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Kitchen wizards know that you can’t make a gelatin dessert with fresh pineapple. The natural enzymes in this *****ly fruit prevent the gelatin from setting, leaving the amateur cook with a runny mess. What’s bad for Jell-O may be good for you, however. Bromelain, the enzyme found in pineapple, has been credited with a number of health benefits, including aiding digestion, speeding wound healing, and reducing inflammation. Bromelain is found in both the fruit and stem of the pineapple, but the enzyme in supplements comes from the stem.
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An Inflammation Tamer
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Supplement Profile
An Inflammation Tamer
More than 200 scientific papers have been written about bromelain since it was first introduced as a health-boosting substance in 1957. Much of the research has focused on its anti-inflammatory effects. Whether you have a sprained ankle, a nasty bruise, sinusitis, or any other type of inflammation, bromelain may help you heal faster, states a naturopathic doctor in Stamford, Connecticut. In fact, he routinely recommends that his patients take bromelain before and after surgery to speed the healing process. "I would consider using bromelain for any type of inflammation for which you might use aspirin," he says.
Bromelain inhibits the release of certain inflammation-causing chemicals, It also activates a chemical in the blood and tissues that breaks down fibrin, a protein-sugar complex that is partly responsible for blood clotting.
SUPPLEMENT PROFILE
Bromelain
May help: Digestive disorders, inflammation, wound healing, colds and flu, ear infections, angina, atherosclerosis, food allergies, muscle soreness, phlebitis, lupus, gout, intermittent claudication, osteoarthritis, and rheumatoid arthritis; may also increase the effectiveness of some antibiotics.
Special instructions: As a digestive aid, take with meals; for all other uses, take on an empty stomach.
Good food source: Pineapple.
Cautions and possible side effects: May cause nausea, vomiting, diarrhea, skin rash, and heavy menstrual bleeding; may increase the risk of bleeding in people taking aspirin or anticoagulants (blood thinners). Do not take if you are allergic to pineapple.
By breaking down fibrin, bromelain produces another benefit: It reduces swelling. That’s because fibrin prevents injured tissues from draining, and when they can’t drain, they swell. Bromelain is most beneficial when used after trauma such as surgery or injury. I also prescribe it for colds, flu, and ear infections to loosen thick mucus so it can drain or be coughed up."
Bromelain may also keep platelets from sticking to each other and to blood vessel walls, which is a major factor in atherosclerosis (hardening of the arteries). Bromelain helps prevent platelet clumping by decreasing the release of a chemical that causes them to stick together.
that is from body and fitness dot com.