Bromelain vs Inflammation & Much More
10almonds is reader-supported. We may, at no cost to you, receive a portion of sales if you purchase a product through a link in this article.
Let’s Get Fruity
Bromelain is an enzyme* found in pineapple (and only in pineapple), that has many very healthful properties, some of them unique to bromelain.
*actually a combination of enzymes, but most often referred to collectively in the singular. But when you do see it referred to as “they”, that’s what that means.
What does it do?
It does a lot of things, for starters:
❝Various in vivo and in vitro studies have shown that they are anti-edematous, anti-inflammatory, anti-cancerous, anti-thrombotic, fibrinolytic, and facilitate the death of apoptotic cells. The pharmacological properties of bromelain are, in part, related to its arachidonate cascade modulation, inhibition of platelet aggregation, such as interference with malignant cell growth; anti-inflammatory action; fibrinolytic activity; skin debridement properties, and reduction of the severe effects of SARS-Cov-2❞
Some quick notes:
- “facilitate the death of apoptotic cells” may sound alarming, but it’s actually good; those cells need to be killed quickly; see for example: Fisetin: The Anti-Aging Assassin
- If you’re wondering what arachidonate cascade modulation means, that’s the modulation of the cascade reaction of arachidonic acid, which plays a part in providing energy for body functions, and has a role in cell structure formation, and is the precursor of assorted inflammatory mediators and cell-signalling chemicals.
- Its skin debridement properties (getting rid of dead skin) are most clearly seen when using bromelain topically (one can literally just make a pineapple poultice), but do occur from ingestion also (because of what it can do from the inside).
- As for being anti-thrombotic and fibrinolytic, let’s touch on that before we get to the main item, its anti-inflammatory properties.
If you want to read more of the above before moving on, though, here’s the full text:
Anti-thrombotic and fibrinolytic
While it does have anti-thrombotic effects, largely by its fibrinolytic action (i.e., it dissolves the fibrin mesh holding clots together), it can have a paradoxically beneficial effect on wound healing, too:
For more specifically on its wound-healing benefits:
In Vitro Effect of Bromelain on the Regenerative Properties of Mesenchymal Stem Cells
Anti-inflammatory
Bromelain is perhaps most well-known for its anti-inflammatory powers, which are so diverse that it can be a challenge to pin them all down, as it has many mechanisms of action, and there’s a large heterogeneity of studies because it’s often studied in the context of specific diseases. But, for example:
❝Bromelain reduced IL-1β, IL-6 and TNF-α secretion when immune cells were already stimulated in an overproduction condition by proinflammatory cytokines, generating a modulation in the inflammatory response through prostaglandins reduction and activation of cascade reactions that trigger neutrophils and macrophages, in addition to accelerating the healing process❞
~ Dr. Taline Alves Nobre et al.
Read in full:
Bromelain as a natural anti-inflammatory drug: a systematic review
Or if you want a more specific example, here’s how it stacks up against arthritis:
❝The results demonstrated the chondroprotective effects of bromelain on cartilage degradation and the downregulation of inflammatory cytokine (tumor necrosis factor (TNF)-α, IL-1β, IL-6, IL-8) expression in TNF-α–induced synovial fibroblasts by suppressing NF-κB and MAPK signaling❞
~ Dr. Perephan Pothacharoen et al.
Read in full:
More?
Yes more! You’ll remember from the first paper we quoted today, that it has a long laundry list of benefits. However, there’s only so much we can cover in one edition, so that’s it for today
Is it safe?
It is generally recognized as safe. However, its blood-thinning effect means it should be avoided if you’re already on blood-thinners, have some sort of bleeding disorder, or are about to have a surgery.
Additionally, if you have a pineapple allergy, this one may not be for you.
Aside from that, anything can have drug interactions, so do check with your doctor/pharmacist to be sure (with the pharmacist usually being the more knowledgeable of the two, when it comes to drug interactions).
Want to try some?
You can just eat pineapples, but if you don’t enjoy that and/or wouldn’t want it every day, bromelain is available in supplement form too.
We don’t sell it, but here for your convenience is an example product on Amazon
Enjoy!
