Tropical fruits, including pineapple, mango and papaya, are amongst my fave types of fruit (along with berries), for their sweet juicy flavour and huge array of health benefits.
Here is why they’re so beneficial for your health and beauty:
Pineapple:
One of the most tasty tropical fruits, and an important ingredient in the Green Goddess Smoothie for its sweet juiciness and amazing health benefits!
While it’s hard to beat munching on a piece of pineapple in the tropics, we’re so lucky in Ireland that they’re easily available. The main reason that I consume pineapple everyday in my green smoothie is for its powerful benefits to your digestion. You see, pineapple contains a special proteolytic enzyme called bromelain, meaning that it breaks down protein. Found mainly in the fruit’s stem, it’s important that you eat the tougher middle part of a pineapple to reap the most benefits, and this is why is works so well blended into a smoothie.
Bromelain helps to break down the protein in the food you eat, supporting the digestive process.
Fresh pineapple also helps to stimulate your digestive enzymes, which is why eating a few pieces of pineapple before a meal can help to improve digestion. All of this supports your skin and intestinal health.
Studies also show that pineapple is extremely anti-inflammatory, making it a great snack to ease post-workout muscle pain. It’s also powerful at speeding up wound healing, and this includes spots and blemishes, plus it supports your immune system and lowers the likelihood of getting facial infections in the first place.
The high vitamin C content of pineapple means that it really supports your production of collagen to help produce healthy skin, and two slices contain approximately 100mg of vitamin C. The mineral manganese is also found in pineapple, and this is a crucial nutrient for healthy skin, and for supporting the continuous healing of your skin.
Almost three-quarters of your daily requirement of manganese is found in just a single cup of delicious fresh pineapple chunks.
Try this pineapple, raspberry and lime sorbet for a tasty way to enjoy the tropical fruit for dessert… or even breakfast!
Papaya:
Papaya is one of the very best anti-ageing and skin-rejuvenating fruits!
It is of particular benefit for premature ageing of skin, dull complexions, age spots, sagging skin around the eyes and jowls and unwanted lines.
Due to its high levels of vitamins A, C and E, papaya provides some serious antioxidant benefits and can really brighten up a greyish complexion. It can even tighten and brighten your complexion when it’s rubbed on your face, thanks to its exfoliation effects and abundance of natural alpha-hydroxy acids (AHAs).
Just like pineapple, papaya contains its very own proteolytic enzyme, called papain, which is even used to tenderise meat. It also helps to boosty our digestive enzymes and enhance the absorption of skin-friendly nutrients from your gut walls into your blood. This is also one of the very best natural anti-inflammatories, helping to reduce spots and other inflammatory conditions.
I love to chop up fresh papaya and squeeze a little lime juice over it. Simple and delicious!
Mango:
Another tropical delight! Meaty mango is a seriously satisfying fruit, thanks to its high levels of beauty-enhancing and cholesterol-lowering fibre. Its nutrients are also extremely good for your skin and hair health.
Rich in vitamins A, C and E plus beta-carotene, mangoes are a wonderful source of skin-healing antioxidants to rejuvenate your complexion, while vitamin A also protects and renews your skin cells and mucous membranes.
Their vitamin E protects your skin from UV damage and also supports hair growth and a health, nourished scalp.
Full of beautifying minerals like copper to support the production of skin pigment melanin, potassium to remove puffiness under your eyes, and magnesium to relax your nervous system and muscles. A 2014 study even found that mango can effectively lower blood sugar levels, which is great news for your overall health! Mangos are very alkalising too, thanks to their tartaric, malic and citric acids.
As they’re a more dense fruit compared to many others, I love mango blended into a thick, icy smoothie, such as my Mango Piña Colada Smoothie 🙂
