It's the season when pineapples are fragrant, sweet, and juicy. Looking at the golden-yellow pineapple and thinking of its sweet and delicious flavor is enough to make your mouth water. But don't be too hasty. For your health and to enjoy it without any harm, you must pay close attention... There are three undesirable components in pineapples that may cause trouble:
Glycosides are an organic substance that can be irritating to human skin and oral mucosa. This is why your mouth may feel itchy after eating raw, untreated pineapple, but it poses no direct harm to health.
Serotonin is a nitrogen-containing organic substance that strongly causes blood vessels to constrict and blood pressure to rise. Each 100 grams of pineapple juice contains 2.5 mg to 3.5 mg. Eating too much of it can lead to headaches as a direct reaction.
Bromelain is a proteolytic enzyme. When extracted, it has a strong effect of breaking down fibrin and blood clots and is useful in medicine.
The small amount of bromelain in pineapple is broken down and destroyed by gastric acid in the stomach. However, a small number of people are allergic to this enzyme. Symptoms such as abdominal pain, nausea, vomiting, urticaria (commonly known as hives), headache, and dizziness may appear 15 to 60 minutes after consumption. In severe cases, difficulty breathing and shock can occur. This is what is meant by pineapple allergy. Prevention methods:
After peeling and coring the pineapple, cut it into slices or pieces and blanch it in boiling water before eating. Bromelain begins to lose its activity at 45-50°C and over 90% of it is destroyed at 100°C. Glycosides are also simultaneously broken down and eliminated, and serotonin dissolves in water. The flavor is also improved after boiling.
If you want to maintain the fresh taste of the pineapple, you can soak the sliced or cubed pineapple in saltwater (at the same salinity as used for cooking) for about 30 minutes, then rinse it with cool water to remove the saltiness. This method can also achieve the effect of desensitization.