The Pineapple of your Eye
The pineapple is a hostile looking fruit with a spiky exterior, but once sliced it uncovers a delightfully sweet and refreshing interior which makes mouths water just by thinking about it.
The origin of the fruit is believed to be Brazil where production continues today, but it has also spread across the world to countries that include Costa Rica, the Phillippines, Thailand and India.
Early settlers in the Americas used to offer a pineapple as a gift of friendship and that rule still applies with us today….if you’re feeling generous.
'Give a man a fish he’ll eat for a day, if you give him a pineapple you’ll be friends for life' Click To Tweet 🙂
It typically takes 3 years for a pineapple fruit to mature, proving that good things do come to those who wait. And once the pineapples are picked they do not continue to ripen like a banana, so if you want to eat it there’s no time like the present. Oh and don’t be deterred by the colour because this just indicates where the fruit was grown, so a green pineapple can be just as sweet and delicious as a golden brown one.
Nutrition Benefits
Besides the obvious benefits to your taste buds, there are many health benefits too. As always we recommend to eat in moderation as you can have too much of a good thing. Here’s a lucky 7’s list of the benefits:-
- Promotes a healthy immune system assisted by the vitamin C content
- Bone development, maintenance and strength provided by the manganese
- Preserves eye health, and more specifically against macular degeneration thanks to the vitamin C content and other antioxidants
- It aids digestion which can be attributed to the dietary fibre and bromelain content
- The vitamin C can help reduce symptoms of the common cold and sinus inflammations
- It has anti-inflammatory effects which is due to the bromelain
- Reduction of blood clots which, yes you guessed it, is down to the bromelain again.
As you can see below – Pineapples are a great source of vitamin C and manganese whilst also contributing many other vitamins and minerals. The vitamin C in a general sense protects our cells and keeps them healthy, and the manganese is essential for healthy bones and protection against osteoporosis.
Pineapple, raw
Nutritional value per 100 g (3.5 oz)
Energy – 209 kJ (50 kcal)
Carbohydrates – 13.12 g
Sugars – 9.85 g
Dietary fibre – 1.4 g
Fat – 0.12 g
Protein – 0.54 g
Vitamins
Thiamine (B1) – (7%) 0.079 mg
Riboflavin (B2) – (3%) 0.032 mg
Niacin (B3) – (3%) 0.5 mg
Pantothenic acid (B5) – (4%) 0.213 mg
Vitamin B6 – (9%) 0.112 mg
Folate (B9) – (5%) 18 μg
Choline – (1%) 5.5 mg
Vitamin C – (58%) 47.8 mg
Minerals
Calcium – (1%) 13 mg
Iron – (2%) 0.29 mg
Magnesium – (3%) 12 mg
Manganese – (44%) 0.927 mg
Phosphorus – (1%) 8 mg
Potassium – (2%) 109 mg
Sodium – (0%) 1 mg
Zinc – (1%) 0.12 mg
Bromelain
What isn’t mentioned in the nutritional breakdown above is that pineapples contain an enzyme called bromelain which has some coverage in scientific literature stating it is being used to treat a wide range of health problems including
ACL tears.
Allergies.
Arthritis and joint pain.
Asthma.
Autoimmune diseases.
Cancer.
Inflammatory Bowel Disease.
Sinus infections.
Food Art
Food can be fun, delicious and nutritious, and this is especially important for the kids. This is why we create fun and interesting food arts with all types of healthy foods. Here are a couple of our creations that include pineapples which you could use for inspiration
Pineapple Food Art – Halloween Presley
Recipe Suggestion
If you’re looking for a delicious recipe that incorporates pineapple, rather than consuming it raw, then we created a delicious pineapple upside down cake which can be found here or a scrumptious pina colada smoothie recipe which can be found here.
Hope you enjoy it!
Thanks for reading.
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