Not an Ordinary Fruit: 9 Health Benefits of Pineapple

Pineapple and health benefits

Vegans usually include more fruit in their diet than omnivores. In fact, a vegan diet is packed with all different kinds of fruits. Seasonal, tropical, all different colours… Pineapples included. Honestly, who doesn’t like pineapples?

Pineapples are not just a tropical fruit with a great sweet and juicy flavour. Eating pineapples are good not only for their distinguishing yummy flavour. Did you know that pineapples have many health benefits? Pineapples are an amazing source of vitamins, minerals, antioxidants, and enzymes!

Donť believe me? Read more and I will tell you about 7 health benefits why you should eat pineapples more and regularly!

What is pineapple?

Basically, pineapples are a tropical plant, categorized as a tropical fruit. Most pineapples come from Costa Rica, Brazil or the Philippines. A pineapple is not one piece of fruit. It is an edible multiple fruit which consists of many small individual coalesced berries. These small berries hold together due to a central core.

Pineapples are a member of a bromeliad family. That means they contain a lot of bromelain, a mixture of the proteolytic enzymes. These are important enzymes for a human body.

Pineapples are available all the year round. You can find them in almost every fruit shop and definitely in every bigger supermarket. Pineapples can be consumed raw or cooked. You can grill them, bake them, fry them or add them to an Asian stir-fry dish. Pineapple juice is absolutely excellent, too!

How to always pick a ripe pineapple

Have you ever bought an overripe or underripe pineapple and wonder how it is possible? There are a few ways how to tell if the pineapple is ripe and just ready to eat. Follow these steps and you will never pick a wrong pineapple again!

• Use your nose. Take a pineapple in your hands and sniff the stem end. You should smell a sweet scent from the end. You should smell the sweet scent from any side of a pineapple. However, it should be the strongest at the stem end. When the scent resembles more of a fermented flavour, then your pineapple is overripe. Avoid a fermented scent.
• Squeeze a pineapple in the middle. Squeeze your pineapple gently in the middle. It should be soft and firm and the same. If it’s too soft, then it’s overripe. If it’s hard, it’s obviously not ready to eat yet.
• Think about how heavy the pineapple is. The heavier it seems, the juicer it is. If it’s too heavy, it might be overripe. Also, compare the weight and the size of the pineapple. If the pineapple is a bit larger, it obviously might be heavier.
• Take out a leaf from the top. Take out any leaf which appears to be on the top of the pineapple. If you can take out the chosen leaf easily, then your pineapple is just ripe enough. If you need to use a little bit of force and you can’t take out the leaf easily, then the pineapple is underripe. However, this technique is not very reliable. Focus more on the colour, weight, and scent of the pineapple.
  

  Pineapples are so sweet!

Health benefits of a pineapple

1. Bromelain helps with digestion

As I mentioned above, pineapples include bromelain which is one of the digestive enzymes. It has several very important functions during the digestive process. Firstly, it helps break down protein and increases the absorption of other nutrients. Secondly, bromelain helps the stomach to breakdown down all types of food because it improves the level of acid, present in the stomach.

The bromelain enzyme not only stimulates protein digestion but also reduces gut inflammation. This is why eating a pineapple can help treat some digestive diseases. It is great for a fast first aid for a stomachache, bloating, gas, constipation, diarrhea, irritable bowel syndrome, atherosclerosis or even blood clotting and high blood pressure!

Pineapples contain a lot of a dietary fibre. Just one cup of pineapple chunks includes 2 g of dietary fibre which is about 5% or recommended daily value! Dietary fibre is absolutely necessary for maintaining healthy intestines. Pineapple helps stimulate the release of gastric and digestive juices in order to dissolve food.

2. Vitamin C strengthen an immune system

Pineapples are rich in vitamin C. Just one cup of pineapple chunks cover about 131% of recommended daily value! Vitamin C helps a body absorb iron. It aids to fight mental as well as physical stress. It also helps reduce inflammation.

Vitamin C is well-known for boosting the immune system. Pineapples are no different, It’s among fruits and vegetables which contain the most of vitamin C which is suitable for fighting cell damage. That’s why vitamin C can really boost your immune system and fight common diseases such as cold, flu or joint pain.

Vitamin C included in pineapples stimulate the activity of white blood cells. This works as an antioxidant fighting against the harmful effects of free radicals. These can be very dangerous to the human body and cellular metabolism. Exposing a body to free radicals might end with a serious cell damage, leading to cancer. Eating pineapple can really prevent this process.

