Protein Crepes

By Anna Sward

Anna, I know how to make protein pancakes, but how do you make protein crepes?

Protein crepes are incredibly easy and, arguably, one of the most fun ways to eat your whey protein powder. Why? Because you can fill them with all sorts of stuff! You can fill them withpeanut butter and jelly, almond butter and bananas, or with dark chocolate and berries! You can even fill them with protein fluff or casein pudding for an out-of-this-world ultra-high-protein experience!

Crepes-Making Secrets ///

Crepes aren't difficult to make, but they can be a little frustrating if you don't know exactly what you're doing. These three tips will help make your crepes-cooking experience a successful one!

1. You'll need a good non-stick pan. If you have an actual crepe pan, that's great. If you don't though, no worries—as long as you have a good-quality nonstick pan, you're set.
2. Make sure your pan is sizzling hot before you pour the batter onto it. Once the batter is in the pan, though, turn down the heat to medium-high.
3. Coat your pan with coconut oil, butter, or a low-calorie non-stick spray before you pour the batter in it. If your pan isn't properly greased, your thin crepes may stick or burn.
4. The crepe-making process is a quick one. If you're making several at the same time, think of yourself as a machine: pour, flip, and plate.

Are you ready to give it a go? Here's the recipe:

Vanilla Whey Protein Crepes ///

Ingredients

• 1 cup Liquid Egg Whites
• 1/2 cup Low-fat Cottage Cheese (or use a Banana)
• 1/2 cup Vanilla Whey Protein Powder
• 1/2 cup Rolled Oats (for a gluten-free option, use Buckwheat Flour)

Directions

1. Using a hand-held blender, mixer or a food processor, blend all ingredients. If you want, add spices like cinnamon, orange or lemon zest, or nutmeg to batter.
2. Once your batter is smooth, heat a pan greased with a teaspoon of butter, coconut oil, or cooking spray. Allow the pan to get super hot.
3. Once pan is hot, pour in 1/4 cup of batter. (The batter should sizzle when you pour it into the pan.) As soon as the batter hits the pan, turn down the burner to medium-high so it cooks evenly and doesn't burn.
4. Cover the surface of the pan with the batter in a thin layer. Spread the batter by moving the pan or by spreading it with a spoon or spatula.
5. Flip each crepe as soon as bubbles begin to form on its surface. Then, allow the other side to cook—it should only take a few seconds—until it gets golden brown.
6. When the crepe is done, remove it from pan and put it on a plate. You may have to re-grease the pan every three or four crepes.
7. Once all your crepes are prepared, fill them! For this column, I filled them with peanut butter and sprinkled them with medium-chain triglyceride powder. But the sky is the limit. You can fill them with protein fluff, protein pudding, nuts, fresh fruit, or melted dark chocolate. You can even go down a savory route and fill them with red pepper, chicken, and avocado!

Nutrition Facts
Serving Size Per crepe, recipe makes 6

Amount per serving

Calories 107

Total Fat1.68g

Total Carbs7.2g

Protein15.3g

 Vanilla Whey Protein Crepes PDF (173 KB)

Notes: 
To make your crepes "stretchier," use more liquid egg whites and a tablespoon or two of milk. If you like them fluffier and more like a pancake, use more oats.

You can use casein or veggie protein powders instead of whey. But if you do, add more egg whites and a bit of milk to your batter until it achieves the right consistency. It should be runny, not thick, and easy to spread onto the surface of your pan.

How many meals per day?

By Mike Roussell Ph.D.

"Eat 4-6 meals per day to rev your metabolism and burn more calories."

How many times have you heard that? Plenty, I imagine. In bodybuilding circles, this often gets expanded to 6-8 meals. I even saw a Mr. Olympia diet article where the reigning champ was eating 10 meals per day.

I get the logic. More is better. Keep fueling the metabolic furnace. But do we? When a dietary system like this places such strict demands on our lifestyles, we need to re-examine our habits and the science that drives them.

