Pineapple Health Benefits and Nutritional Value of Pineapple
Second to bananas they are the most favorite tropical fruit of the Americans. Fresh juicy pineapples are in full season from March through June; however they are readily available all round the year in the markets. Pineapple has a rough spiny marking on its surface which is the result of many flowers whose individual fruitlets fuse together around a central core which can be identified by an ‘eye’. They have a wide cylindrical shape, scaly brown, yellow or greenish skin, fibrous yellow flesh and a regal crown of spiny leaves. The area closer to the base of the fruit is sweeter and tender as it has more sugar content.
Benefits of Eating Pineapple and Pineapple Nutritional Facts
Pineapple is a very good source of vitamin C, manganese, vitamin B1, vitamin B6, copper and dietary fiber.
Bromelain that can be extracted from the stem and core of the fruit is a complex mixture of substances studied for a group of protein-digesting enzymes (called cysteine proteinases). These enzymes help to aid digestion in the intestinal tract, has potential anti inflammatory effects, reduce certain type of tumor growth and excessive coagulation of the blood.
Vitamin C from pineapple is the most important water soluble antioxidant and contains unique flavonoid compounds that have anti-cancer and antioxidant properties. Vitamin C acts as a great scavenger and neutralizes any free radical which comes in contact with the aqueous environments in the body. Vitamin C also plays an important role for immune support and to prevent recurrent infections, colds and flu’s.
Pineapples are rich source of manganese and a good source of thiamin that are essential cofactors in a number of enzymes which are important in energy production and antioxidant defenses. 1 cup of this fruit provides 128.0% of the daily value of manganese.
Free radicals may cause an injury to the eye lenses and may lead to cataract or damage the blood supply to the eye causing macular degeneration. To protect the eyesight researches suggest that three or more servings of fruits per day may help lower the risk of age related macular degeneration, which is the primary cause of vision loss in older people by 36% than the other counterpart who consumed less than 1.5 servings of fruits per day.
Two molecules found in pineapple stems called CCS and CCZ have shown anti-tumor activity and helps block the Ras protein, which is defective in approximately 30% of all cancers and stimulates the immune system to target and eliminate cancer cells respectively.
Pineapple is neither included in commonly allergic foods nor does it contains measurable amounts of purines, oxalates or goitrogens, thus considered safe for consumption for all healthy individuals.