Pineapples are on sale now in my neck of the woods. I can get them for $2.99 ($213,000 canadian). I have been buying one every couple of days and we eat them at work.
So now we are all walking around with ulcerated oral mucous membranes. Is this due to the pH (acidity) of the fruit or is it due to some compound in pineapples? Is there a way to avoid this? Can you develop a tolerance over time?
I have searched the archives and cannot find this particular situation addressed.
Are you buying Del Monte Gold? Dole Premium Select? Or do you know what variety it is? The “old standard” pineapple is the Champaka variety, with has a high acid content. The DMG and DPS are two other varieties, The MD-2 and whatever Dole calls theirs, but they have MUCH lower acid content, higher sugars (brix) and higher Vitamin C.
Today I have a Chiquita Gold Extra Sweet, but I shop a few places and have not checked each day. Dayum, they are delicious!
Could also be your toothpaste
From here I noticed last month after I switched toothpastes that mine went away pretty quick. I had gotten about 7-8 of them in a about 6 weeks when I changed toothpaste and had to look into it. You might want to try this out.
I’ll have to check my tube when I get home. I always associated lauryl sulfate with shampoo. Hmm. We had two pineapples today. Hard to believe they can grow, harvest, ship them and make a profit selling them for $2.99!
Well, yes the SLS in toothpaste does cause ulcers- but Pineapple is both acidic and an enzyme, so it eats away the protective mouth lining. the combo could be a killer.
Try acidopholous and Vit C
I’ve experienced “pineapple mouth” myself, especially after a holiday in Hawaii where many cocktails were consumed with slices of pineapple perched on the rim of the glass.
Building on DrDeth’s post:
Besides the acidity as a causative factor in your problem, fresh pineapple is also a rich source of Bromelain, a cysteine protease (an enzyme that cleaves proteins at the amino acid cysteine along their length). Because of this proteolytic activity, purified Bromelain has been used in various products such as facial scrubs, digestive aids, as an adjuvant given with antibiotics in the treatment of urinary tract infections and as a meat tenderizer. Persons suffering from digestive tract ulcerations are warned away from using this product. By eating large enough doses of fresh pineapple, it’s not surprising that your oral mucus membranes are being digested away by this enzyme.
I guess I can say a bit more now, I was in a rush last night so I just posted what I knew.
About two months ago I was in Europe and I got new toothpaste for traveling. About a week into the trip I got two really bad ulcers in my mouth. Though it was just the trip. Then when I came back and kept using the same stuff I ended up getting 4-5 more so I got sick of getting them and looked it up on the net.
After looking in every normal store and not finding any toothpaste without SLS I had to goto a natural store. Even there it was hard to find what I was looking for. However, when I started using the stuff they healed faster then when I was using something. You might want to try making the switch and see if that helps. I was one to get them enough, but never as bad as they were for those few weeks. Haven’t had one since. I would say it’s both as the pineapples start it and then the toothpaste doesn’t help.
So I would hope, at $213,000 canadian each!
I get the same thing with Australian pineapples. I just don’t eat them any more. But the cultivar you get in Asia is great - much less acid. And yes, I do brush my teeth when on holiday.
Cool.
Guess that is why the “pineapple family” is called bromeliads (http://bsi.org/).
Years ago I used to suggest fresh pineapple or mango juice be given to rabbits in order to help dissolve trichobezoars (hairballs). The proteolytic enzymes were thought to break down the hair. Then, someone actually studied the situation and found that although it worked in vitro it did not work at all in vivo due to gastric acid inactivation of the enzyme.
And we are having fresh pineapple again today at work. Screw the ulcers.
Suggestion #1: I second DrDeth’s recommendation of acidophilus - or just get some active culture yogurt. It goes well with pineapple. 
Suggestion #2: Get some lysine (label may say l-lysine). It’s not that expensive at WallyWorld. You can safely take up to 4 daily. I learned about lysine from a dietetics prof that it speeds healing of any lesions/cuts/etc. to mucous membranes (as a vet, you know that the entire GI tract - with, IIRC, the exclusion of the stomach - is lined with mucous membranes.
Suggestion #3: Buy a big bottle of Tums (or some good house brand calcium antacid). You can even get pineapple flavored ones. … in a bottle of “tropical flavors”, that is. 