Just a few cautions in regards to taking larger amounts of pineapple or ginger: The amounts of ginger needed for anti-inflammtory action is contraindicated for pregnancy as it is an emmenagouge and is believed to thin the lining of the uterus.

It's always best to start slow and make sure one doesn't have an allergic reaction to new foods, or in case of new allergies, to old ones before taking them in large amounts. Although one could be allergic to ginger or pineapple it would be no more likely than to any other food as far as I know.

Even though pineapple, ginger and NAISD's have similar outcomes, they are not at all similar in chemical make up or how they attack the problem. So while one could be allergic to those foods, there is no connection between an aspirin allergy and a ginger or pineapple allergy. However, willow bark, sometimes used as an herbal anti-inflammatory IS similar to Aspirin and should NOT be taken by someone allergic to anti-inflammatory drugs

When the NSAID's go into the intestines and liver, they are turned into salicylic acid. Most people who have aspirin or other NSAID allergies are actually allergic to the salicylic acid. Several plants besides willow have this compound and should be avoided by those with salicilate allergies. Yellow food coloring 5 and wintergreen are just two. One of the problems is that salicilates are hidden in many many foods. It's one reason we finally went to a mostly whole food diet for my husband. Ginger and pineapple do not, to my knowledge, have these compounds in them. I'll try and explain the difference between how NSAID's, pineapple, and ginger work. When the body is injured several areas respond. The body produces fibrin to wall off the area of injury. This results in the blocking of the blood vessels and tissue drainage, creating localized swelling. Clotting factor goes into effect if there is bleeding, And there is a cascade of Kinnens, enzymes that produce prostaglandins, and the prostaglandins are what give the brain the signals that an area is hurt and for more swelling to occur. It's the swelling that generally causes the pain.

Most NSAID's work because they bind up the enzyme (COX-2 and other prostaglandin producing enzymes). When the enzyme is bound to the chemicals in NSAID's, they can't make prostaglandin and the brain doesn't get the signal to swell, reducing swelling and pain.

The problem with NSAID's is it also stops formation of prostaglandins that are used to repair and keep up the lining of the stomach as well as other things. Prostaglandins have rolls to play in the kidney (how your body makes urine), brain and other areas as well. When NSAID's are taken, those prostaglandins are also stopped from forming. Short term, the body handles it ok... long term it causes other issues.

Ginger works in a similar way to NSAID's. It interferes with the production of prostaglandins. Now, interestingly enough... FRESH ginger, especially when leaving on the peel, has properties that protect against ulcers... one of the side effects of binding up the prostaglandins in the stomach! Not only does ginger not hurt the stomach... it can actually be beneficial.

I often find that difference between a natural substance and a synthetic one to be that the natural one seems more often to come with protection for the issues it might cause. This is true in many natural antibiotics that also are natural antifungals.

When dried ginger was used in studies (it doesn't have some of the same compounds that fresh ginger has) trouble with the gastrointestinal tract sometimes occurred. This seems to support the belief that the beneficial part of ginger for the intestinal and stomach lining lies in the "oilier" parts of the ginger.

Pineapple. Pineapple is a bromeliad. So I'll be talking here about the bromelain enzyme. You actually have two versions here. You have pineapple from the fruit... which as SOME of the benefits and enzymes. Or you have bromelain from the pineapple plant, which has a wider variety of the helpful properties.

Bromelain works in a little different way than ginger or NAISD's. If you remember the fibrin wall above that causes local swelling, the bromelain enzymes actually break down the fibrin. This opens up an inflamed area to better blood flow and clearing of excess edema. You see why this might NOT be a good idea if someone were going into surgery though unless the doctors wanted that to happen and were AWARE someone was taking this. Otherwise there has been no toxic half dose found for bromelain.

Secondly, bromelain also stops the formation of kinnens... so it stops the production of prostaglandins before they are formed rather than binding them up after they form.

This would also explain why ginger and pineapple work well together. One works to open the area up to circulation, and stop the enzymes from being created, and the other binds the enzymes that may already be there.