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Pineapple tastes like nature’s candy. Sweet, juicy and fragrant, the fruit is both a treat and a healthy snack if you get past its prickly exterior.
Long used in traditional medicine to help with digestion and for its anti-inflammatory properties, pineapple is a rich source of nutrients, minerals, vitamins, bioactive compounds and dietary fiber, researchers have found.
“It’s a really good source of vitamin C,” Sarah Rivenburgh, a registered dietitian at OhioHealth who specializes in oncology nutrition, tells TODAY.com.
‘Your body can’t make it, so it has to get it from food. Pineapple can be a good way to get some of that vitamin C, especially if you’re not a fan of oranges.”
Pineapples used to be considered a status symbol — “a luxury available only to royalty and aristocrats,” according to the Smithsonian. Today, the fruit is as close as your local supermarket and the subject of intense debate when it comes to pizza toppings.
Pineapple aroma — known as ethyl butyrate — was ranked as one of the most pleasant smells by people around the world, second only to vanilla, a 2022 study found.
Pineapple nutrition
One cup of raw pineapple chunks contains the following, according to the U.S. Department of Agriculture:
- 82 calories
- 0.9 grams of protein
- 22 grams of carbohydrates
- 2 grams of fiber
- 16 grams of sugar
- 180 milligrams of potassium
This amount of raw pineapple also contains more than 100% of the vitamin C and more than 10% of vitamin B6 a woman should get for the day. Other nutrients include calcium, magnesium, iron, copper, manganese and folate.
There’s no cholesterol and virtually no fat in the fruit.
Pineapple benefits
Dietitians are fans of pineapple’s high vitamin C content. It’s an antioxidant — protecting the body from free radical damage and inflammation — and is important for skin health and…
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