomegranate juice to ease arthritis pain, although it has a reputation for helping.

Q: I recently developed a nasty poison ivy rash and tried every remedy I could think of. Then I read about witch hazel. I had some on hand, so I poured it over my rash after bathing.

Within a day, my poison ivy was healing and itched much less. To help it along, I put some witch hazel in a spray bottle and spritzed the rash several times a day. From now on, I will keep witch hazel on hand to help ease the discomfort of poison ivy at the first sign of a rash.

A: Witch hazel (Hamamelis) has long been used as a topical treatment for skin irritation. Other readers have mentioned applying jewelweed (Impatiens capensis) or plantain (Plantago major) to ease the itch.

Of course, it is always better to avoid the problem in the first place. People who work outside often coat the skin with Tecnu, Ivy Block or Ivy Shield before exposure to protect it from the irritating resin. Zanfel can help wash off this allergenic oil after exposure.

Q: I have had chronic migraines for over 18 years. To treat them, I have used most of the triptan migraine meds with varying degrees of success, along with Botox, Cambria and injectable Imitrex.

I was switched to Aimovig recently. My doctor prescribed two self-injected shots every month. I also started ketamine. Now I am almost completely free of migraines.

A: Thank you for sharing your long and challenging pain path with migraine headaches. Aimovig (erenumab) is a self-injectable subcutaneous preventive treatment. It was first approved by the Food and Drug Administration in 2018 and can reduce the number of migraines in a month.

A Danish study in the journal Brain Communications (April 15, 2025) reports that there is considerable variability in response to this drug. About half of the participants got benefit.

Ketamine is a controversial drug. The FDA has only approved it as an anesthetic. Doctors are prescribing it off-label for a number of other conditions, including chronic migraine headaches and treatment-resistant depression. Italian researchers reported that intranasal ketamine could provide quick-acting migraine pain relief in the emergency department (Medicina, Sept. 29, 2023).

In their column, Joe and Teresa Graedon answer letters from readers. Send questions to them via www.peoplespharmacy.com.