Pineapple

For Mother’s Day last week, I bought my wife a fruit basket as a gift from our 10 month old son.  I bought the basket custom made at my local grocery store and so the basket had an array of different treats.  It had little chocolates, raisins, kiwis, apples, oranges, bananas, pears and a big juicy pineapple.  It got me thinking about pineapples and how they can be considered a super food given their benefits.

For example, if someone with a sweet tooth is trying to lose weight, pineapple can satisfy the sweet craving without packing in a lot of calories.  100g of fresh pineapple is only 50 calories.

I kinda felt like Fruit Ninja when setting up for this pic

Pineapple is packed with antioxidant Vitamin C, which boosts immunity.  Vitamin C can reduce the severity of colds and shorten the duration.  Vitamin C acts as a natural anti-histamine.  Vitamin C is also necessary for collagen synthesis in the body, which maintains integrity of skin, organs and bones. 

Pineapple contains an enzyme called bromelain, which helps break down proteins.  Bromelain has been shown to have anti-inflammatory, anti-clotting and anti-cancer properties. 

Pineapple also contains small amounts of beta-carotene and Vitamin A, known antioxidants.

In addition, this fruit is rich in B-complex group of vitamins like folates, thiamin, pyridoxine, riboflavin and minerals like copper,manganese and potassium. Potassium is an important component of cell and body fluids, helps controlling heart rate and blood pressure. Copper is a helpful cofactor for red blood cell synthesis. Manganese is a co-factor for the enzyme superoxide dismutase, which is a very powerful free radical scavenger.

Although pineapple does not contain Vitamin D (the sunshine vitamin) I find personally that eating pineapple is a mood booster for me during the winter.  I am not sure why this is, whether its physical (the antioxidants and vitamins in the pineapple), psychological (eating tropical fruit reminds me of the tropics, and my trip to Hawaii) or a combination of both.  Either way, Pineapple is great!

Source:

http://health.howstuffworks.com/wellness/food-nutrition/vitamin-supplements/vitamin-c-benefits.htm

http://www.nutrition-and-you.com/pineapple.html