Don’t Forget…
Did you arrive here from our newsletter? Don’t forget to return to the email to continue learning!
Learn to Age Gracefully
Join the 98k+ American women taking control of their health & aging with our 100% free (and fun!) daily emails:
-
Medicinal Cannabis For Kids With ADHD!
10almonds is reader-supported. We may, at no cost to you, receive a portion of sales if you purchase a product through a link in this article.
…and other items from this week’s health science news:
The other “chill pill”?
Cannabis is now being investigated for its potential to benefit children with autism, ADHD, and Tourette’s!
It’s a natural direction for research—after all, many children with these conditions have symptoms such as anxiety and agitation, and while standard medications (like stimulants or antidepressants) can help, they don’t work for everyone and can cause side effects too.
Of course, cannabis is famously not without its side effects too, for example:
- THC isn’t recommended for children at all, due to risks like paranoia or psychosis
- CBD is considered much safer, but can still cause side effects such as sleepiness, irritability, reduced appetite, and stomach upset. Additionally, CBD can interact with other medications (including sedatives and anti-seizure drugs), potentially increasing side effects of those medications by raising drug levels in the body.
In places like Australia, medicinal cannabis is already being prescribed for autism, ADHD, and anxiety, although unsurprisingly a lot of use is unprescribed, and often without doctors being informed.
For this reason, high-quality research is limited, and the best studies (including in young autistic people) show mixed results, with some improvements but no consistent benefit over placebo.
In short, it’s rising in popularity and many doctors are taking up the practice, but the science is still very young, and it seems wise to be cautious.
Read in full: Can medicinal cannabis help kids’ autism, ADHD or Tourette’s? Here’s what we know so far
Related: Cannabis & Mental Health: Good Or Bad?
How spicy are your bones?
“Turmeric and ginger are good for you” is an idea that will be well-known to regular 10almonds readers, but today it’s something new:
Researchers (Dr. Susmita Bose et al.) tested extracts from turmeric and ginger as coatings for titanium bone implants to improve surgery outcomes. The idea is that the extracts slowly release beneficial compounds around the implant site after surgery.
What they found: the treatment roughly doubled bone–implant bonding within six weeks in early tests, suggesting stronger and more stable implants, as well as killing 92% of bacteria on implant surfaces, addressing one of the major causes of implant failure. As an extra bonus, the extract even reduced (by 11x) osteosarcoma-related cancer cells around the implant site:
Read in full: WSU researchers use spice extracts to enhance medical bone implants
Related: How Much Spice Is Right?
HIV for everyone!
When we’ve written about US Federal funding cuts lately, it’s most often about the FDA and the increasing lack of regulation with regard to what manufacturers are allowed to put into your food, and the increasing lack of testing for food contaminants, hence all the recalls.
Today it’s about cutting funding for HIV testing, which cut is not only projected to increase HIV infections by 10%, but also, doesn’t even work to save money:
❝The United States has made tremendous progress over the years, with fewer people getting infected and better treatments for those who are infected. To enter a world where that suddenly reverses would be a big deal. Treating someone with HIV over a lifetime is expensive, so any HIV infection you can prevent saves a lot of money.❞
~ Dr. Todd Fojo
Read in full: HIV funding cuts could increase infections by 10% in the U.S.
Related: What Most People Don’t Know About HIV
Take care!
Share This Post
-
Is honey good for you? Can it speed recovery if you’re sick or injured?
10almonds is reader-supported. We may, at no cost to you, receive a portion of sales if you purchase a product through a link in this article.
Honey is often praised for a range of health benefits, from soothing a sore throat and helping you get to sleep to healing woulds and lowering risk factors for diabetes and heart disease.
Honey’s acidity has the potential to prevent bacterial growth, while its density and stickiness generates osmotic pressure (in the same way as quicksand) which restrain bacteria.
Other compounds in honey contribute anti-inflammatory and antioxidant effects.
But do the claims about honey for specific health problems and injuries stack up to science? Let’s check what the evidence says.
abe livi/Unsplash First, what’s in honey?
Honey contains up to 20% water. The remaining 80% is made of simple sugars: monasaccharides that we rapidly digest. Fructose (32-28%) and glucose (26-31%) are the main ones, followed by small amounts of sucrose and others.
