This is why having pineapple on your pizza may have hidden health benefits

Having pineapple on your pizza for the first time is like pushing a big, red button that says “Do Not Press”. It’ll either a be a pleasant, dangerous surprise, or your entire order will blow up in your face. As if all the warnings from pineapple pie haters weren’t enough to put you off, logic should tell you that mixing fruit and pizza might be the ultimate love-it-or-hate it eating experience. When you’re already splashing out on something that’s supposed to be delicious and indulgent, many consider it as a risk not worth taking.

As it turns out, there is a good reason to order pineapple with your pizza, other than getting your pulse racing. According to several leading scientists and health experts, regularly eating the fruit can be an incredibly effective way to reduce painful stomach bloating and improve your digestion.

Though there are several common causes of bloating, one of the most frequent is eating food which our body struggles to digest. Typically, this includes salty and stodgy junk food, which is usually carb heavy and full of saturated fat. Unfortunately for takeaway-loving tummies everywhere, pizza almost always ticks both of these boxes.

This is where pineapple proves its worth. Not only is the fruit high in fibre – which is a known aid to digestion – but it is also rich in vitamin C, vitamin B1 and manganese. Coupled with a range of helpful enzymes and antioxidants, every pineapple is a ready made digestion-aiding hand grenade. Even if you don’t want it covering your pizza, the facts make it tricky to ignore as a potential topping.

Of all the chemicals found in pineapple, the enzyme bromelain is perhaps the most beneficial for anyone who suffers from digestive issues. Known for reducing swelling, bromelain is used in the medical community as a treatment for painful conditions such as osteoarthritis and muscle soreness after exercise. That it can also be included as a pizza topping should be great news for anyone who feels the worse for wear after a Domino’s.

Of course, on paper at least, pineapples aren’t the only pizza toppings that can have surprisingly positive impact. Ingredients such as spinach, sweetcorn and broccoli are all loaded with vitamins and minerals, as well as an all important dose of fibre for helping digestion. Even ingredients like mushrooms and garlic can help to lower cholesterol and provide a B vitamin boost. As long as you’re not covering everything in a cloak of meat and cheese, pizza doesn’t have to be a dietary disaster.

For those of us who have never been fans of pineapples on our pies, this news might not be what we wanted to hear. After all, plenty of people would like nothing more than to ban fruit from pizzerias forever more. But, sometimes you’ve got to be big enough to hold your hands up and admit when you were wrong. As painful as it might be to admit, it looks like pineapple pizza might be more worthwhile than we all thought.