I found that fitness and bodybuilding people could benefit from eating less often, and people just starting out on their weight-loss or bodybuilding journey benefit from eating more often. But no matter which camp you're in, I recommend building an eating plan based around your caloric needs, rather than arbitrarily using a number you hear mentioned by someone else.

How should you begin to do that? Let's break it down.

Why Six Times Per Day?

I'll be blunt: There's not really any good data supporting hyper-metabolic effects of multiple meals.

One study published in International Journal of Obesity found that consistently eating more frequently—six times per day, to be specific—led to a greater "thermic effect" from food than eating sporadically. The thermic effect of food is basically the amount of energy it takes for your body to break down, digest, and process, the energy (food) you ingest.

In this study, frequent meals were linked to a statistically significant increase in the thermic effect of food, e.g. calorie-burning, but it wasn't enough to draw significant conclusions in the realms of physique or body composition. Additionally, there wasn't anything in the study to indicate that eating three, four, or five meals were worse than six—only that it was better than "sporadic" eating.

That is pretty much all the data you'll find on meal frequency and boosting metabolism. For this reason, I make meal frequency recommendations for my clients based on two major factors: protein synthesis and satiety.

Meals Gained ≠ Muscle Gains

OK, so the science isn't there, but everyone else seems like they're doing it, so it can't cause any harm, right? If your goal is maximum protein synthesis, I think there is a definite downside to eating often.

The first problem I see people run into when they eat frequently is that their blood amino acid levels are constantly elevated. In order to optimize protein synthesis you need to give your body a solid serving of protein which boosts protein synthesis and subsequently causes your blood amino acid (specifically leucine) levels to drop. To maximize synthesis, you should then hit your body with more protein while the levels are lower.

If you eat non-stop—every hour or two—then you aren't going to experience the fluctuation in blood amino acid levels you need to optimize muscle growth. You need to space your meals out sufficiently in order to get the maximum amount of protein synthesis out of the food you eat.

Another issue that you run into is meal size. On one hand, it's true that protein content plays a big role in satiety. Protein's presence in the digestive track triggers the release of the hormone cholecystokinin (CCK), which signals to your brain that you've eaten and should be satisfied. However, meal size has been shown to be more important than protein content when it comes to satiety. If you eat too often, your meals will be so small that despite being protein-rich, they won't satisfy you.

So you're hungry—so what? Seriously, that is no way to live! If you're going to go to all the trouble to eat all those meals, you should at least feel full. If you don't, well, good luck sticking with your plan through the endless hours of prep and planning.

How Frequent Is Frequent Enough?

Some simple math can help us here. When looking to optimize anabolism and satiety, the number meals you eat throughout the day should be a divisor of the total amount of calories you eat.

If you eat 3,000 calories per day, then breaking that into five 600 calorie meals would probably give you sufficient food to feel satisfied, while not demanding so much that you need to turn to lower quality foods in order to hit your per-meal calorie targets. On the other hand, if you eat only 2,000 calories per day, eating five 400-calories meals is not a satiating option, but eating four 500-calorie meals would be more filling.

Each of these meals should contain a minimum of 30 grams of protein (the amount which research has shown is necessary to maximally stimulate protein synthesis). This pulse of protein can also be effectively spaced out and repeated throughout the day for the biggest increases in protein synthesis. If your calories are so low that you can't get 30 grams of protein at each meal, sprinkle on a little leucine or have a BCAA drink with your meal to cover your bases in the protein synthesis department.

Remember when planning these meals that size is directly connected to satiety, so don't make them too small to be filling. Not a big-time planner? You can still do this. Just eat a solid, protein-rich meal every 3-4 hours, and you'll be more or less on track.

BlackBerry Z10 Review

By Engadget

One cannot overstate the importance of this phone. This, the BlackBerry Z10, is the device upon which the fate of BlackBerry (formerly Research in Motion) hangs. That's not to say that the company will disappear if the Z10 -- and the BlackBerry 10 OS that it contains -- is not a mass-market success. But if this phone does not do its job of extending the reach of the 'Berry OS beyond those die-hard loyalists who have clung on to their Bolds and Torches and Storms, it's safe to say that BlackBerry is in for some very hard times.

