Health benefits of pears

Pears to the rescue

The humble pear is an innocuous looking fruit with tons of health benefits. Packed with phytonutrients known as flavonols, pears provide antioxidant protection against several diseases. 

Pears come in different colours — green, red, yellow and brown. Pears are perishable once they get ripe, so while buying pears, look for those which are firm but not very hard. Ensure that the skin is smooth that there are are no bruises. Don't buy pears, which have dark spots. If you want to speed up the ripening process, place the pears in a paper bag, in normal room temperature and keep turning them regularly. Here are some benefits...

- The skin of a pear comprises even more phenolic phytonutrients as its flesh. These include antioxidants and anti-inflammatory flavonoids, apart from anti-cancer phytonutrients such as cinnamic acids. Also, rich with fibre, pear skins should always be consumed.

- Some researchers say that flavonoids, which have three groups — flavonols, flavan-3-ols, and anthocyaninsin — are abundantly found in pears. This is especially beneficial for those who have type 2 diabetes.

- Pears contain phytonutrients, which are known to have anti-inflammatory benefits. This results in a decreased risk of common chronic diseases that start with chronic inflammation and oxidative stress like type 2 diabetes and even heart disease.

- The low acidic nature of pears makes it easy to digest.

- Pears are also known as being a hypoallergenic food, which means that the chances of one getting an allergy from a pear are very rare.

- The dietary fibre in pears makes them a good source of immune-supportive vitamin C and bone-building vitamin K
.