Pineapple

food source · 1

• →Vitamin C

  Pineapple has about 47.8 mg of vitamin C per 100 g, in the same range as orange; a usual serving of 100–200 g supplies about 48–96 mg. Fresh-cut pineapple keeps more of it than canned.

  GUIDE · moderateGUIDE · high
  Mechanism · 2

  Mechanism · Fresh fruit keeps it

  Vitamin C dissolves in water and is damaged by heat. Fresh-cut pineapple keeps its share; canned pineapple is heated and packed in syrup, so it loses some vitamin C and gains sugar. The bromelain in pineapple can tenderize meat on the plate, but there is no reliable human evidence that eating it helps digestion, and that is a separate matter from its vitamin C.

  Numbers · A usual serving

  Pineapple has about 47.8 mg of vitamin C per 100 g and orange about 53 mg, so the two are in the same range. A usual serving of 100–200 g supplies about 48–96 mg, close to or at an adult's daily need of 75–90 mg. Dried pineapple concentrates the sugar 4–5 times and cannot be counted like fresh fruit.

  GUIDE · moderateGUIDE · high