The company hasn't exactly bet the proverbial farm on this BB10 release, but with massive financial losses tempered only by job cuts, plus an absolutely tectonic shift among the executive leadership and corporate culture architected by CEO and President Thorsten Heins, the phrase "make or break" feels pretty apt. So, then, is this the phone that's good enough to woo buyers away from the Galaxy S III or the iPhone 5 or any of the other delicious devices on the other platforms? The short answer is that no, as of now it isn't quite -- but of course it's a lot more complicated than that. Join us as we explore.

BlackBerry Z10 review

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HARDWARE

As the PlayBook was an understated, professional-looking device, so too is the Z10 stylistically muted.

As the PlayBook was an understated, professional-looking device, so too is the Z10 stylistically muted. Its dark, monochrome exterior is broken up only by a mirrored BlackBerry logo beneath the display, the chromed BlackBerry emblem on the back and a few matte-aluminum buttons around the rim. (Our review device, which included an AT&T SIM, is carrier branding-free, but we're told that will not be the case on retail phones shipping to the US.) These details fade into an overall appearance devoid of chromatic highlights. It's an appearance that from the front, it must be said, looks an awful lot like the iPhone 5.

That's not to say there was any creative inspiration going on here -- surely the Z10 was on the drawing board long before the iPhone 5 was revealed -- but the visual similarities can't be ignored. Still, where Apple's device presents an all-glass front, creating a clean, monolithic appearance, the front of the Z10 is broken up by horizontal bands that span the top and bottom.

These painted pieces extend across and meet the sides to form the rim of the chassis, components that give this phone a feeling of rigidity, much like the PlayBook before it. But, unlike that tablet, here the soft-touch exterior doesn't carry around the back of the device. The Z10 features a removable backplate, made of plastic and given a thick, rubberized, dimpled coating. It does make for a device that's easy to hold in one hand securely, with no worries about it slipping and falling, but it lacks the premium look and feel of the tapered carbon-fiber back on the 9900, and even the faux leather on the 9700. This is not a phone that says "prestige" in any way.

You might be inclined to think this is a much bigger device than the 9900, and indeed with a 4.2-inch, 1,280 x 768 display it's certainly far from petite. But, at 66mm (2.6 inches) wide, it's actually a fraction of a millimeter narrower than the most recent Bold. It's only slightly taller, too, at 130mm (5.13 inches) vs. 115mm (4.5 inches) but, thankfully, it's far thinner: 9.3mm (0.37 inch) vs. the 11mm (0.43 inch) of its QWERTY-bearing predecessor.

Inset above the pane of (non-Gorilla) glass is a wide, gunmetal speaker grille that covers the earpiece. Just below that, protected beneath the glass, are the front-facing, 2-megapixel camera and a notification LED. That sensor can record 720p video, but if you want full-quality 1080p stuff you'll need to rely on the 8-megapixel rear-facing unit, situated in the top-left corner of the back and paired with a small LED flash.

Discrete buttons allow you to raise or lower volume, while a third button in the middle acts as a play / pause button and also toggles BlackBerry's new Siri-like Voice Control.

Buttons are few, the one of primary import being the sleep / wake toggle, found in the traditional BlackBerry position of top-center. On the right is another BlackBerry tradition: the three-way volume rocker. Discrete buttons allow you to raise or lower volume, while a third button in the middle acts as a play / pause button and also toggles BlackBerry's new Siri-like Voice Control. And... that's it. The Menu button is gone and there's no physical camera button this time around, either, but the volume buttons can be used as such if you don't feel like tapping on the screen.

