Supplement Hound – Supplement Reviews for 2017 Sniffing out the Best Supplements on the Market!
If you’re looking for the best bromelain supplements to buy this year, then you’ve come to the right place.
You can also get more info by jumping to our Bromelain Supplements Guide.
Top 10 Bromelain Supplements
| #1 |  |
Doctor’s Best 3000 GDU Bromelain | More Info |
| #2 |  |
NOW Foods Bromelain | More Info |
| #3 |  |
Source Naturals Bromelain | More Info |
| #4 |  |
Life Extension Specially-Coated Bromelain | More Info |
| #5 |  |
Jarrow Formulas Bromelain | More Info |
| #6 |  |
Nature’s Life Bromelain | More Info |
| #7 |  |
Swanson Premium Bromelain | More Info |
| #8 |  |
Nature’s Plus – Chewable Bromelain | More Info |
| #9 |  |
Solaray Bromelain Supplement | More Info |
| #10 |  |
Pure Encapsulations – Bromelain | More Info |
Bromelain Supplements Guide
While it may not be one of the most common or most talked-about supplements, bromelain is useful for a variety of conditions. It is marketed as a natural proteolytic enzyme, and it is a natural anti-inflammatory that may be used to reduce inflammation.
Other uses include promoting healthy digestion, supporting your joints, and improving the taste of sexual fluids. It is found naturally in pineapples.
What is Bromelain?
Bromelain is a protein-digesting enzyme that is found in pineapple juice and pineapple stem. It is sometimes called “pineapple extract.” If you’ve ever eaten a large amount of pineapple at one time and felt a stinging sensation on your mouth or tongue, you’ve experienced some of the protein-digesting effects of this enzyme. While it is useful for digesting and breaking down proteins, bromelain has a few other uses as well. It has been shown to help reduce nasal inflammation as well as inflammation in general. It may also reduce heartburn and support the digestive system.
While the most evidence exists to support the claim that this supplement can treat nasal congestion, it is used to treat a variety of inflammatory conditions, including various injuries and IBS. It may sometimes be used to help speed up recovery and reduce inflammation following a surgery.
While bromelain has been proven to have many positive effects, it shows promise in several other areas as well. For instance, bromelain even shows promise as an anti-cancer drug. One study indicated that adding bromelain to an existing cancer treatment regimen increased the dying off of cancer cells to a significant degree. This indicates that bromelain may be developed as an anti-cancer drug, since it shows promise in this area. Another area in which bromelain may prove useful is in fat loss. Some preliminary evidence indicates that this supplement may help you shed extra pounds of fat, although its role in fat loss still needs to be studied to a greater degree.
There have been many anecdotal claims that bromelain helps make the sexual fluids of both men and women taste sweeter or like pineapple. This claim goes along with the common advice of eating pineapple or drinking pineapple juice before sexual activity. While no studies have tested this claim, there seems to be significant anecdotal evidence of it.
In short, while this supplement has its roots in folk medicine, there is significant researched evidence that suggests that it actually does work in several different ways. Some of these uses have been proven with extensive research, and others are just being investigated, but the fact is that bromelain is one of the few “folk medicines” that has been reliably and medically shown to work.
Benefits of Bromelain
As noted above, bromelain has several uses, some proven, some being investigated, and some purely anecdotal. Here, we’ll break down these benefits and explain a little more about each.
Inflammation
Bromelain has been said to be able to help with a variety of health conditions, but its ability to help most of them comes down to one thing: its ability to reduce inflammation.
This supplement is sometimes recommended after surgery because surgery causes painful inflammation as it heals. Anecdotally speaking, some people with chronic pain, especially back pain, have claimed that bromelain supplementation has helped reduce pain. This is likely due to its anti-inflammatory effects–you can see testimonies like this on virtually any review site for bromelain.
There is a significant amount of evidence showing that bromelain can help reduce nasal congestion as well. One study indicated that it was able to help patients with chronic rhinitis. Some of these patients had even undergone surgery to help this condition. In a similar vein, bromelain also can help those with asthma and other disorders involving inflammation, especially if that inflammation has to do with the respiratory tract.
While more research is needed to see exactly how this supplement can reduce inflammation, it is clear that it has the capability to substantially improve the quality of life for those suffering from various acute and chronic inflammatory conditions.
Digestion
While bromelain may be best known for its anti-inflammatory capabilities, it also has been shown to improve several digestive conditions. One of these is GERD, commonly called heartburn. It’s thought that bromelain helps heartburn because of a combination of its ability to support digestive health and its ability to reduce inflammation. Taking bromelain can help to promote regular digestion, and it is especially useful for those who have trouble digesting dietary proteins.
Cancer therapy
As noted above, bromelain’s ability to help treat cancer is still being investigated, However, because it has shown serious promise in its ability to possibly treat multiple types of cancer, this is one of the benefits to keep an eye on. It’s possible that the ability to help kill off cancer cells is related to bromelain’s ability to reduce inflammation.
Fat loss
Research suggesting that bromelain can help reduce fat is very preliminary, and more research is still needed to verify whether there is a scientific way bromelain aids in weight loss. However, like many of the anecdotal benefits of this supplement, many people swear by bromelain’s ability to help them drop fat.
Sexual benefits
Like the fat loss claim, the claim that bromelain helps improve the taste of sexual fluids is one that needs more research. Because there is significant anecdotal evidence supporting this claim and the fat loss claim, it’s likely that each one does at least have some truth to it.
Are There any Side Effects?
Generally speaking, this supplement doesn’t have major side effects. Some people have reported nausea, vomiting, and more menstrual bleeding than normal. Those with certain plant allergies may also be allergic to bromelain supplements, so it’s wise to make sure you aren’t allergic to carrots, celery, pineapples, papain, wheat, and some types of pollen.
Those with latex allergies may also be allergic to bromelain.
How to Take Bromelain
The way in which you take bromelain may vary depending on the reason you are taking it. According to Examine.com, if you are supplementing mainly for digestion, you should take between 200mg and 2,000mg, and take the supplement with a meal.
If your supplementation goals are for something other than digestion, it is generally recommended that you take between 200mg and 800mg of the supplement. Many people advise those supplementing to take bromelain between meals because it may degrade in the stomach when taken with food. If you are wondering why dose ranges are so large, it is because different formulations of bromelain have different levels of effectiveness.
The effectiveness or enzymatic potential is measured in terms of milk clotting units (MCU) or gelatin dissolving units (GDU). If you are unsure about dosing, it may help to compare the GDU or MCU of different supplements you’re considering.
What to Look for in a Good Bromelain Supplement
When you are looking for a good bromelain supplement, it helps to look at how effective it will be. A reputable manufacturer will give you some sense of the enzymatic potential by including the strength of the supplement in GDU or MCU. While there is not necessarily a standard for these measurements, you can use them to compare supplements.
For instance, you would need to take more of a supplement with a lower MCU or GDU in order to have the equivalent enzyme activity of one with a higher measure of each.
Another thing to look for is milligram amount–because the recommended dose varies depending on the reason you’re taking it, it’s important to take dosage into account. A good supplement will include information on both of these quantities in order to help you make an informed decision about your supplementation.
