The reason I recommend you to eat more pears, just one is enough!

In the golden autumn, the weather is slightly dry, and pears are juicy, crisp and sweet, making them an essential fruit for autumn hydration. Because of their delicate flavor and texture, as well as their beautiful appearance, some people call them the "Queen of Fruits."

There are so many benefits to eating a pear every day!

Pears are a large family with different nutritional values.

Pear trees are widely planted in the world. In my country, they have a cultivation history of more than 3,000 years. They are the third most popular fruit in my country, second only to apples and citrus. There are about 30 species of Pyrus in the world, including 15 species of Oriental Pear and 12 species of Western Pear. The main pear varieties cultivated in my country are white pear, sand pear, autumn pear, Western Pear, Xinjiang Pear and interspecific hybrid types. [1]

People like to eat pears because of their unique taste . The flesh of pears is juicy, fresh and crisp, and contains fiber-rich "stone cells", so it tastes sandy when eaten; the typical aroma of pears comes from a variety of lipid components such as "pear esters". In particular, the crown pear has a higher content of pear esters and a stronger pear flavor.

The Chinese Food Composition Table lists the nutritional data of more than 20 different kinds of pears. Let's take a look at the nutritional differences between some of the pears we commonly eat.

Note: The dietary fiber in the table is insoluble dietary fiber

From the table, we can see that the lowest calorie pear is the red pear, the highest carbohydrate pear is the snow pear, the richest in insoluble dietary fiber is the Korla fragrant pear, the highest vitamin C content is the sour pear, and the highest potassium content is the apple pear.

As for the black pineapple that everyone often talks about, it is not a pear, but means "I like you".

The benefits of eating pears are more than you think

Hydrates and moisturizes the throat : The water content of pears is almost 85% or more, which is particularly hydrating. Although eating pears does not have the effect of "moistening the lungs and relieving coughs", because it contains sufficient water, it can moisturize the throat and relieve the discomfort of dry throat, thereby relieving coughs caused by dryness.

Prevent constipation : Among fruits, pears have a good dietary fiber content and can be ranked at the top. Especially the Korla pear, its insoluble dietary fiber content is the highest among pears, up to 6.7g/100g, which is nearly 4 times that of apples. Insoluble dietary fiber can promote gastrointestinal mechanical movement, promote defecation, prevent constipation, and is beneficial to intestinal health.

Most importantly, pears contain more sorbitol. Sorbitol is highly hydrophilic and has an osmotic effect. It can increase the water content of feces, stimulate gastrointestinal motility, promote defecation, and change intestinal flora. Generally, eating about 5 grams at a time will cause abdominal discomfort, and more than 10 grams will cause diarrhea.

A study has tested the sorbitol content of different pear fruits, and the results show that the sorbitol content of white pear, Qiuzi pear, sand pear, Western pear, and Xinjiang pear is 2.6g/100g, 1.9g/100g, 2.2g/100g, 2.9g/100g, and 1.9g/100g respectively. In addition, the sorbitol content of five varieties of pears, including Jingyu and Tiantang, local varieties, Changshilang and Zaocui among sand pears, and Shuidonggua among white pears, exceeds 5g/100g. The "diarrhea index" of eating these pears is no worse than that of prunes. If you don't want to have gastrointestinal discomfort, you must control the amount.

Of course, there are also some pears with lower sorbitol content, less than 1g/100g, including: Imamura Aki, Wanxiang, and Prince Twentieth Century among sand pears, Balika among Akiko pears, Zaomi pear among white pears, and pocket-sized pear among local varieties. [6]

Lose weight and control weight : Most pears have a calorie content of about 50kcal/100g, which is not high and is comparable to that of apples. A fist-sized pear weighs only 100 grams. Eating one before a meal can increase satiety, help control appetite, and help lose weight and control weight.

1 baseball-sized pear, edible part about 100 grams, Image source: provided by the author

Antioxidant and anti-inflammatory : Pears contain antioxidant ingredients such as polyphenols and flavonoids, which can not only help us remove excess free radicals in the body, but also have an anti-inflammatory effect.