The two primary ports for the device are situated on the left side. Here you'll find micro-USB and micro-HDMI connections nestled in close proximity toward the center. Up top is the only other easily accessible connector: the 3.5mm headphone jack. Pry off the backplate (which bends and flexes like the cases on Samsung's latest smartphones, but comes off far more easily) and you'll find a microSD slot. Unfortunately the phone doesn't support cards larger than 32GB, but the cards are at least hot-swappable, and that helps to bolster the 16GB of internal storage. The micro-SIM card is found under here, too, but its position next to the 1,800mAh battery pack necessarily means you won't be swapping that out without shutting things down.

The NFC antenna is built into the backplate, while the rest of the communications are better integrated into the chassis itself. BlackBerry will offer four separate SKUs of the Z10, effectively boiling down to one for each of the US LTE carriers (AT&T, Verizon and Sprint) plus an HSPA+ model. The version we tested offered quadband LTE at 2, 4, 5, 17 (700/850/1700/1900MHz) plus pentaband HSPA+ I, II, IV, V, VI (800/850/1700/1900/2100MHz) and quadband EDGE. A second LTE / CDMA model, presumably intended for Verizon, offers LTE band 13 (700MHz), dual-band CDMA (800/1900MHz), dual-band HSPA+ I, VIII (900/2100MHz) and quadband EDGE. A third LTE model offers quad-band LTE at 3, 7, 8, 20 (800/9001800/2600MHz), quadband HSPA+ at I, V, VI, VIII (800/850/900/2100MHz) and quadband EDGE. Finally, there's the pentaband HSPA+ model at I, II, V, VI, VIII (800/850/900/1900/2100MHz) with quadband EDGE. Those are all paired with 802.11a/b/g/n and Bluetooth 4.0, while the phone also offers an accelerometer, gyro, magnetometer and, of course, GPS.

Call quality was about average -- recipients had no problem understanding us -- but we were told we definitely sounded like we were calling on a cellphone. Transmitted volume was also a bit low, meaning we had to speak up to get the same level of output as compared to a few other handsets we tried.

Volume levels also troubled us on the receiving side. The speakerphone built into the device has a disappointingly slight maximum output. BlackBerry handsets quite often get used for impromptu conference calls, plunked face-down in the middle of a conference room table, but with the Z10 you'll want to make sure you go to a quiet place before attempting this. Similarly, we often had a hard time hearing the voice in the navigation app, even with the volume all the way up.

DISPLAY

Again, it's a 4.2-inch display on offer here, a huge amount of space compared to the relatively cramped 9900. That, of course, comes thanks to the deletion of the QWERTY keyboard, trackpad and physical buttons. Other than the token volume controls on the right side, this is a full-touch device, and here the glass surface is recessed beneath a slightly protruding frame. This is in contrast to many other recent smartphones, like the Galaxy S III or Lumia 920, which project the glass upward somewhat to give your thumbs a smooth transition off the edge to nothingness, a tactile experience we've come to prefer. We're told this is to protect the display and, since it isn't Gorilla Glass, perhaps it needs it.

That LCD here offers a healthy resolution of 1,280 x 768, just slightly beating 720p and offering a fine pixel density of 356 ppi. This means text is rendered incredibly clearly, making web surfing a pleasure and photo viewing quite comfortable as well. The panel is very capable in other regards, too. It's officially rated at 800 nits, which is quite high for a mobile panel, making it easily visible outdoors in direct sunlight. Contrast and color saturation are also quite good and viewing angles excel when you're looking at the phone on either the left or right sides. That said, tilting the phone up or down introduces a slight yellowish hue to everything. It's hardly distracting, but it is noticeable.

CAMERA

On the back of the BlackBerry Z10 is an 8-megapixel camera, capable of taking 1080p stabilized video. We put it through its paces in a variety of situations and found it to be a decent shooter, but not a world-class one.

We struggled a bit with the interface. The camera is reasonably quick to focus and even quicker to capture images, not matching the rapid-fire shooting of the iPhone 5, but letting you capture roughly one shot per second. (If you need more, switch over to Burst mode, which takes two to three photos per second for as long as you hold your finger down.) As mentioned above, you can use the volume buttons if you're really craving something physical to press, but we found it more comfortable to just tap on the screen -- though that didn't react as we'd expect.

