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Yikes! As an slp and someone with a keen interest in vocal fold health, I would never ever recommend pineapple juice or canned pineapple to soothe a sore throat. Water, water, water. Almost anything else (besides some tisanes) will definitely irritate your throat more. The membranes of the vocal folds are extremely thin and don't have many nerves running through them, so you may not feel the irritation, but it's there.

@ sjbreeze Would you say it inhibits healing or causes long term damage? Cause if it makes someone feel better, and only causes irritation that they can't really feel anyway, I don't see what the problem is.

Although I love fresh pineapple, it is sometimes feels abrasive to eat. I relied on warm tea with honey during my flu week. And some gin-gin hard candies to soothe the coughing.

Another comfort is a hot salt bath with eucalyptus soap

I'm with sjbreeze. Pineapple contains an enzyme that breaks down protein. Ever wonder why your hands get all weird when peeling a pineapple? That and they are much more acidic than people realize. I'd stick to warm water and honey.

I've never tried pineapple for a sore throat but my go-to home remedy for a sore throat is pickles! Seems counter-intuitive but they really seem to work.

Yeah, I'm concerned about those enzymes also. There's a reason you can't use it in gelatines, and you never marinate meat in it: it breaks the proteins down. I wouldn't want that on my sore throat, personally.

Having said that, though, I've never tried it. And I do love fresh pineapple, generally speaking. I tend to just crave hot water with honey and a bit of lemon when I'm feeling sick.

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Lemon-ginger tea, honey and bourbon . Cures all ills (or at least relaxes you till you forget them).

Pineapple is enough of an irritant to my tongue eating it normally that the thought of eating it with a sore throat is painful.

However, homegrown and really fresh pineapples are very sweet and seem far less acidic. Almost like two different fruits. BTW, pineapples are super easy to grow in the sub-tropics like Florida and SoCal- cut off the top with about a 1/2 inch of the flesh, let dry on a plate for a few days, plant shallowly. We even had a bunch grow that we threw out in the bushes as trash!

I like pineapple, but it isn't really something I would want to eat if I was feeling sick.

My trick for a sore throat is warmed jello. I'll buy a pack of the sugar-free stuff ready made, and put one in the microwave until it reverts to liquid. Actually, this is the only way I'll 'eat' jello.

For a sore throat: peel and half an onion then let it sit in honey. Drink a teaspoon of the honey every couple of hours. It won't do anything for your breath, but your throat will feel better. I'll second bourbon hot tea/water and honey as a cure all.

Wikipedia has a lot of interesting info on the medical uses of bromelain as an anti-inflammatory.

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Bromelain#Medical_uses

I never heard of using pineapple for respiratory distress before, but I think next time I get a cold (hopefully never!) I'll give it a try.

And this is from the Univ of Maryland website on complementary medicine:

"Sinusitis (Sinus inflammation)

Although not all studies agree, bromelain may help reduce cough and nasal mucus associated with sinusitis, and relieve the swelling and inflammation caused by hay fever. Bromelain is approved by the German Commission E for the treatment of sinus and nasal swelling following ear, nose, and throat surgery or trauma."


http://www.umm.edu/altmed/articles/bromelain-000289.htm

From the same article that Charlotte linked to:

"Bromelain is found in the common pineapple plant, but not in high enough doses to have a medicinal effect."

I wasn't disputing the use of bromelain. I'm pointing out that using an acidic fruit to soothe infected/irritated membranes may not be the best idea.

@stealthkitten, I'm not really sure what you mean, but any irritation on the vocal folds can cause long-term damage, depending on a variety of factors.

When I had my wisdom teeth removed, pineapple juice really helped me out. I don't know how, but it seemed to number the pain a little and keep the sockets clean. And it was tasty when my choices were limited.

The acid contained in pineapple is not going to break down the proteins in your throat. Pineapple has a protein splitting enzyme which makes it easy to digest and becomes inactive when it is cooked like most canned fruit and fruit juices. When I have a sore throat orange juice makes it feel much better so I assume pineapple would be the same.

http://www.mothernature.com/Library/Bookshelf/Books/21/193.cfm

http://www.buzzle.com/editorials/4-2-2006-92514.asp

http://www.encognitive.com/node/7082

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Pineapple

I always make my husband a cup of lemon and honey (2 tbsp. of honey, juice of 1/2 a lemon and about 10 ounces of 70 degree C. water). It works well.