Pineapple for IVF success.
If you are reading fertility blogs or talking with other women going through IVF, you have probably heard of the pineapple trick. The protocol is to cut the whole pineapple into fifths and eat 1/5 per day beginning 5 days post ovulation or IUI or during IVF embryo transfer bed rest. OK, sounds good, and couldn’t really hurt, but as usual, I want to know what’s the mechanism? and how does that work?
After doing some medical super sleuthing, I have come up with a few logical and plausible ideas as to what pineapple’s got that might aid in conception.
The main nutrient in pineapple that might be contributing to this affect is bromelain. Bromleain is an enzyme, meaning it help reactions take place in the body. When taken with food bromelain helps us break down or digest our foods. When taken on an empty stomach bromelain has some other actions on the body.
Bromelain acts as a blood thinner and anticoagulant.
Like aspirin, bromelain can increase blood flow to the uterus via its action as a blood thinner and anticoagulant. It is also thought that using a blood thinner like aspirin can help in women who have had repeat miscarriages, especially if they are also positive for phospholipid antibodies.
Bromelain acts as an anti-inflammatory agent
Conception and implantations requires an intricate shift in the immune system. Specifically, a shift from TH1 immune cells to TH2. Another way of saying that is that conception requires an anti inflammatory shift. It is possible that bromelain helps with this shift which allows implantation to occur. If you’re a little nerdy like me and want to see a study that looks at bromelain and immune cells, check out this abstract.
Link to original article: http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/12107749?dopt=Abstract