December 2012 – Tropical Pleasures Coconut and Pineapples

By Tamara Jacobi ● December, 2012

San Pancho’s colorful fruit stand. Photo by Tamara Jacobi

Have you noticed San Pancho’s colorful new fruit stands? Located on the highway just north of the entrance to town, San Pancho now has it’s very own collection of authentic Mexican fruit stands: cold coconuts, dangling pineapples and oh yes, lots and lots of sweet treats! Unfortunately the brightly colored candies get a very low nutritional score (they can actually be very damaging to your health), however the coconuts and pineapples are tropical treasures that are definitely something to get excited about! Let’s take a quick look at the nutritional profile of these two amazing fruits.

Pineapples. Struggling with joint pain or recovering from an injury? Pineapples might be your new best friend! The core of a pineapple contains something called Bromelain (a proteolytic enzyme). Bromelain has been proven to naturally reduce inflammation throughout the body. Not only are pineapples a sweet treat that can help your injuries heal quickly, they’re also loaded with vitamins and minerals, including vitamin A, vitamin C, calcium, phosphorus, and potassium. This means that pineapples can be great for preventing illness, keeping your bones strong, supporting healthy digestion and more!

Fresh coconut. Photo by Tamara Jacobi

Coconuts. Fresh coconut water is not only incredibly refreshing; it’s also an excellent natural source of healthy electrolytes. Though there is currently a lot of hype around coconut water in the USA, coconut water really only offers quality electrolytes if it’s fresh out of the coconut. Lucky for us, we can watch as our local fruit stands use their machetes to chop off the top of a coconut, stick in a straw and voila! It doesn’t get much fresher than that!

You’ve probably noticed that living in San Pancho makes your sweat. This year the hot humid summer season seems to have lasted even longer than usual, which means you’re probably sweating even more! Sweating is a healthy part of living in the tropics. The only problem with consistent sweating (on hot days or from exercise) is that your body loses valuable electrolytes. Electrolytes are essential to helping your body maintain and regulate healthy fluid levels. In this climate it’s extremely important to consistently replace your electrolytes. An electrolyte imbalance can result in muscle cramps, fatigue, nausea, and mental confusion. Not fun and easily avoided by heading to your local San Pancho fruit stands.

So . . . you might want to add coconuts and pineapples to your shopping list this week! Not only will you be doing something great for your body, you’ll also be supporting the local community.

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