So no, it’s not just about following a few of the latest trends, by putting pineapples on to your key ring or buying a Pineapple vase so you are reminded to add a few pieces of pineapple to your fruit salad. If I’m talking to you today about this beautiful fruit with a crown, it’s because it possesses some particularly impressive nutritional properties! Admit it, you want to know more! Let’s go, let’s find out more about this exotic fruit with those wonderful summer perfumes!
A fruit rich in micronutrients
Like all fruits, pineapple is is full of vitamins and minerals that will help you on a daily-basis, supplying you both with vitality and energy:
- Vitamin C-rich, it provides almost a half of the daily quantity required. In addition to having an anti-fatigue action, Vitamin C possesses antioxidant properties and helps the immune system. Not bad, eh?
- The Vitamin B9 (or folic acid) which also helps the functioning of the nervous and immune.
- Its high content of manganese is also another special feature of Pineapple: 100g of Pineapple is equivalent to 180% of our daily manganese needs. But what is it for? It participates in the regulation of our metabolism, the protection of cells against stress and helps in the synthesis of hormones and the development of connective tissue, the skeleton and joints.
But let’s get away for a moment from these micronutrients to look at its more original properties. Pineapple stands out from the rest of the fruit on display because of its high concentration of Bromelain! I can see you looking puzzled but there’s no need to panic, it’s nothing too complicated to understand, just a little bit of science! Bromelain is an enzyme that breaks down proteins in a remarkable way! It helps digestion, and diminishes bloating and constipation. But it does not stop there, so read the rest of the article…. Bromelain is a real force of nature!
Anti-cancer properties?
Studies conducted on Bromelain are particularly oriented towards cancer research. So no, you can’t just put a kilo of pineapple in the fridge and expect to be 100% protected from cancer, or if you were unlucky enough to have it, be cured in a few days. Nevertheless, the studies conducted on Bromelain are extremely encouraging!
It would seem that Bromelain can alter the path that induces malignancy, in other words, it can modify the phases that would normally turn a cell from a normal state to a cancerous state. If cancer is already present, again, Bromelain takes on the role of helping cancerous cells, by making them more vulnerable to exposure to the immune system! Not bad, eh? And speaking of the immune system (your natural defences), Bromelain has immune-modulating properties, which is to say, it stimulates your small immune cells to defend you in the face of aggression.
Do you want know more? In contrast to chemotherapy, Bromelain only attacks cancer cells. And recent studies even show a potential “stopping” effect on the multiplication of cancer cells, claiming that by modifying the environment of the tumor, Bromelain acts directly and indirectly on cancer cells! It could therefore constitute a complementary treatment to more traditional methods of fighting cancer.
So obviously, you’ll tell me, “But why didn’t they tell us before to eat more pineapple? Well, because as you can imagine, the Bromelain used in these cases was extracted and purified from pineapple and put into capsules. So, on a daily basis, you would have to eat kilos of pineapple to observe a significant effect….hello stomach ache … Nevertheless, by adding pineapple regularly to your meals you’ll only be helping your health!
Outstanding anti-coagulant and anti-inflammatory properties
And yes, yet again, Bromelain is the star! Decidedly, it is everywhere! In addition to having potential anti-cancer properties, it prevents the formation of blood clots and thus reduces the risk of heart disease and strokes.
Another interesting property is that also helps reduce inflammation in cases of arthritis, sprains or strains.
If with all that information, the Pina Colada does not become your cocktail of the summer, I really don’t understand you anymore!
A slimming fruit?
Finally, we’ve got to the point which probably interests you the most: does pineapple really have “slimming” properties? Sorry to disappoint you Ladies, but the idea that you might have of a Pineapple capable of melting rolls of fat in a few days, has absolutely no basis at all! While it is true that it is a fruit that is low in calories, with only 52kcal per 100g, and rich in fibre (thus facilitating digestion and a flat stomach), it is not magical. Obviously, you will understand, there is nothing magical in weight loss. You just have to click on the site of Maïa Baudelaire and join our Bikini Program to be taken care of in a personalised way by a Nutrition Coach. No miracle recipes, no secrets, just food rebalancing, motivation, physical activity, and balance on the plate!
