Health Benefits of Bromelain / Pineapple

Biting into a piece of juicy sweet pineapple is tasty and delicious, and there are many health benefits that can be gained from this wonderful fruit.

Did you know that pineapple contains a unique enzyme, Bromelain, that can help to boost your health?  This enzyme is sometimes referred to as a “super enzyme” because of the many ways that it can improve your health.

What is Bromelain?

Bromelain is a natural enzyme that helps your body with digesting specific proteins.  Bromelain can only be found in pineapple, mainly in the juice and stem of the fruit.

Health Benefits of Bromelain

Bromelain works within your body to reduce swelling and inflammation, which can help with a number of health concerns.  When Bromelain is present, it can help sooth connective tissue and muscles that have become inflamed; it’s also a good way to relax tense muscles.

Some of the health conditions that might benefit from Bromelain include:

• Joint Pain and Arthritis
• Sprains
• Allergies
• Cancer
• Tendonitis
• Inflammatory Bowel Disease
• Autoimmune Diseases
• Sinus Infections
• Asthma
• Digestive problems

 

All of these health conditions are directly related to inflammation in the body, and reducing the inflammation can help to reduce the symptoms.

Here is a closer look at a few of these health conditions, to help you understand exactly how Bromelain can be beneficial:

• Faster Recovery Times – Because of the anti-inflammatory benefits of Bromelain, the body can use the enzymes to reduce swelling and pain from injury.  The anti-inflammatory benefits can help reduce swelling, which will help to speed up the time that it takes for the body to heal from the injury.
• Asthma and Allergies – Another benefit of the anti-inflammatory effects of Bromelain is that it can help to reduce allergic sensitization and the symptoms of other allergies.  Bromelain is beneficial for the entire immune system.  It treats the root cause of allergies by balancing the functions of the immune system.  Allergies are usually caused by an over-sensitive immune system and Bromelain might be effective for all types of allergic reactions.
• Digestive Problems – Because Bromelain is an enzyme, it can digest specific proteins. When this enzyme is present, it helps the body to digest food more efficiently, which means that higher levels of nutrition are available from the food.  It has also been found to help reduce inflammation and promote healing within the digestive tract, and can be beneficial for people suffering from Chron’s disease, constipation, colon cancer, dyspepsia, ulcerative colitis, and inflammatory bowel disease.
• Cancer – Most modern cancer treatments focus on killing the dangerous cancer cells, but the problem is that the treatments often kills healthy cells as well.  However, there are certain natural substances that have compounds which can target the cancer cells without harming the healthy cells.  These compounds are found in Bromelain, and it has been suggested that Bromelain might help to improve survival rates for cancer patients.

How to Naturally Include Bromelain in Your Diet

Because pineapple is the only natural source of Bromelain, the best way to increase your Bromelain consumption is by eating more pineapple.  Look for recipes that use pineapple in a variety of ways, so that you can enjoy different variations at meal time.  For the best enzyme benefits, you should try to consume raw pineapple as much as possible because heat can decrease the enzymes that are available within the fruit.

The only draw back to eating pineapple is it’s high sugar content.  For this reason I recommend a couple of things.  Eat pineapple rather than drinking pineapple juice.  I know it can be a little more work to cut up the pineapple to eat it, but the fiber content prevents excessive sugar spike and hence keeps insulin more stable.

Even better is to pair pineapple with some kind of protein like ham or steak.  This makes for a great sweet and savory dish combination and the protein further lowers the sugar reaction.  All of which helps minimize insulin and hence lower fat storage.  This way you can get all of the benefits of Bromelain without the unhealthy side effects.