We've become used to tapping on the portion of the image we'd like to be in focus, something that doesn't work in BlackBerry 10.

We've become used to tapping on the portion of the image we'd like to be in focus, something that doesn't work in BlackBerry 10. You have to actually tap and drag the focusing reticle to where you want it before tapping again to take the shot, a process that can take just long enough for you to miss what you're trying to capture. And, should you need a second shot, you'll need to drag that reticle around once more.

Helping to ensure you won't need a second shot -- at least when trying to take pictures of smiling faces -- is the Time Shift feature. It's very similar to the Smart Group Shot feature Nokia threw in its Lumia line courtesy of Scalado, capturing a blast of photos then letting you selectively cycle through individual faces so that everyone is looking their best -- or their worst, if you're a terrible friend. When it works, it works amazingly well, but unfortunately it wasn't always successful in our testing. We often had to take three or four shots before it would detect everyone's faces. In particular it had a hard time picking up mugs of the hirsute variety, which posed a bit of a problem for this particular reviewer.

Standard stills taken when plenty of lighting is available are bright and clear, showing great contrast and color. However, focus was quite often off, resulting in a number of very soft photos. Manually dragging the reticle where we wanted it and waiting for the camera to refocus usually worked, but in times when we simply wanted the camera to focus on what's in the center of frame, it didn't always do that -- at least, not quickly enough to capture a good photo.

BlackBerry Z10 sample shots

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Lower-light stuff was, predictably, more of a mixed bag. The Z10 does a good job of automatically dialing up the ISO dramatically enough to ensure that you can see something, but photos even in reasonably lit rooms frequently came out murky and noisy. They were, at least, sharp, the camera still keeping a short enough exposure to prevent motion blur. The flash, positioned immediately below the lens, does result in a slight shadow cast above whatever object you're capturing when you get in close, but it's bright and generally does a good job of illuminating close-up shots. Its range is short, but it's more effective than the token LED flashes we see on many other cameras.

Since this is a camera that we think will be used by many traveling professionals, we decided to see how it handles capturing images of receipts.

And, since this is a camera that we think will be used by many traveling professionals, we decided to see how it handles capturing images of receipts -- a common task for those filing business expenses on the road. On a well-lit desk, the camera focused on the slip from a distance of about six inches quickly and took a perfectly clear shot. Recreating that in a poorer lighting condition (something akin to a hotel room late at night) resulted in a far murkier, but still legible scan. Finally, we flipped on the flash, which sadly blasted the text into oblivion. So, stay away from the flash and this will do a reasonable job of keeping your accountant happy.

SOFTWARE

We'll defer to our formal BlackBerry 10 review here, because there's a mighty great amount of stuff to talk about and the Z10 review is long enough as it is. But, as a quick summary: the BB10 OS is a huge step forward over BB7, feeling like a modern OS in most respects. It's heavily gesture-based, with a swipe up from the bottom bezel bringing you to the main interface, where you can select between up to eight concurrently running apps for multi-tasking. All installed apps are listed in a grid, not unlike iOS, which you can drag and drop to re-arrange or create folders.

The most important gesture, however, is swiping up and to the right. This exposes the BlackBerry Hub, which aggregates all your forms of connectivity into a single, overpowering list. Through here you can keep up on everything that's going on -- or at least try to.

There are a number of apps installed by default. Some are good, like funky calculator and compass apps courtesy of The Astonishing Tribe, and some are bad, like the overly simplistic Maps app. The most important apps, however, are those that come from third parties, and BlackBerry has done a fair job of lining many of them up. Dropbox and Angry Birds make appearances, but as we write this review, the BlackBerry World store is overflowing with junk apps, many of which are being sold at premium prices.