This can increase blood sugar levels to varying degrees. The glycemic index (GI) measures how fast blood sugars rise after eating or drinking. The GI of different Australian honeys ranges from 35 (low) to 72 (high), though most food labels don’t contain GI information.
Honey also has traces of vitamins (A, B1, B2, B6, C), minerals (potassium, magnesium, iron, zinc), amino acids (protein) and enzymes from plant, bee and insect secretions.
Nutrients vary depending on where the honeybees collected pollen, the time of honey harvest and how long it has been stored.
Can honey heal wounds?
A 2015 Cochrane review update assessed the effects of honey in treating acute burns, lacerations and chronic wounds, compared to topical treatments or other dressings.
It found high-quality evidence that honey dressings healed second-degree burns 4–5 days faster than conventional dressings. There was moderate-quality evidence that wounds infected after surgery healed faster with honey.
A 2020 review evaluated antimicrobial activity of Manuka and medical-grade honeys against a range of multi-drug resistant bacterial species. It found all honeys were effective against most species and could be considered for use in antibiotic-resistant infections.
Only sterilised medical-grade honey that has been processed to remove contaminants, and meets safety and antibacterial standards, should be used, with guidance from your doctor.
Does honey help adults sleep?
Research on the effects of honey on sleep is limited.
One trial compared sleep quality of 68 adults admitted to hospital. Half were given a mixture of milk (150mL) and honey (30g) twice a day, and half were not.
Those in the honey-mixture group said they slept better after day three. But these results could be biased, because participants were aware they were getting honey-milk and drinking it can be associated with feeling of comfort.
Can it soothe sore throats and coughs, or help kids sleep?
Five studies in children have compared honey mixtures to over-the-counter cough medicines or no medication. Each study linked honey to better sleep and less severe coughs in children.
But before you rush out to stock up on honey, there are major limitations related to the honey used. The quantity and type of honey given varies across the studies, with no certainty about which components are present. So the results need to be interpreted with caution.
Chemical analysis of some honey varieties found traces of the “feel-good” brain chemical serotonin and the hormone melatonin, which affects sleep and circadian rhythm. But the researchers concluded the small amounts detected were more likely to affect activity of the bees, rather than affecting human behaviour.
What about for diabetes, heart disease and cancer care?
For diabetes, a 2023 review of 48 clinical trials found honey had some positive effects on a range of risk factors, including glucose tolerance and wound healing. However, the honey dose and type weren’t standardised, so the researchers concluded that honey could be used in addition to, but not instead of, regular medications.
For heart disease, a 2022 analysis combining findings from trials evaluated the impact of honey on blood fats. It found no effect on several risk factors for heart disease: total cholesterol, triglycerides (another type of blood fat), low-density lipoprotein (LDL or bad) cholesterol or high-density lipoprotein (HDL or good) cholesterol.
However a 2025 meta-analysis of propolis (bee glue) did find significant reductions in triglycerides, LDL (bad) cholesterol, fasting blood sugars, insulin and systolic blood pressure (the top number on a reading). But given most propolis supplement trials have only lasted a few months and supplements are expensive, that money is likely better spent on healthy foods.
For cancer patients, a 2023 review found honey alleviated ulceration and inflammation in the mouth following chemotherapy or radiotherapy, and it reduced some of the toxic effects of chemotherapy.
Can it affect your mind?
Some honeys have psychotropic, or mind-altering effects. “Mad honey” comes from plant nectar of Rhododendron species and naturally contains grayanotoxins, which have pharmacological and toxic effects.
These include nausea, dizziness, low blood pressure, severe bradycardia (an abnormally slow heart rate), neurological complications and even life-threatening cardiac arrhythmia (irregular heart beat).
It’s illegal to import or sell “mad honey” in Australia but Nepal and Turkey have historically used it for medicinal and psychoactive properties.
Who shouldn’t have honey?
Although commercial honey is pasteurised, the process does not kill spores of the bacteria Clostridium botulinum. This is why babies under one year and immunocompromised people shouldn’t have honey.
