Be Careful When Eating Pineapple in Spring
It's the season when pineapples fill the air with their sweet fragrance. The sight of the golden, luscious pineapples is enough to make a baby's mouth water. But don't be too hasty. For the sake of your child's health and to ensure a delicious treat that doesn't cause harm, mothers need to pay close attention.
There are three undesirable components in pineapple that can cause trouble:
Glycosides are organic compounds that can be irritating to the skin and oral mucous membranes. This is why eating raw, untreated pineapple can cause an itchy mouth, though it is not directly harmful to health.
Serotonin is a nitrogen-containing organic compound that strongly causes blood vessels to constrict and blood pressure to rise. Every 100 grams of pineapple juice contains 2.5 to 3.5 milligrams of it. Consuming too much can lead to headaches.
Bromelain is a proteolytic enzyme. When extracted, it has a strong effect on breaking down fibrin and blood clots, making it useful in medicine. The small amount of bromelain in pineapple is broken down and destroyed by stomach acid in the stomach. However, a small number of people are allergic to this enzyme. Symptoms can appear 15 to 60 minutes after consumption, including abdominal pain, nausea, vomiting, urticaria (commonly known as hives), headaches, and dizziness. In severe cases, it can lead to difficulty breathing and shock. This is what is known as a pineapple allergy.
A Friendly Tip:
If you want to maintain the fresh taste of pineapple, you can soak the sliced or cubed pineapple in saltwater (about the same salinity as used for cooking) for about 30 minutes. Then, rinse it with cool water to remove the saltiness, which can also have a desensitizing effect.
After peeling and coring the pineapple, cut it into slices or pieces and blanch it in boiling water before eating. Bromelain in pineapple begins to lose its activity at temperatures between 45°C and 50°C, and over 90% of it is destroyed at 100°C. Glycosides are also broken down and eliminated, and serotonin is dissolved in the water. The taste is also improved after boiling. However, the bromelain in pineapple can cause allergic reactions in some young children, leading to numbness in the limbs and lips, excessive sweating, or the appearance of hives, conjunctival hemorrhage, and asthma. In severe cases in children, a drop in blood pressure, shock, tachycardia, pallor, and loss of consciousness can occur. When giving pineapple to a baby, cut it into thin slices, soak it in saltwater, or heat it by boiling.
Special Reminder:
Children with a history of allergies should best avoid eating pineapple. Additionally, there are some other fruits that babies should not eat too much of:
Lychee: The flesh of lychees contains a substance called methylenecyclopropylglycine, which can lower blood sugar and cause fatty degeneration of the liver. Eating too many can lead to a pale complexion, profuse sweating, cold limbs, and unconsciousness. In severe cases, it can lead to convulsions and even death.
Oranges: Oranges contain a large amount of carotene. If consumed in excess over a short period, the liver cannot convert it quickly enough, and the excess carotene travels through the bloodstream, causing the skin to turn yellow. This is often accompanied by symptoms such as nausea, vomiting, loss of appetite, and general weakness.