I never eat the core, and still have the burning issue...sooo I dont think it changes it to much...it doesnt burn if Its frozen though,lol.

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Oh, mirror in the sky
What is love?
Can the child within my heart rise above?
Can I sail through the changing ocean tides?
Can I handle the seasons of my life?

Hello - I was just thinking to make a post about this topic and then came accross this thread. I have had the worst mouth ulcers for days after eating pineapple. In my case it tasted really nice and sweet - seemed ripe. Was not at fermentation point but definitely not unripe....
it has happened to me a lot in the past even with juices. I don't think it's just the acidity because I dont get much problem even if I suck a lemon or eat sour oranges.

I think I have had pineapple juice in juice shops through a straw without any problems - it may be a solution but my questions is - if it is messing up my mouth like this, what would it be doing to my insides? is it really good for us?
I really love pineapple so would like to be able to have it but I'm wondering about this...

Well, the search "bomelain side effects" got 31 results at Pubmed including one on its potential for treating ulcerative colitis --

Bromelain
A case report of 2 patients may indicate the potential use of bromelain as an adjunctive agent in the treatment of ulcerative colitis. The 2 patients were unable to achieve remission on standard therapy. Clinical and endoscopic evidence of improvement was documented. Bromelain is derived from the stems of pineapple, and is believed to be a proteolytic enzyme.[54] A more recent study, documenting the use of bromelain in an IL-10-deficient murine model of IBD, demonstrated that bromelain supplementation resulted in decreased clinical and histological severity of colonic inflammation. The proteolytic property of bromelain is necessary for its anti-inflammatory properties, and some hypothesize that cell surface molecules and consequently T-cell activation may be altered by bromelain.[55] [www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov]

Ha, how many qualifiers were in that excerpt? But for the cheeseburger eating western world the benefits of a little bromelain seem to outweigh the risks.

The bromelain sounds (to me) like a plant defense against foragers eating it, by causing these protease burns, though it lets up as the fruit and seeds become vine ripe. It's a good question whether a raw vegan eating a low protein diet should be eating tons of protease rich shipped-in pineapples. I mean the bromelain could cause a stomach ache or something, am I right?

Vine ripened pineapples don't make it to my northern market but I'll occasionally settle for an almost ripe one and feel the burn if I overdo it, even while still tasting great.

I love pineapples. Just wish I lived closer to where they grow.



Edited 2 time(s). Last edit at 12/15/2010 11:50AM by loeve.

Interesting article, loeve--thanks for posting!

Supposedly all organic pineapple is ripe when green.

Posted on another forum:

How to eat Pineapple so it won't hurt your mouth: cut the top or bottom off and let it sit on a plate in the fridge for a few hrs. This does something chemically & it's easier to eat. Also make sure that all the skin is removed. It's often the skin that is making your mouth sore so be sure every little bit is off.

Simple Raw Recipes & Health Tips

Pineapple is ripe when it has a gingery sweet smell, is an ambery golden color, and when the eyes are of about uniform size and distribution, top to bottom.

GilmoreGirl,

Are you supposed to refrigerate a totally ripe pineapple before eating it? I suppose that would neutralize the enzymes somewhat; good to know.

Another PubMed article (Oral immunogenicity of the plant proteinase bromelain, 2006) suggests that oral bromelain can provoke an immune response, and that the more exposure to bromelain the greater the sensitivity. That seems counter-productive if trying to treat ulcerative colitis, but it sounds like a minority view and like they say more research is needed.

It could help explain why some are more sensitive than others.