Clare Collins, Laureate Professor in Nutrition and Dietetics, University of Newcastle
This article is republished from The Conversation under a Creative Commons license. Read the original article.
Share This Post
-
Wheat Belly, Revised & Expanded Edition – by Dr. William Davis
10almonds is reader-supported. We may, at no cost to you, receive a portion of sales if you purchase a product through a link in this article.
This review pertains to the 2019 edition of the book, not the 2011 original, which will not have had all of the same research.
We are told, by scientific consensus, to enjoy plenty of whole grains as part of our diet. So, what does cardiologist Dr. William Davis have against wheat?
Firstly, not all grains are interchangeable, and wheat—in particular, modern strains of wheat—cannot be described as the same as the wheat of times past.
While this book does touch on the gluten aspect (and Celiac disease), and notes that modern wheat has a much higher gluten content than older strains, most of this book is about other harms that wheat can do to us.
Dr. Davis explores and explains the metabolic implications of wheat’s unique properties on organs such as our pancreas, liver, heart, and brain.
The book does also have recipes and meal plans, though in this reviewer’s opinion they were a little superfluous. Wheat is not hard to cut out unless you are living in a food desert or are experiencing food poverty, in which case, those recipes and meal plans would also not help.
Bottom line: this book, filled with plenty of actual science, makes a strong case against wheat, and again, mostly for reasons other than its gluten content. You might want to cut yours down!
Click here to check out Wheat Belly, and see if skipping the wheat could be good for you!
Share This Post
Related Posts
-
How often should you really weigh yourself?
10almonds is reader-supported. We may, at no cost to you, receive a portion of sales if you purchase a product through a link in this article.
Few topics are more debated in health than the value of the humble bathroom scale. Some experts advocate daily self-weigh-ins to promote accountability for weight management, particularly when we’re following a diet and exercise program to lose weight.
Others suggest ditching self-weigh-ins altogether, arguing they can trigger negative psychological responses and unhealthy behaviours when we don’t like, or understand, the number we see on the scale.
Many, like me, recommend using scales to weigh yourself weekly, even when we’re not trying to lose weight. Here’s why.
Diva Plavalaguna/Pexels 1. Weighing weekly helps you manage your weight
Research confirms regular self-weighing is an effective weight loss and management strategy, primarily because it helps increase awareness of our current weight and any changes.
A systematic review of 12 studies found participants who weighed themselves weekly or daily over several months lost 1–3 BMI (body mass index) units more and regained less weight than participants who didn’t weight themselves frequently. The weight-loss benefit was evident with weekly weighing; there was no added benefit with daily weighing.
Weighing regularly means we know when our weight changes. Andres Ayrton/Pexels Self-weigh-ins are an essential tool for weight management as we age. Adults tend to gain weight progressively through middle age. While the average weight gain is typically between 0.5–1kg per year, this modest accumulation of weight can lead to obesity over time. Weekly weighing and keeping track of the results helps avoid unnecessary weight gain.
Tracking our weight can also help identify medical issues early. Dramatic changes in weight can be an early sign of some conditions, including problems with our thyroid, digestion and diabetes.
2. Weekly weighing accounts for normal fluctuations
Our body weight can fluctuate within a single day and across the days of the week. Studies show body weight fluctuates by 0.35% within the week and it’s typically higher after the weekend.
Daily and day-to-day body weight fluctuations have several causes, many linked to our body’s water content. The more common causes include:
The type of food we’ve consumed
When we’ve eaten a dinner higher in carbohydrates, we’ll weigh more the next day. This change is a result of our bodies temporarily carrying more water. We retain 3–4 grams of water per gram of carbohydrate consumed to store the energy we take from carbs.
Our water content also increases when we consume foods higher in salt. Our bodies try to maintain a balance of sodium and water. When the concentration of salt in our bloodstream increases, a mechanism is triggered to restore balance by retaining water to dilute the excess salt.
The morning after a big pasta dinner, we’ll carry more water weight. Dana Tentis/Pexels Our food intake
Whether it’s 30 grams of nuts or 65 grams of lean meat, everything we eat and drink has weight, which increases our body weight temporarily while we digest and metabolise what we’ve consumed.
