1. Packed with anti-oxidants: The antioxidant content in pears is the highest when they’re ripe. Once again, the skin of the pears contains the majority of its nutrients. So while poaching pears is a great idea, if you’re looking to derive health benefits from it, you may want to eat it with the skin.
2. Cancer Prevention: Antioxidants are primarily praised for their anti-carcinogenic activities, and pears have been connected to prevention of a number of different types of cancer, including colon, rectum, breast, prostate, and lungs. This is not unique to pears, but they do have a high antioxidant score, compared to many other fruits.
3. Immune booster: The anti-oxidant nutrients in pears are critical in building up your immune system. Drink pear juice when you feel a cold coming.
4. Throat problem: The pears are in season during the summer for a reason. Drinking pear juice every morning and night helps to cool your body down during this time. It nourishes the throat and helps prevent throat problems.
5. Energy: You can get quick and natural source of energy from pear juice, due largely to its high amounts of fructose and glucose.
6. Heart health: Pears are a good source of glutathione, an antioxidant, which controls high blood pressure and reduces the risk of strokes. It contains potassium, a mineral, which maintains the health of the heart. Quercetin also prevents artery damage that can cause heart disease. The high levels of pectin in pears lower cholesterol in the body.
7. Diabetes: Certain flavonoids found in pear improve insulin sensitivity in the body. This decreases the risk of type 2 diabetes in both men and women. Therefore, consuming pears fro diabetes helps.
8. Hypoallergenic Fruit: Although few studies have been done on the subject, doctors generally consider pears to be a hypoallergenic fruit because they are less likely than other fruits to produce an allergic response when eaten. For this reason, pears are generally considered “safe” and are often one of the first fruits given to infants.
9. Prevents Osteoporosis: Pears contain high level of boron. Boron helps the body to retain calcium, thus prevents or retards osteoporosis.
10. Pregnancy: Folic acid is very important for a pregnant woman to keep the baby safe from birth defects. Folic acid present in pears can help you in this issue and it is recommended to use it regularly during the pregnancy.
11. Skin, Hair, and Eyes: One of the most versatile vitamins in the human body is Vitamin A. Pears are high in vitamin A, and its subsequent components, like lutein and zea-xanthin. They act as an antioxidant as well as participating in a number of enzymatic reactions and organ functions, pears can reduce the effects of aging on the skin, like wrinkles and age spots. This powerful fruit can also reduce hair loss, macular degeneration, cataracts, and various other conditions associated with the aging process.
Eating Pears
The typical pear season runs from August to October, but with so many varieties of pear, you’re likely to find some variety in season where you are. Pears ripen from the inside out, so to tell if your pear is ready to eat or not, check the neck (skinniest part of the pear) by applying gentle pressure. Along with apples, pears are part of the rose family, and like apples, many of the health benefits of pears can be found in the fruit’s skin—meaning for maximum health benefits, eat pears with the skin left on.