3. Improving bone health

Pineapple can also help with a bone health and help grow and maintain strong bones and teeth. It reduces the risk of bone density loss due to a high content of manganese. Pineapples contain about 75 percent of the daily recommended value of manganese. This mineral is fundamental for developing strong bones and connective tissue.

4. Glow your skin

It might sound a bit unusual but pineapple can really help improve the look of your skin. How? Due to the high content of vitamin C and antioxidants, pineapple strengthens the structure of the skin and make it more flexible. That results in a glowing, healthy skin with a beautiful colour.

The antioxidants in pineapple protect the skin against any damage from outside and provide necessary nutrients. Because of the acid enzyme, pineapple juice can be used in an acne treatment. You can spread pineapple juice on your skin and you will instantly feel a pleasant burn.

Additionally, because pineapple is rich in vitamin C, it helps with the formation of collagen. This is essential for young, firm skin.

5. Anti-Inflammatory benefits

Eating pineapple significantly helps reduce inflammation in the muscles. This can be helpful especially after exercise when muscles need time to relax. Pineapples make the healing process of muscles faster and let muscles recover in a much shorter time after exercise.

This process is possible because of greater blood flow which increases after consuming pineapple. It can help reduce severe inflammation and speed up the whole process of recovery. Pineapples not only reduce inflammation of muscles but also joints. This is why it’s partly associated with reduced risk of arthritis.

6. Looking after an eye health

It is believed that pineapple can improve eye health and prevent other age-related eye diseases. Macular degeneration is a problem most elderly people experience but it can also occur in younger people too. Beta-carotene which is present in pineapples can help delay macular degeneration.

The higher content of vitamin C and antioxidants have a positive effect on the eye health too.

7. It might help with fertility

Pineapples contain the enzyme bromelain which is somehow linked to helping women with conceiving. Bromelain is a natural anti-inflammatory which is good for a successful implantation. It is recommended that women should eat a pineapple core after a confirmed ovulation, for 5 consecutive days.

How does it work? Bromelain acts as a blood-thinner and anti-coagulant. Blood thinners (for example aspirin) naturally support blood flow to the uterus. The bromelain in pineapple can have a similar effect. The healthier the blood flow is to the uterus, the higher the chances of conception.

8. Preventing cancer

Pineapples have been associated with the prevention of several types of cancer, such as cancer of the mouth, throat, and breast. It is because pineapple is super rich in various antioxidants, including vitamin A, beta carotene, bromelain and flavonoid compounds. It contains a high level of manganese. This is an important cofactor of superoxide dismutase which is an extremely potent free radical scavenger, associated with a number of different cancers.

Because inflammation is believed to be the root cause of hundreds of diseases, cancer including, pineapple can really help in the prevention of cancer. Bromelain is a strong and very powerful enzyme. It is commonly used not only for cancer prevention but also as a treatment for arthritis and bowel disorders, macular degeneration, dementia, Alzheimer’s, and skin conditions.

9. Providing a great nutrition

Pineapple is packed with valuable nutrients. Among many, it contains vitamin A, vitamin B6, vitamin C, and calcium. All these vitamins together boost your immune system, take care of your bone health, fight against infections and provide those important antioxidants for our bodies.

It also includes other nutrients such as riboflavin, thiamine, folate, magnesium, manganese, copper, beta-carotene, and potassium. Surprisingly, pineapple is a very sweet fruit which is very low in calories. One cup of pineapple chunks has as low as 82 calories!

How to include pineapple in vegan dishes

As I mentioned above, pineapple can be grilled, fried, cooked or eaten raw. It can make up either savoury or sweet dishes. You can make pineapple syrup or juice. It can be added to Asian stir-fry types of dishes or put it in smoothies.

Pineapple also tastes great as a side dish. You can make this one in a caramelized form. One of the best dishes you can use pineapple in is Thai fried rice. It’s simply so good and very easy and quick to make. Of course, pineapple is used for making cocktails, such as pina colada.

If you are searching for more inspiration, have a look here or here.

Pineapple and health benefits

Pineapple is not just a sweet, delicious exotic fruit. It contains nutrients, mineral, and enzymes which are beneficial for the whole body! Eating pineapples regularly can strengthen your overall health. Pineapples are especially known for the enzyme bromelain which has several positive effects on your health.

So what are you waiting for? Start eating pineapples now! Improve your health and give a new flavour to your vegan kitchen! Do you like this article? Don’t forget to share it with your friends so everyone can know about the health benefits of pineapples!