Pineapple: 8 Impressive Health Benefits

Pineapple (Ananas comosus) is an incredibly delicious, healthy tropical fruit. It’s packed with nutrients, antioxidants, and other helpful compounds, such as enzymes that can protect against inflammation and disease. It’s commonly eaten baked, grilled, or freshly cut.

Pineapple and its compounds are linked to several health benefits, including improvements in digestion, immunity, and recovery from surgery.
Here are 8 impressive health benefits of pineapple.

۱. Loaded with nutrients
Pineapples are low in calories but boast an impressive nutrient profile. Just 1 cup (165 grams) of pineapple chunks contains the following nutrients (2Trusted Source):
• Calories: 83
• Fat: 1.7 grams
• Protein: 1 gram
• Carbs: 21.6 grams
• Fiber: 2.3 grams
• Vitamin C: 88% of the Daily Value (DV)
• Manganese: 109% of the DV
• Vitamin B6: 11% of the DV
• Copper: 20% of the DV
• Thiamine: 11% of the DV
• Folate: 7% of the DV
• Potassium: 4% of the DV
• Magnesium: 5% of the DV
• Niacin: 5% of the DV
• Pantothenic acid: 7% of the DV
• Riboflavin: 4% of the DV
• Iron: 3% of the DV

Pineapples also contain trace amounts of phosphorus, zinc, calcium, and vitamins A and K.
As you can see, this fruit is particularly rich in vitamin C and manganese. Vitamin C is essential for immune health, iron absorption, and growth and development, while manganese offers antioxidant properties and aids in growth and metabolism (3Trusted Source, 4Trusted Source).
Antioxidants help prevent oxidation in your body, which may help ward off inflammation that can lead to cancer and other chronic diseases (5Trusted Source).

۲. Contains disease-fighting antioxidants
Pineapples are not only rich in nutrients but also loaded with antioxidants — molecules that help your body ward off oxidative stress.
Oxidative stress is caused by an abundance of free radicals, unstable molecules that cause cell damage often linked to chronic inflammation, weakened immune health, heart disease, diabetes, and certain cancers (5Trusted Source, 9Trusted Source, 10Trusted Source).
Pineapples are especially rich in antioxidants called flavonoids and phenolic compounds. Two rat studies show that pineapple’s antioxidants may have heart-protective effects, though human research is lacking (9Trusted Source, 10Trusted Source).

۳. May aid digestion
Interestingly, this fruit contains a group of digestive enzymes called bromelain that may ease the digestion of meat (12Trusted Source).
Pineapples contain bromelain, a group of digestive enzymes that may help break down protein and aid digestion.
What’s more, pineapples are a good source of fiber, which aids digestive health (2Trusted Source).

۴. May reduce your risk of cancer
Cancer is a chronic disease characterized by uncontrolled cell growth. Its progression is commonly linked to oxidative stress and chronic inflammation (17Trusted Source).
Several studies note that pineapple and its compounds, including bromelain, may reduce cancer risk by minimizing oxidative stress and reducing inflammation (10Trusted Source, 11Trusted Source, 12Trusted Source, 15Trusted Source).
Some studies show that bromelain may also help treat cancer that has already developed (18Trusted Source, 19Trusted Source, 20Trusted Source).

۵. May boost immunity and suppress inflammation
They contain a wide variety of vitamins, minerals, and enzymes such as bromelain that may collectively improve immunity and reduce inflammation (12Trusted Source, 28Trusted Source).

۶. May ease symptoms of arthritis
Arthritis affects more than 54 million adults in the United States alone. Many types of arthritis exist, but most involve joint inflammation (35Trusted Source).
Bromelain’s anti-inflammatory properties may provide pain relief for those with inflammatory arthritis.
Are there any health risks to eating pineapple?
Pineapples are not a common allergen. Eating them is considered very low risk unless you have a known pineapple allergy. In that case, you should avoid pineapple and its extracts.

People with diabetes should be mindful of serving sizes to keep their blood sugar stable (49Trusted Source).
However, even in people without an allergy or diabetes, eating too much pineapple — more than a few servings per day — may have unintended side effects.
For instance, bromelain may affect blood clotting. Therefore, people who take blood thinners should eat pineapple in modest amounts (50Trusted Source, 51Trusted Source, 52Trusted Source). Those sensitive to bromelain may also experience tongue burning or itching and even nausea or diarrhea — though these downsides are anecdotal and haven’t been studied scientifically. Some people claim that eating a lot of unripe pineapple causes stomach upset, nausea, and diarrhea. Again, this hasn’t been studied, but it’s always best to select ripe pineapple. The flesh should be a light to medium yellow.