Can pineapple lower blood pressure?

The fruit of the pineapple plant is a popular low-calorie source of vitamins to liven up our meals. Although it is now mostly available year-round, fresh pineapple is mainly in season from spring to summer.

It's often listed as a blood-pressure-lowering fruit. But is that really the case? We took a closer look.

Pineapple is often credited with lowering blood pressure because of its bromelain content, which is described as having an aspirin/ASA-like effect. Besides its pain-relieving effect, aspirin is also used at lower doses as a blood thinner.

This is supposed to prevent blood clots from forming in people who have already had a stroke or a heart attack, or who are at increased risk for these events, which can be caused by clots blocking a blood vessel.

But what does blood pressure have to do with this? In short: nothing. It is true that high blood pressure is a risk factor for the conditions mentioned above, but aspirin/ASA is not a blood-pressure-lowering medication. On the German Heart Foundation's website, high blood pressure is even listed as a contraindication for giving this medication.

A study that looked at pineapple's effects searched for a plant-based action comparable to that of ACE inhibitors. Specifically, researchers tested the ACE-inhibiting activity of pineapple extract on lung homogenate in the lab. A dose-dependent effect of the pineapple extract was found. However as already mentioned the study was limited to laboratory tests.

Another 2021 study examined whether fruit-infused water affects the blood pressure and blood sugar of MS patients. In addition to pineapple, apple, cucumber, and strawberry were added to the water. It was hypothesized that the antioxidants and potassium in the fruits might have an effect. Unfortunately, this small study (only 24 participants) provided no evidence of such an effect.

Even though no concrete blood-pressure-lowering effect of pineapple in humans has been proven so far, it remains a healthy and tasty fruit that can be a low-calorie addition to a healthy diet. Fresh pineapple should be preferred over the canned variety, since canned pineapple has a much lower vitamin content and often has sugar added.

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Can pineapple lower blood pressure?

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