Our weight also tends to be lower first thing in the morning after our food intake has been restricted overnight and higher in the evening after our daily intake of food and drinks.
Exercise
If we weigh ourselves at the gym after a workout, there’s a good chance we’ll weigh less due to sweat-induced fluid loss. The amount of water lost varies depending on things like our workout intensity and duration, the temperature and humidity, along with our sweat rate and hydration level. On average, we lose 1 litre of sweat during an hour of moderate-intensity exercise.
Hormonal changes
Fluctuations in hormones within your menstrual cycle can also affect fluid balance. Women may experience fluid retention and temporarily gain 0.5–2kg of weight at this time. Specifically, the luteal phase, which represents the second half of a woman’s cycle, results in a shift of fluid from your blood plasma to your cells, and bloating.
Most of our weight fluctuations are water-related. Engin Akyurt/Unsplash Bowel movements
Going to the bathroom can lead to small but immediate weight loss as waste is eliminated from the body. While the amount lost will vary, we generally eliminate around 100 grams of weight through our daily bowel movements.
All of these fluctuations are normal, and they’re not indicative of significant changes in our body fat or muscle mass. However, seeing these fluctuations can lead to unnecessary stress and a fixation with our weight.
3. Weekly weighing avoids scale obsession and weight-loss sabotage
Weighing too frequently can create an obsession with the number on the scales and do more harm than good.
Often, our reaction when we see this number not moving in the direction we want or expect is to further restrict our food intake or embark on fad dieting. Along with not being enjoyable or sustainable, fad diets also ultimately increase our weight gain rather than reversing it.
This was confirmed in a long-term study comparing intentional weight loss among more than 4,000 twins. The researchers found the likelihood of becoming overweight by the age of 25 was significantly greater for a twin who dieted to lose 5kg or more. This suggests frequent dieting makes us more susceptible to weight gain and prone to future weight gain.
So what should you do?
Weighing ourselves weekly gives a more accurate measure of our weight trends over time.
Aim to weigh yourself on the same day, at the same time and in the same environment each week – for example, first thing every Friday morning when you’re getting ready to take a shower, after you’ve gone to the bathroom, but before you’ve drunk or eaten anything.
Weigh yourself at the same time on the same day of the week. Alexanderstock23/Shutterstock Use the best quality scales you can afford. Change the batteries regularly and check their accuracy by using a “known” weight – for example, a 10kg weight plate. Place the “known” weight on the scale and check the measurement aligns with the “known” weight.
Remember, the number on the scale is just one part of health and weight management. Focusing solely on it can overshadow other indicators, such as how your clothes fit. It’s also essential to pay equal attention to how we’re feeling, physically and emotionally.
Stop weighing yourself – at any time interval – if it’s triggering anxiety or stress, and get in touch with a health-care professional to discuss this.
At the Boden Group, Charles Perkins Centre, we are studying the science of obesity and running clinical trials for weight loss. You can register here to express your interest.
Nick Fuller, Charles Perkins Centre Research Program Leader, University of Sydney
This article is republished from The Conversation under a Creative Commons license. Read the original article.
Don’t Forget…
Did you arrive here from our newsletter? Don’t forget to return to the email to continue learning!
Learn to Age Gracefully
Join the 98k+ American women taking control of their health & aging with our 100% free (and fun!) daily emails:
-
The Hormone Therapy That Reduces Breast Cancer Risk & More
10almonds is reader-supported. We may, at no cost to you, receive a portion of sales if you purchase a product through a link in this article.
The Hormone Balancing Act
We’ve written before about menopausal HRT:
What You Should Have Been Told About Menopause Beforehand
…and even specifically about the considerations when it comes to breast cancer risk:
Menopausal Hormone Replacement Therapy
this really does bear reading, by the way—scroll down to the bit about breast cancer risk, because it’s not a simple increased/decreased risk; it can go either way, and which way it goes will depend on various factors including your medical history and what HRT, if any, you are taking.
Hormone Modulating Therapy
Hormone modulating therapy, henceforth HMT, is something a little different.
Instead of replacing hormones, as hormone replacement therapy does, guess what hormone modulating therapy does instead? That’s right…
MHT can modulate hormones by various means, but the one we’re going to talk about today does it by blocking estrogen receptors,
Isn’t that the opposite of what we want?
