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Medical Uses and/or Benefits
* * *Adverse Effects Associated with This Food
Dermatitis. Bromelain, which breaks down proteins, may cause irritant dermatitis. Pine-
apples may also cause allergic dermatitis. (Irritant dermatitis may occur in anyone who
touches a pineapple; allergic dermatitis occurs only in an individual who is sensitive to a
particular substance.)
Sulfur allergies. See How other kinds of processing affect this food, above.Food/Drug Interactions
False-positive test for carcinoid tumors. Carcinoid tumors, which may arise from tissues in the
endocrine or gastrointestinal system, secrete serotonin, a natural chemical that makes blood
vessels expand or contract. Because serotonin is excreted in urine, these tumors are diagnosed
by measuring serotonin levels by products in the urine. Pineapples contain large amounts of
serotonin; eating them in the three days before a test for an endocrine tumor might produce a
false-positive result, suggesting that you have the tumor when in fact you don’t. (Other foods
high in serotonin are avocados, bananas, eggplant, plums, tomatoes, and walnuts.)