A recent study conducted by the Harvard School of Public Health’s Department of Nutrition, revealed that pineapples can be more effective than prescription drugs to treat and prevent chronic cough caused by respiratory infections like bronchitis, pneumonia, or viral infections like a cold or the flu.
While chronic cough can be a sign of respiratory infections, it can also be caused by certain medications, such as those which help treat high blood pressure. No matter the reason, this can be a difficult condition to live with, especially if that coughing is interfering with the ability to get a good night’s sleep.
Besides prescription drugs, there are many products on the market that offer relief from a cough, but before reaching for a bottle of cough syrup, you should consider pineapple juice and read why recent studies have found it to be even more effective that mainstream products at taming an irritating cough.
Why is pineapple juice so effective for coughs?
After the research, scientists came to the conclusion that the reason that pineapple juice is so effective for taming a cough is the presence of bromelain, an enzyme that has powerful antioxidant and anti-inflammatory properties which allow it to reduce irritation of the throat and thus relieve even persistent coughing.
Researchers also found that pineapple is packed with vitamin C – a powerful antioxidant, as contains high amounts of vitamin A and minerals like magnesium, manganese and potassium, all of which help boost the immune system and make it easier for the body to fight off respiratory infections that cause coughs in the first place.
But pineapples are not only effective treating cough. Many studies have suggested that increasing consumption of plant foods like pineapples helps lower the risk of obesity and overall mortality, diabetes, heart disease and promotes a healthy complexion and hair, increased energy, overall lower weight.
Other possible health benefits of pineapples include:
1. Regulate blood pressure. Increasing potassium intake by consuming high potassium fruits and vegetables can help with lowering blood pressure. According to the National Health and Nutrition Examination Survey, fewer than 2% of US adults meet the daily 4700 mg recommendation.
Consuming pineapples has also been shown to decrease risk of and progression of age-related macular degeneration.
2. Helps with asthma. The risks for developing asthma are lower in people who consume a high amount of certain nutrients. One of these nutrients is beta-carotene, found in plant foods like pineapple, mangoes, papaya, apricots, broccoli, cantaloupe, pumpkin and carrots.
3. It lowers the risk of cancer. According to the American Cancer Society, strong antioxidants found in pineapples can help combat the formation of free radicals known to cause cancer.
Pineapples are rich in beta-carotene, which also play a protective role against prostate cancer, according to the study conducted by Harvard, and has been shown to have an inverse association with the development of colon cancer.
4. improves Fertility. The antioxidants in pineapple such as vitamins C, beta-carotene and the vitamins and minerals and copper, zinc and folate have properties that can improve both male and female fertility. Because free radicals also can damage the reproductive system, foods with high antioxidant activity like pineapples that battle free radicals are recommended for those trying to conceive.
Pineapple is also a source of important vitamins and minerals such as thiamin, riboflavin, vitamin B-6, folate, pantothenic acid, magnesium, manganese and potassium and antioxidants and polyphenols, such as beta-carotene.
“Fresh pineapple is the only known source of an enzyme called bromelain, which has been used in studies to determine it’s effectiveness in alleviating joint pain, arthritis, reduce inflammation, inhibit tumor growth and shorten recovery time following plastic surgery,” writes Medical News Today.
In short, pineapples are a great way to treat a cough naturally and inexpensively.
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H/T: Medical News Today.