How Pineapple Can Help Reduce Stomach Fat

Sweet, tart pineapples are easily recognizable by their inedible, pinecone-like exteriors and bright yellow, succulent fruit. Filled with beneficial vitamins and minerals, this fruit has a variety of health benefits. In recent years, pineapple has even gained a reputation for helping people lose weight and reduce stomach fat.

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There are many minerals and vitamins in pineapple that have health benefits. The Food and Drug Administration considers a serving of pineapple to be about 112 grams (4 ounces). Pineapple is particularly rich in vitamin B-6, with one serving containing 8 percent of the recommended daily value, and chock-full of vitamin C, with 88 percent of what most people need in one day. A serving of pineapple will also have 8 percent of your recommended daily value of copper and more than half (52 percent) of your daily requirement of manganese.

Eating fruits like pineapple that are high in important nutrients can help you stay healthy while losing weight and burning stomach fat. For instance, manganese is important for metabolism and copper helps maintain and repair connective tissues. Pineapples also contain fiber, which is essential to digestion, and protein, which is necessary if you want to replace fat with muscle.

In addition to the vitamins and minerals found in the whole fruit, pineapple also contains an enzyme called bromelain. Bromelain is found in fibrous regions of the pineapple, like the core, skin and stem. Because these parts are considered inedible, you are most likely to extract bromelain from raw pineapple through juicing. Bromelain has quite a few benefits — as a digestive enzyme, it is even used in health products to help the body expend more energy.

This, in turn, is likely where pineapple's reputation for helping burn stomach fat comes from — the process of digesting this enzyme is thought to make the body burn more calories, which in turn burns fat and promotes muscle-building. Bromelain is also able to help with the cardiovascular and digestive systems, both of which play major roles in fat burning and weight loss.

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With so many nutrients, pineapple has benefits for men and women interested in improving their health. However, it's understandable if you've become bored with eating this tart fruit raw. It's possible to incorporate pineapple into many baked goods, like bars and cakes. It's not just a food for dessert, though. You can salt and char-grill, roast, or even sous-vide pineapple. Essentially, anything that can be done to a piece of meat or a cauliflower can be done to a pineapple to facilitate its incorporation into your diet. Alternatively, if you don't fancy pineapple as part of your main course, you can make it into a salsa or pickle it, like a cucumber. The combination of exercise and healthy foods like pineapple can help you lose stomach fat and improve your health.

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