Are there junk apps on other platforms? Undoubtedly, but here they not only seem to vastly outnumber the good apps, they're actually floating up to the top of the recommended and most popular apps lists. Quantity is beating quality over the head, and we're left doubting the quality of the curating process itself. That major entertainment apps like Netflix, Hulu, Pandora and Spotify will be missing at launch is disappointing.

PERFORMANCE AND BATTERY LIFE

The Z10 offers a 1.5GHz Qualcomm MSM8960 dual-core CPU paired with 2GB of RAM. We're starting with a new OS here, so most hardware-taxing benchmarks haven't been ported over just yet. In other words: we're left relying on a combination of web-based browser benchmarks (namely: SunSpider) and general impressions. And, when it comes to those overall impressions, they're generally good.

The whole OS is all about keeping you moving (or Keeping You Moving, if you care to use the trademarked version), and so it needs to be very quick to respond. That it is. Most apps launch promptly and, once launched, are snappy and responsive. Web pages load in short order and pinch-zooming and other common navigation tasks won't keep you waiting.

Still, overall web performance isn't up to snuff with other modern smartphones according to the SunSpider JavaScript benchmark. On average, the test completed in 1,775ms. That's nearly twice the time it took the iPhone 5 to complete (924ms) and more than twice as slow as the $100 Samsung ATIV S we recently reviewed.

The Z10 takes more than a minute to boot up after the battery is removed and it sometimes took up to 30 seconds just to shut itself down.

Battery life is merely average. On our standard video rundown test, where we set the display to a fixed brightness and loop a video endlessly, the Z10 managed eight hours and 11 minutes. That's an hour less than the Verizon LTE-flavored version of the Galaxy S III and three full hours short of the record put up by the iPhone 5. But, of course, unlike the iPhone, the 1,800mAh battery pack here is user replaceable -- and it's small enough you might reasonably consider taking a second one with you.

But there's one thing that will stop you from wanting to ever pull the battery: the incredibly slow boot-up time. The Z10 takes more than a minute to boot up after the battery is removed and it sometimes took up to 30 seconds just to shut itself down.

ACCESSORIES

BlackBerry has a number of accessories planned, two of which stood out to us. First is a funky little Bluetooth speaker, intended for use in conference calls and the like. It's actually U-shaped, folding over upon itself, the idea being you could clip it on a seatbelt or even the strap on a messenger bag. It makes for a passable music playback experience, but for the $100 MSRP we'd save up a little more and go with a Jambox. Frankly, we'd have simply preferred a louder speaker in the Z10.

The other option that caught our eye is the Battery Charger Bundle. It's a tiny device, barely bigger than the Z10 battery pack, which can charge up a spare battery thanks to a micro-USB in. But, interestingly, it also has a micro-USB cable built-in, so if you insert a charged battery you can actually use this to recharge the Z10 -- or anything else. So, it's either an external battery charger or an auxiliary battery charger. Or, you can just open it up and swap the battery into the Z10. At $50, we'd say this is a good investment.

BlackBerry will also be releasing a series of cases, including the $30 Leather Pocket we received, which has magnets to automatically turn the display on and off as it goes in and out. Yes, BlackBerry will be releasing a proper holster, too, because everybody knows BlackBerries look best when slung from the hip, just like they wore 'em in the Old West.

BlackBerry Z10 review (accessories)

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WRAP-UP

BlackBerry's BlackBerry Z10 is genuinely a pretty nice phone. Performance, helped by the lightweight QNX-based OS, is more than acceptable. The form factor offers you plenty of screen size in a device that may not feel luxurious, but does at least seem durable. And, bucking the trend, the battery is removable. Camera performance is adequate in most cases and overall there's really a lot to like.

But, tragically, there's really nothing to love. Nothing in the Z10 stands out as class-leading and, while the BB10 OS does have a lot of charm and brings all the best productivity-focused attributes of BlackBerry to bear in a much more modern package, the app selection is poor and the gestures here aren't so good that they make up for that major shortcoming. Will more and better apps come with time? Absolutely, but after waiting this long (and then making Americans wait another month yet) BlackBerry really needed to make a huge impact out of the gate. Unfortunately, it hasn't.

