Pineapple, a delicious tropical fruit, has been celebrated for centuries not only for its unique taste but also for its miraculous health benefits. The health and medicinal benefits of pineapple include boosting the immune system, and respiratory health, aiding digestion, strengthening bones, reducing inflammation, curing coughs and colds, and weight loss.
Pineapples are a storehouse of several health benefits due to its wealth of nutrients, vitamins, and minerals, includingpotassium, copper, manganese, calcium, magnesium, vitamin C, beta-carotene, thiamin, vitamin B6, and folate, and bromelain, as well as soluble and insoluble fiber.
Treats Arthritis
One of the most celebrated uses of pineapple in terms of health is its ability to reduce the inflammation of joints and muscles, particularly those associated with arthritis, a debilitating disease that affects millions of people around the world. Pineapple contains a relatively rare proteolytic enzyme called bromelain, which is primarily associated with breaking down complex proteins and has serious anti-inflammatory effects. Bromelain is also positively correlated with reducing the signs and symptoms of arthritis in many.
Boosts Immunity
A single serving of pineapple has more than 130% of the daily requirement of vitamin C for human beings, making it one of the richest and most delicious sources of ascorbic acid. Vitamin C helps in reducing illnesses and boosting the immune system by stimulating the activity of white blood cells and acting as an antioxidant to defend against the harmful effects of free radicals. Free radicals are dangerous byproducts of cellular metabolism that can damage various organ systems and disrupt function, as well as cause healthy cells to mutate into cancerous ones. The vitamin C content of pineapple defends against this.
Speeds-up Wound Healing
One of the commonly overlooked benefits of vitamin C is its essential role in creatingcollagen. This is partly the reason why it is seen as a healing vitamin because collagen is the essential protein base of blood vessel walls, skin, organs, and bones. High vitamin C content in pineapple helps you heal wounds and injuries quickly, and also defends your body against infections and illnesses.
Prevents Cancer
Pineapple has been directly related to preventing cancers of the mouth, throat, and breast, as it is rich in various antioxidants, including vitamin A, beta carotene, bromelain, various flavonoid compounds, and high levels of manganese. Manganese is an important cofactor of superoxide dismutase, an extremely potent free radical scavenger that has been associated with a number of different cancers.
Aids in Digestion
Eating pineapples regularly can protect you from a vast amount of health conditions, including constipation, diarrhea, irritable bowel syndrome, atherosclerosis, and blood clotting, as well as high blood pressure. Pineapple, being rich in fiber, promotes the passage of food through the digestive tract at a normal rate and stimulates the release of gastric and digestive juices to help food dissolve. It also bulks up the loose stool, which helps in treating diarrhea and IBS. Furthermore, the bromelain in pineapple stimulates protein digestion, reduces gut inflammation, and therefore, treats digestive diseases.
Treats Cough and Cold
Pineapple is rich in both bromelain and vitamin C, therefore eating pineapple helps in preventing and treating respiratory illnesses, while eliminating phlegm and mucus from your body if you’ve already contracted an illness or infection. The immune system boosting property of vitamin C is well known, but the special enzyme, bromelain, is also connected with the reduction of phlegm and mucus build up in the respiratory tracts and sinus cavities.
Improves Bone Health
Although pineapple is not famous for having strong calcium content, which most people immediately associate with bone health, it does have an impressive amountof manganese. Manganese is another trace mineral essential for the strengthening of bones, as well as their growth and repair. It is the most prominent mineral in pineapple, and a single serving can provide you with more than 70% of your daily requirement of this mineral.
Improves Oral Health
Along with the antioxidant compounds that protect against oral cancer, pineapple also has astringent properties, which strengthengums and teeth. Astringent agents help tighten up tissues and tone the body so that tooth loss, hair loss, muscle weakness and skin loosening do not occur. Pineapple is a very powerful astringent and is often prescribed as a natural remedy to fix the loosening of teeth or for the retraction of gums.
Improves Vision
The eye is the most important sensory organ of the human body and pineapple has the ability to improve eye health and prevent other age-related eye diseases. Macular degeneration affects many elderly people, and beta-carotene present in pineapple can help delay this vision problem.