You would think so, but since for many people with an increased breast cancer risk, the presence of estrogen increases that risk, which leaves menopausal (peri- or post) people in an unfortunate situation, having to choose between increased breast cancer risk (with estrogen), or osteoporosis and increased dementia risk, amongst other problems (without).
However, the key here (in fact, that’s a very good analogy) is in how the blocker works. Hormones and their receptors are like keys and locks, meaning that the wrong-shaped hormone won’t accidentally trigger it. And when the right-shaped hormone comes along, it gets activated and the message (in this case, “do estrogenic stuff here!” gets conveyed). A blocker is sufficiently similar to fit into the receptor, without being so similar as to otherwise act as the hormone.
In this case, it has been found that HMT blocking estrogen receptors was sufficient to alleviate the breast cancer risk, while also being associated with a 7% lower risk of developing Alzheimer’s disease or related dementias, with that risk reduction being even greater for some demographics depending on race and age. Black women in the 65–74 age bracket enjoyed a 24% relative risk reduction, with white women of the same age getting an 11% relative risk reduction. Black women enjoyed the same benefits after that age, whereas white women starting it at that age did not get the same benefits. The conclusion drawn from this is that it’s good to start this at 65 if relevant and practicable, especially if white, because the protective effect is strongest when gained aged 65–69.
Here’s a pop-science article that goes into the details more deeply than we have room for here:
Hormone therapy for breast cancer linked with lower dementia risk
And here’s the paper itself; we highly recommend reading at least the abstract, because it goes into the numbers in much more detail than we reasonably can here. It’s a huge cohort study of 18,808 women aged 65 years or older, so this is highly relevant data:
Want to learn more?
If you’d like a much deeper understanding of breast cancer risk management, including in the context of hormone therapy, you might like this excellent book that we reviewed recently:
The Smart Woman’s Guide to Breast Cancer – by Dr. Jenn Simmons
Take care!
Don’t Forget…
Did you arrive here from our newsletter? Don’t forget to return to the email to continue learning!
Learn to Age Gracefully
Join the 98k+ American women taking control of their health & aging with our 100% free (and fun!) daily emails:
-
7 Important Protein Hacks To Know
10almonds is reader-supported. We may, at no cost to you, receive a portion of sales if you purchase a product through a link in this article.
A lot of people can struggle to get the amount of protein they want, especially if they’re not going for protein shakes and the like.
However, it can be done quite easily, if you know how:
“Little by little” adds up!
Cori Lefkowitz’s tips:
- Add an ounce: start by adding just one extra ounce of protein to your current meals to gradually increase intake without needing to make big changes.
- Proteinify your carbs: swap regular carb sources like regular pasta, rice, or bread with higher-protein alternatives such as lentil pasta, quinoa, or Ezekiel (sprouted grain) bread.
- Garnish with protein sprinkles: add small protein-rich toppings like nutritional yeast, parmesan (unless vegetarian/vegan), chia seeds, or hemp seeds to meals for extra grams and more nutrients, as well as simply a more fun dish.
- Don’t write off dairy: unless you want to skip the dairy for other reasons, of course, but: you can use high-protein dairy products like Greek yogurt or cottage cheese (including lactose-free options).
- Diversify in-meal: include two different main protein sources in each meal (she gives the examples of shrimp and eggs, or cottage cheese and chicken) to avoid monotony and increase protein without getting sick of eating the same thing.
- Diversify in life: the more sources of protein you have in your diet, the better your general amino acid coverage will be, and the more likely you are to have your diet balanced in other ways too.
- Get your protein early: front-load your protein by getting 30–40g at breakfast to reduce pressure later in the day and allow more flexibility later.
For more on all of this, enjoy:
Click Here If The Embedded Video Doesn’t Load Automatically!
Want to learn more?
You might also like:
Protein: How Much Do We Need, Really?
Take care!
Don’t Forget…
Did you arrive here from our newsletter? Don’t forget to return to the email to continue learning!
Learn to Age Gracefully
Join the 98k+ American women taking control of their health & aging with our 100% free (and fun!) daily emails:
