These days a lot of people complain about their muscles being sore, tight or stiff. Musculoskeletal pain is one of the most common complaints in many medical offices. These muscular problems can arise in virtually anyone, but they are certainly more common in people who sit all day (such as those with office jobs, or those that drive long distances), people who don’t move around enough, or people who have chronic strains or injuries. And such people may have lots of fibrin, which consists of thick, collagenous fibers forming inside their muscles.
Fibrin is what scar tissue is made of; and it is what makes scars so different from the tender tissue that they replace. This same fibrin is what makes meat tough. Am sure you know what it is like to bite a piece of meat that is not properly cooked. It is difficult to chew, hard on the teeth and not a pleasant culinary experience at all!
In the kitchen, when cooks encounter a piece of tough meat, they may beat it all over before cooking, using a pestle to manually break up the fibrin or will coat the meat with a liberal amount of meat tenderiser. You can easily purchase one from your local grocery store. The “active” ingredient, in meat tenderiser, is a substance called bromelain.
Bromelain is an enzyme found in pineapple, mostly in the core. It is technically a digestive enzyme that actually breaks up the fibrin and as a result, makes meat more tender.
The interesting news is that bromelain doesn’t just work in the kitchen. This amazing enzyme is infinitely more useful to humans than just a meat tenderizer.
Let’s find out how:
Helps decrease joint pain and arthritis: Due to its powerful anti-inflammatory and analgesic characteristics, bromelain is wonderful for reducing acute or chronic joint pain. The journal – Alternative Therapies in Health and Medicine – published a research trial that evaluated 42 osteoarthritis patients with degenerative spine or painful joint conditions. Two 650-milligram capsules of bromelain were given to the patients 2-3 X daily on an empty stomach (depending on whether they had acute or chronic pain). Researchers discovered that pain decreased up to 60 per cent in participants dealing with acute pain and more than 50 percent in those with chronic disorders. The researchers’ conclusion was that “bromelain has been demonstrated to show anti-inflammatory and analgesic properties and may provide a safer alternative or adjunctive treatment for osteoarthritis.”
If you are down with sore, stiff, tight muscles, then medical grade bromelain should be one of your favourite nutritional supplements. It is an excellent pain-relieving, anti-inflammatory and anti-fibrotic agent. It helps to break up those ribbons of fibrin in sore muscles, and is great for “tenderising” those tough, tight ligaments and tendons. This is why it’s the main ingredient in many anti-inflammatory formulas.
Taking bromelain along with turmeric will decrease osteoarthritis pain.
Helps treat digestive disorders: Bromelain acts as a digestive enzyme when taken with meals. It helps to break down what you’ve eaten as well as help your body absorb nutrients and even medications more efficiently. This is why is bromelain is good for you if you suffer from indigestion or a gastrointestinal disorder. Studies suggest that it decreases colonic inflammation and reduces secretion of pro-inflammatory cytokines that damage the gut lining.
Juicing the core of pineapple or adding it to your smoothie along with other vegetables like cucumber is an easy way to consume bromelain. Drink about 15 CL a day to help prevent digestive issues and consume up to 30 CL to treat illnesses like ulcerative colitis, irritable bowel disease, IBD or constipation.
Relieves sinusitis symptoms: A daily dose of bromelain (about 600-mg) may help people suffering from chronic sinusitis (inflammation of the sinuses). Taken for a period of 12 weeks may alleviate symptoms and improve overall quality of life without adverse effects.
Reduces inflammation and swelling: Bromelain’s anti-inflammatory property makes it a great natural alternative; to taking conventional pain-killing medications. One study that evaluated bromelain’s ability to treat patients who had impacted third molars extracted, found that it helped decrease pain, swelling and even redness following the patients’ operations.
Speeds up recovery from surgeries: The use of bromelain post-surgery has been observed to promote soft-tissue healing and reduce bruising. Patients who took bromelain also had shorter wound healing time compared to patients who didn’t.
Promotes blood flow: Bromelain helps in promoting healthy blood flow by reducing platelet aggregation in the arteries and lowering the chances of clots forming. This may lower your risk of developing cardiovascular diseases.
Eases menstrual pains: The enzyme is said to help relax muscles and hence prevent menstrual cramping. There are also claims that bromelain can help induce menstruation by softening the uterine lining. Some people would actually have to eat pineapple before they get a monthly period. Bromelain and pineapple juice “trick” the uterus into shedding its lining thereby increasing blood flow and this supposedly helps prevent menstrual pains.
Fights allergies and asthma: Bromelainmay reduce allergic sensitisation and stop development of other inflammatory responses affecting the airways. Studies suggest that this enzyme may help modulate the entire immune system and can actually prevent allergies by addressing the root cause. So if you are familiar with these symptoms -stuffy/runny nose, itchy eyes, swollen lymph nodes, congestion and trouble breathing – try bromelain. Together with onion, bromelain can help alleviate sinus inflammation, with onion functioning as an antihistamine.
Bromelain, combined with inflammation-fighting curcumin (from turmeric) and free radical-combatting quercetin (from onion) can work wonders on the general body and of course musculoskeletal system.
Bromelain supplement can be purchased from health stores and the most commonly prescribed dosage ranges between 200 – 2,000 mg daily as the case might be. If tense muscles are bothering you. I’d suggest you give bromelain a try.
As earlier mentioned, the pineapple core is where the highest concentration of bromelain is found. Next time you eat this delicious fruit, do not throw away the core, as some people often do. It is literally medicine!