Pineapple, native to South America and grown in the tropics, provides both fresh fruit and juice for consumption. Pineapple juice, once a waste product of the pineapple canning process and sometimes used for cleaning machete blades, is now a popular beverage. It derives from crushing the skin, core and ends of pineapple after processing removes the edible fruit for other uses. Pineapple juice is rich in sugar and low in fat, and it contributes several vitamins and minerals to your diet.
Carbohydrate
A cup of unsweetened pineapple juice supplies 32 g of carbohydrate, almost all of it as the sugars sucrose, glucose and fructose. These sugars account for nearly all of the 132 calories in this volume of juice and provide your body with a ready source of energy. The tissues in your body use carbohydrates as a fuel source more easily than they do fats or proteins; and, in fact, certain organs – such as your kidneys and brain – require carbohydrates for optimal function. Your muscles also benefit from the sugars in pineapple juice by converting them to glycogen, a type of storage starch they use to power your exercise activities.
Vitamins
The vitamin C content of pineapple juice depends on the specific variety of pineapple and on whether the juice is fortified with ascorbic acid, another name for vitamin C. One cup of unfortified juice commonly contains 25 mg of this vitamin, according to the U.S. Department of Agriculture National Nutrient Database, supplying roughly 30 percent of your daily requirement. Your body uses vitamin C as an antioxidant to guard your cells against environmental damage and as an aid in healing injuries. A cup of pineapple juice also adds 20 percent of vitamin B-6, 12 percent of thiamine and less than 5 percent of niacin, riboflavin and pantothenic acid. These B vitamins help you metabolize food for the energy it contains.
Minerals
Pineapple juice contributes low levels of minerals to your diet. An 8-oz. serving supplies you with just over 6 percent of your recommended daily intake for potassium, essential for regulating blood pressure, maintaining fluid balance and contracting muscles. Additionally, this volume of juice provides almost 0.8 mg of iron, corresponding to nearly 10 percent of your daily need if you are a man and more than 4 percent if you are a woman. Iron is a vital component of hemoglobin, a molecule in your blood that carries oxygen throughout your body.
Protein and Fat
Pineapple juice is a poor source of dietary protein and fat, with 1 cup offering less than 1 g of each of these macronutrients. Critical for optimal health, high-quality protein and healthy fats must come from foods other than pineapple juice. However, the low fat content of this juice can help you reduce your intake of unhealthy fats when you include it as part of a well-balanced nutrition plan.
References
- Purdue University; Pineapple; August 2011
- U.S. Department of Agriculture: National Nutrient Database for Standard Reference
- University of Illinois McKinley Health Center; Macronutrients: the Importance of Carbohydrate, Protein, and Fat; March 2008
- University of Illinois McKinley Health Center; Vitamins and Minerals; March 2008
- Massachusetts Institute of Technology; Best Foods for Specific Vitamins; November 2006
Member Comments