10 Pineapple Properties: do you know everything this tropical fruit can do for you?

If you like pineapple, when you finish reading this you will like it even more. This fruit, apart from this delicious, contains many health benefits. It improves the digestive transit, has antioxidant properties, and very few calories. What more can we ask?

The pineapple or Ananas comosus comes from a perennial plant in South America. Its exotic flavor and rich in vitamins is increasingly present in many recipes. The pineapple is a fruit that usually eats much in summer, but if you can, it is also preferable that can consume all year. And is that pineapples have a multitude of vitamins, in addition to improving our digestive system. This aphrodisiac fruit reduces inflammation of the intestine, which helps reduce diseases of the digestive system. In addition, it helps to lose weight due to its low calories and its high level of antioxidants. This fruit, besides being delicious, is rich in fiber, vitamins and minerals and basically consists of water.

Also, do you know all the ways to eat pineapple? Although taking it naturally is a great option, there are many other (delicious) ways to introduce pineapple into our diet. Keep reading! What you are going to discover you will love.

Pineapple, a healthy option at any time of the day

Fruit and vegetables are a fundamental pillar in the Mediterranean diet and there are no excuses for not taking it. In fact, we should all take several pieces of fruit a day, regardless of the time of day, since our digestive system, with its respective gastric juices and enzymes, is ready to digest any type of mixture at any time.

Therefore, if you had heard that taking fruit at night or after eating is not recommended for health, delete it from your mind! It is just a myth that you should not consider. Fruits are a healthy option at any time of the day, so we recommend that you bet on them whenever you feel like it.

And if we talk about fruit, the pineapple, also known as anaras, is an excellent representative. The benefits of this tropical fruit are infinite, but its main characteristic is its diuretic action. Almost 90% of the pineapple is water, which makes it a good ally in slimming diets.

Benefits of Pineapple for health

1. Reduce the risk of macular degeneration

According to the data published in the Archives of Ophthalmology, the consumption of 3 or more servings of fruit per day can reduce the risk of Advanced Macular Degeneration with Age (DMAE).

The study indicates that the possibility of suffering it by 36% is reduced by taking 3 pieces of fruit a day compared to those that only take 1.5 pieces a day.  The research, which was carried out on more than 110,000 men and women, found that vegetables, antioxidant vitamins, and carotenoids were not closely related to the incidence of AMD, but the fruit itself.

A priori, a lot of people can hear a lot of 3 pieces of fruit a day, but the easy mix of pineapple as a smoothie, including salads, yogurts, or whatever you can think of, will make it easier for you to get it.

2. Improves digestion

The pineapple has a digestive enzyme called bromelain, which is extracted from the stem, and the raw pineapple. Bromelain contains in turn several enzymes called proteinases that have been demonstrated both in laboratories and in studies on animals and humans, their anti-inflammatory, antithrombotic, anti-edematous, and fibrinolytic properties.

Bromelain has been shown to be an anti-inflammatory agent capable of reducing diseases that include inflammation among its symptoms. This is the case of diseases such as acute sinusitis, arthritis, sore throat, or gout. Being a good anti-inflammatory agent, it is a good option in cases of scarring of small muscular injuries such as sprains or strains.

There are still unproven indications that bromelain, being anti-inflammatory has anticancer agents. Bromelain works also as a natural anticoagulant, although there are also indications that it can cause beneficial changes in the white blood cells, which improve the immune system.

3. High content of antioxidants

Pineapple is a fruit with a high content of vitamin C. This is the main antioxidant vitamin soluble in water of the body, and defends all the watery areas of the body of harmful microorganisms that are found daily.

Pineapple is also one of the foods that best combats the common cold, the flu, and all diseases that come as a result of the cold because it strengthens the immune system. Vitamin C is responsible for the defense of all watery areas of the body against free radicals (substances that attack healthy cells).

In addition, pineapple is a source of food rich in iodine, magnesium, phosphorus and calcium, useful for the thyroid and nerve cells. Diseases such as atherosclerosis diseases linked to the heart, or diabetes, can be caused by the accumulation of free radicals.

4. Reduce the risks of asthma

The risks of developing asthma are lower in people who consume a large amount of certain nutrients such as beta-carotene, which is found in foods of plant origin such as pineapple, mango, papaya, apricots, broccoli, cantaloupe, pumpkin and carrots.

Diets rich in beta-carotene may also play a protective role against prostate cancer according to a study conducted by the Nutrition Department of the Harvard School of Public Health. Research has been shown to have an inverse relationship with the development of colon cancer in the study of the Japanese population.

5. Lowers blood pressure

Pineapples are a valuable source of minerals such as potassium. This is one of the most important minerals in our body, and its scarcity in our body can lead to a wide variety of health risks.

One of the most important potassium functions is that of vasodilator, which means that it relieves tension and stress of the blood vessels, promoting the circulation of blood to different parts of the body. When blood vessels relax, blood pressure is reduced, and blood flow proceeds normally. This can prevent clot formation and block blood flow. Also, it reduces the buildup of plaque in the arteries and vessels. This helps prevent diseases such as atherosclerosis, heart attacks and strokes.

6. Pineapple as a diuretic and detoxifier

Our body accumulates a large amount of toxins and waste as a result of poor diet, pollution, or the use of chemicals, among other factors.

Pineapple has diuretic and detoxifying qualities that promote the elimination of all those substances that can affect health if not expelled properly and in due course.

7. Goodbye to constipation

Due to its high fiber content, tropical pineapple satisfies hunger, prevents constipation, normalizes the intestinal flora and prevents obesity, according to a study by the professor at the Autonomous University of Barcelona.

8. Friend of the skin

According to information from the New Zealand Dermatology Society, the enzyme bromelain and vitamin C contained in fresh pineapple provide an economical alternative to a beauty treatment at home.

9. Auxiliary in weight loss

The theory of Negative Calorie Food (negative calories) by Doctor Neal D. Barnard ensures that some foods contain fewer calories than they need to be digested. Pineapple is on the list of negative calorie foods, exerts a satiating effect and helps with weightloss.

10. Cancer treatment

Research published in the British journal Planta Medica found that the enzyme extracted from pineapple known as bromelain was much better than the drug for chemotherapy 5-fluorauracil in the treatment of cancer in an animal study. The substance attacks only the cancer cells and not the healthy ones.

In short, the expert concludes, pineapple is a fruit that should be included in any healthy diet and that offers many health benefits, since it can be combined in desserts, sweets or salty dishes. "However, to better appreciate its sweet and sour taste and make the most of its benefits, it is recommended to eat it in its natural state,”