By Dr. Lloyd Berg, PhD.
“How is pineapple good for you again?” If you find yourself asking this question, it might be time to visit the produce aisle.
As part of a multi-part blog series, we’d like to educate our customers on how consuming “The Perfect Pineapple®” can bear fruit to improvements in overall well-being. And while pineapples have a plethora of health benefits, our inaugural blog post’s focus (super-charged, we might add) is on how just a few bites a day can potentially improve brain health.
Studies have found that consuming pineapple can improve your memory. Along with Vitamin B1 and manganese naturally found within the fruit, research shows the enzyme “bromelain” can play a key role in promoting cognitive functions.
The core of the findings is found – well, actually, at the core of the crop. The center core of a pineapple fruit is an extension of the stalk where the bromelain is concentrated. Bromelain is known to stimulate blood flow to the brain and make one more alert. So much so that pineapples has often been cited as the fruit of choice by musicians, singers and actors, because of the need to memorize sheet music, lyrics and script lines.
Yet, some may forget (we’ll take our chances and bet on those not consuming enough pineapple) that bromelain has been used for hundreds of years in folk medicine as a treatment to various health problems since its discovery on the island of Guadeloupe in 1493 by Christopher Columbus.
Needless to say, with its potent mix of vitamins, antioxidants, and enzymes—in particular, bromelain—pineapple is an all-body anti-inflammation cocktail; one that – hopefully – you’ll remember to add to your grocery list tonight.
This blog entry is part of a multi-post series on the potential benefits of pineapples. For more information about pineapple consumption, please contact us at info@chfusa.com