All is not lost: at $199 (which BlackBerry says is the suggested on-contract price in the US), the Z10 and BB10 are a nice piece of kit. The BlackBerry faithful who've been waiting patiently for something more modern will flock to this (and its QWERTY-having cousin) in droves, but there simply isn't enough here to woo those consumers who have already made investments in Android or iOS. Too little? Maybe. Too late? Sadly.

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Buy a tub of PTF and get a box of G-Fuel Free

MFT28 Coming February 4th

By Greg Plitt

MFT28 is a call to arms. It's more than a workout program, nutrition plan, or supplement regimen. It's a life-changing approach to training and personal development, inspired by my time in the Army Rangers. MFT28 challenges you to train like the elite, lift harder than ever, redefine your body, and sharpen your mind. It challenges you to be more.

MFT28 Promo

Watch The Video - 2:05

Coming February 4, 2012 /// 8:00 AM MST
05 Days, 22 Hours, 10 Minutes, 24 Seconds

MFT28 is a hardcore, four-week, high-intensity fitness plan that will help you torch fat, build muscle, and achieve the best shape of your life. It's not for the faint-hearted or weak-willed. It's for anyone who has the courage to test the limits of what's possible. It's for anyone willing to train today for a stronger tomorrow. It's for you.

The MFT28 program is a cutting-edge combination of mass-building workouts, resistance-based cardio, mental training, precision nutrition, and smart supplementation. It will shock you with new exercises, heart-pounding giant sets, and techniques you've never tried. It will shake you, break you, and remake you. It will help you lift heavier, live healthier, jump higher, run faster, think bigger, and become your best self.

Pineapple Juice

Drinking certain juices and incorporating them into your daily diet can help strengthen your immune system and improve your overall health. Pineapple juice is not only refreshing and delicious to most people, but it also has several benefits. While pineapple juice has been known to help improve wellness, you should ask your doctor before engaging in any new diet or health regimen.

Nutritional Value

Pineapple has a high nutritional value that is essential for a healthy lifestyle, and its juice form is perhaps the best way to deliver vitamins and minerals to the body. It is loaded with vitamin C and vitamin B1 and has smaller amounts of vitamin B2, B3, B5 and B6. It is an excellent source of manganese, copper, magnesium, potassium, beta-carotene, folic acid and dietary fiber, as juicing-for-health.com reports. This source also says that pineapple contains the enzyme bromelain, which has the ability to help the body balance and neutralize fluids and to stimulate hormonal secretions that aid digestion in the pancreas.

While eating fresh pineapple has high vitamin, mineral, enzyme and antioxidant content, drinking fresh pineapple juice has just as many benefits. However, pineapple in the juice form delivers nutrients faster, because it is liquid rather than solid. Drink freshly juiced pineapples; be careful not to drink processed pineapple juice, because it contains no bromelain and few vitamins as a result of its pasteurization process, as suggested by pineapplejuice.com.

Immune System Boost

Pineapple juice is also helpful in promoting a stronger immune system. The antioxidants in pineapple juice are effective against free radicals, which induce the aging of the body and the occurrence of cancers. These antioxidants make the body resistant to diseases, according to steadyhealth.com. This site also states that pineapple juice can help prevent the common cold, sore throats and coughs.

Other Health Benefits

Fresh pineapple juice has other health benefits that can make life more enjoyable. It helps with respiratory conditions like asthma, bronchitis, pneumonia and sinusitis, helps with digestion and helps with inflammatory conditions such as carpal tunnel syndrome, gout, rheumatoid arthritis, osteoarthritis, injuries and surgeries, as reported by juicing-for-health.com. Also, consumption of fresh pineapple juice with no added sugar is recommended for promoting a healthy heart, digestive tract, excretory system and skeletal system; it is also perfect for a healthy diet and for weight loss, as it is virtually free of fat and sodium and contains no cholesterol, as steadyhealth.com asserts.

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