A few months ago, while visiting friends, I was intrigued by the number of outdoor plants being grown outside of their home. As we were leaving our friends were kind enough to gift us one of their beautiful pineapples in a potted planted. As soon as we got it back home, we sat it directly in the sun and pretty much left it alone. I mean, alone. No watering, just sunshine. Fascinating, right?! Hello, California weather where it’s warm and sunny year round! Well most of the time.
Just so you know, I’m not a planter. And, I certainly don’t have a green thumb. However, I do love pineapples. Especially in cake, as in pineapple upside-down cake, in champagne as in a pineapple mimosa, pineapples in fruit salad or just plain will do. I’m trying to get healthy so, I’m doing my best to stick to pineapples in salads. Check out this cool pineapple spinach recipe.
That said, after a few short months of having our pineapple plant out in our backyard, we noticed a baby pineapple growing! I can’t wait until it matures and is ripe enough to eat. From what I’ve read pineapples are fairly a slow growing fruit that takes about a year before their are mature enough to eat. According to my friend, Gary, “When it turns from green to a lite yellow it’s ready. You can smell it too.” Thank you, Gary and Nancy!
At this rate who knows, I just might be harvesting my own crop.
I’m sure it’ll be worth the wait.
In the meantime, I decided to dig in and do some research on the many health benefits of this delicious tropical fruit named pineapple that originated in South America, that has been linked to many health benefits, including aiding digestion, boosting immunity and speeding up recovery from surgery, among others.
Here are a few:
Pineapples contains a powerful enzyme called bromelain. People use bromelain topically, to remove dead skin from burns, and orally, to reduce inflammation and swelling — particularly of the nasal passages. Bromelain is also used as a digestive aid for osteoarthritis and to reduce soreness in aching muscles
Pineapple water will detox your body, help with weight loss.
Several studies have shown that pineapple and its compounds may reduce the risk of cancers. Cancer is a chronic disease characterized by uncontrolled cell growth. Its progression is commonly linked to oxidative stress and chronic inflammation. According to research, fruits like pineapple, kiwi and papaya -which contains bromelain, eats away at a particular protein layer of the cancer.
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