PINEAPPLE

The Pineapple is the fruit of a perennial shrub originating from South America, with grey-green, sword shaped leaves. It was called “Anana” by the natives who cultivated it, “Indian Pine” by the Spanish explorers and “Royal Pine” by the Europeans who could afford this exotic fruit. It is thought that the Pineapple originated in southern Brazil and Paraguay, but when Christopher Columbus came ashore in Guadalupe in 1493, during his second voyage, it was also present in the American tropics, probably spread by the natives. For centuries the Pineapple has been a symbol of hospitality: at the time of the first colonial expeditions of the Americas, the natives welcomed visitors by hanging the fruit at the entrance of their lodgings. The fruit revitalises the body naturally with vitamins C, B1, B2, B3 and Nicotinic Acid, as well as Iron, Potassium and Magnesium. It aids digestion and helps arthritis and throat infections. Bromelain in the pulp also has a slimming effect.