Bromelain in Pineapple Stops Aches and Pains

By Dr. Al Sears

Sept. 29. 2011

“Who doesn’t like hula dancers?”

“Well, it was kind of expensive to get them, so I thought I’d ask. And we’re already getting fire swallowers, a tiki bar and those white linen table cloths you wanted...”

It should be quite a birthday party. I’m turning 55 years old Friday, and I want to celebrate with my staff, family and friends at my home.

I’ve got my assistant, S.D., working on all the details.

“What else do they offer for the buffet?”

S.D. said, “We’ll be having a roast pig, Hula chicken and teriyaki steak.”

I like Polynesian food because they’ve mixed in foods from other cultures, while keeping their native foods as the main part of what they eat.

We’ll also have a huge fruit buffet, and pineapple upside down cake.

I’m supplying the pineapples. I grow pineapples all over my yard. I love them, and not just because they taste good.

Eating pineapples helps with digestion, boosts immunity, lowers inflammation and relieves pain.

The reason the pineapple is so versatile is a secret ingredient – an enzyme called bromelain. It’s a protease, which means it helps break down proteins. That’s why it helps with digestion, especially if you eat a lot of protein like I do.

But bromelain has another benefit. It can stop aches and pains.

One study showed bromelain was as effective as some commonly used nonsteroidal anti-inflammatory (NSAID) drugs for reducing pain associated with osteoarthritis.

Athletes like bromelain because it helps speed up healing when they get cut, scraped, bruised and wounded while they’re playing. It also speeds up healing time, and decreases pain following injury to soft-tissue. Bromelain is especially good for sprains and strains, bruising, and tenderness from those muscle injuries.

Hospitals even use it to relieve post-surgical pain. But even though it works after inflammation and injury, it works even better if you take it prior to a traumatic event like surgery. Or before an intense workout or playing a sport that’s physically demanding on your soft tissue or joints.

One study looked at how bromelain helps people who do intense exercise. They had a group of people do a workout consisting of some very strenuous leg exercises. Then they gave half the group a placebo and the other half a supplement containing bromelain for 21 days.

When researchers had the people work out again, they found that the bromelain group performed better. Their legs produced greater force, their running times improved, and they had almost no inflammation.¹

And bromelain is also a good for preventing sickness. It boosts the activity of many different kinds of immune cells. This could be why extracts can fight problems as diverse as asthma and cancer tumors.

The bromelain you get from eating fresh pineapple can help with digestion. To help lessen inflammation, you’ll need to eat about a cup of fresh pineapple every day.

To get bromelain’s effects a little faster and more consistently, you can take a supplement. Bromelain is very bioactive, which means your body will absorb it well. But there are extracts that are stronger than others.

Bromelain potency is measured in GDU (Gelatin Digesting Units). Try to get a capsule that is at or near 2,400 GDU, the highest standardized potency you can get. I recommend you take 400-500mg a day. Or just eat pineapple like I do.

Resources

1 Buford TW, Cooke MB, Redd LL, Hudson GM, Shelmadine BD, Willoughby DS. "Protease supplementation improves muscle function after eccentric exercise." Med Sci Sports Exerc. 2009 Oct;41(10):1908-14