I love fruit and I feel I haven’t given them a voice so far here on the blog. With the weather warming up here in Toronto, all I can think about are fruits. I become more fruit obsessed in the warmer months. My blood is tropical, what can I say!
I have been meaning to talk about pineapples for a while now since they are full of antioxidants, vitamins, enzymes and a very special enzyme called bromelain. Bromelain is an enzyme that breaks down proteins to amino acids. Amino acids are easily assimilated into the body and they can be used to make proteins, enzymes, and other biologically important molecules. It’s funny to think that a fruit, which is mostly carbohydrate in content, would have so much of this protein enzyme.
By eating pineapples you get a dose of this protein digesting enzyme to not only boost your own enzyme reserve but to also allow any excess to circulate in the body and gobble up any extraneous proteins which might be lurking around in joints, inflammation or even undigested protein food particles in the digestive tract (gasp!).
Fruit Rules
A good rule of thumb is to always consume fruit on an empty stomach and not combine it with any other foods since fruits digest really quickly (in 20 minutes or so!) when compared to starches (3 hours) or proteins (4-12 hours). If fruits are eaten with other foods they may stay in the stomach too long and may begin to ferment and we will not be able to absorb their amazing nutrients. We absorb most nutrition from food in the small intestine and not the stomach. So it is our goal to get our food there without any hiccups 🙂
Some more benefits of pineapples
Vitamin C
- which is great for the skin
- fights free radicals, which leads to less disease and ageing
- helps prevent heart disease
- is an immune booster!
Manganese
- part of a key oxidative enzyme, super oxide dismutase (SOD)
- SOD slows cellular aging; lessens the effects of radiation (think flying and X-rays!); is an inflammatory compound; may prevent cellular damage after a heart attack or exposure to irritants; and neutralizes the toxic effects of superoxides (potent free radicals)
- As we age SOD decreases and superoxides increase thus causing damage to our DNA and overall cell structure
Thiamin
- a B vitamin which is important for energy production
- helps to keep our adrenals happy (they need tons of B vitamins, vitamin C and Magnesium)
Fiber
- helps to bulk up stool and escort toxins out of the body (yay!)
- removes excess cholesterol for a healthier heart
- gives us a feeling of fullness, satiety is awesome
- stabilizes blood sugar levels, so no crashes after eating a meal!
So go on and enjoy some pineapple knowing you will be giving your body some excellent nutrition, health and beauty 🙂
~Michelle
Holistic Nutritionist.
