One of the most tasty tropical fruits, I love pineapple for its sweet juiciness and amazing health benefits.
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 or sorbet.
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.
If you have ever eaten so much pineapple that it stings your tongue and mouth, that’s the bromelain doing its thing and breaking down the protein fibres inside your mouth. But your stomach is lined with a thick layer of mucus, so no damage will be done there
Studies also show that pineapple is highly anti-inflammatory, making it a great snack to ease post-workout muscle pain. Inflammation is a necessary part of health. It’s how your body reacts to stress, injury and infection. The damaged cells and tissues swell up, turn red, go warm and tender, and are usually painful. Inflammation is really your body’s way of protecting itself from harmful compounds, including irritants, bacteria and other pathogens, and it kickstarts the healing process. Inflammation is therefore a sign that the body is trying to heal itself and is a key part of its immune system response.
But inflammation can also do damage to the body when there’s too much of it, and sometimes as a result of various diet and lifestyle choices. Pineapple is a useful food to eat for its anti-inflammatory properties, as bromelain helps to reduce inflammation and swelling.
Pineapple is also powerful at speeding up wound healing, and this includes spots and blemishes, plus it supports your immune system.
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 cup of fresh pineapple chunks.
This recipe for Pineapple, Raspberry and Lime Sorbet is a simple and refreshing way to enjoy pineapple.
I would love to know if you get a chance to make this Pineapple, Raspberry and Lime Summer Sorbet! Simply tag #RosannaDavisonNutrition on Instagram or Twitter or come on over to my Facebook to say hello 🙂
- 1 ripe pineapple
- 125g fresh raspberries
- 1 tbsp fresh lime juice
- 1 tsp vanilla extract
- Cold water, to blend
- 1 Carefully cut the pineapple in half using a sharp serrated knife. Remove the skin from one
- half and cut the flesh into chunks and place into a bowl or container.
- 2 Cut the flesh out of the second half of the pineapple, leaving the skin to form a bowl for the
- sorbet.
- 3 Add the flesh to the bowl and place it in the freezer for at least 2 hours.
- 4 Once frozen, remove it from the freezer and place it in a food processor or blender along
- with the raspberries, lime and vanilla.
- 5 Use a splash of cold water to blend, if necessary.
- 6 Once smooth, spoon it into the prepared pineapple half. Decorate with a sprinkle of
- desiccated coconut and serve immediately or place in the freezer for 20 minutes to set if you
- prefer
- I used a high-speed Vitamix blender to achieve the smooth texture and it was well able to
- handle the frozen pineapple. If you're not sure that your blender or food processor can
- handle it, then only lightly freeze the pineapple before blending, then pop it back into the
- freezer to set properly once its been blended.