In addition, the pear peel has the highest content of total phenols and flavonoids, and the strongest antioxidant capacity, followed by the core, and the lowest in the flesh. Therefore, if you want to take in more antioxidants, it is best not to throw away the peel when eating pears, but wash it and eat it with the skin.

Can diabetics eat pears?

Pears taste quite sweet, and many diabetics are afraid to eat them, fearing that their blood sugar levels will not be well controlled. In fact, there is no need to worry. GI is an effective indicator for measuring the blood sugar response caused by food after a meal. If the value is below 55, it is a low GI food. The GI value of pears is 36, which is a low GI food.

This is because although pears taste sweet, the soluble sugars in their fruits are mainly fructose, sorbitol, glucose and sucrose, among which fructose has the highest content, with an average value of 5.4g/100g, accounting for 49.77% of the total sugar content, followed by sorbitol and glucose, and sucrose has the lowest content, with an average value of 1.4g/100g, accounting for 13.04% of the total sugar content. Fructose can be metabolized in the body without the participation of insulin, and has little effect on blood sugar.

At the same time, we must also take into account the impact of glycemic load (GL). GL < 10 is considered a low GL food, which means it has little impact on blood sugar. GL = available carbohydrates in food (g) × GI ÷ 100

According to the data in the Chinese Food Composition Table, the available carbohydrates in pears are 10.5g/100g, so even if you eat a large 200g pear, the GL is only about 7.6. Pears are low-GL foods and have little effect on blood sugar, so diabetics can eat them in moderation .

If you are really worried, you can also add 100 grams of food in the morning and afternoon. As for the pears with high carbohydrates, don't eat too much, it is best to control it within 100 grams, which is half a pear.

Image source: unsplash.com Photographer: Rebecca Matthews

Refrigerated pears are sweeter

Friends who like to eat pears will find that if you put the pears in the refrigerator for a while before eating them, they will taste sweeter.

This is because the soluble sugar in pears is mainly fructose, which accounts for half of the total sugar content. The relative sweetness of fructose is about 1.2 to 1.8 times that of sucrose. Its sweetness is related to the structural state of fructose. Fructose pyranose is sweeter than furanose.

Fructose is pyranose when in a crystalline state, and in an aqueous solution it is in an equilibrium state of two configurations, pyranose and furanose, and its sweetness decreases; at low temperatures, the equilibrium point tends to move toward the pyranose type, and the sweetness of the pyranose type in aqueous solution is three times that of the furanose type. Therefore, above 40°C, the sweetness of fructose solution decreases and is lower than that of sucrose; below 40°C, the lower the temperature, the higher the sweetness of the fructose solution, up to 1.7 times that of sucrose.

In other words, if you put the pear in the refrigerator for a while before eating it, it will taste sweeter!

How to store pears?

If the purchased pears are placed at room temperature, they may rot in half a month. The suitable storage temperature for most pear varieties is 0-1℃, and they can be stored in the refrigerator. Generally, they can be stored for more than half a month, and the longest should not exceed 30 days. However, some varieties, such as Yali, are sensitive to low temperatures and cannot be directly placed in the refrigerator. They need to be stored slowly at a lower temperature to avoid black heart disease.

In short, autumn is in full swing, and you can't miss the pears! Now is the season when autumn pears are on the market, so hurry up and make arrangements, otherwise you will miss out! What kind of pears do you like to eat?

References

[1] Li Qingqing. Phenotypic analysis of 203 pear germplasm resources[D]. Shandong Agricultural University, 2023. DOI: 10.27277/d.cnki.gsdnu.2023.001068.

[2] Harold Mackey, author, translated by Cai Chengzhi. Food and Cooking: Vegetables, Fruits, Spices, and Grains. Beijing Fine Arts Photography Publishing House. August 2013.

[3] Zhao Xin, Liang Kehong, Zhu Hong, Liu Li, Wang Jing. Comparative study on nutritional quality and flavor substances of different pear varieties[J]. Journal of Food Safety and Quality, 2020, 11(21): 7797-7805

[4] Yang Yuexin. Chinese Food Composition Table 6th Edition Volume 1[M]. Peking University Medical Press, 2018

[5] Hyams, JS (1983). Sorbitol intolerance: an unappreciated cause of functional gastrointestinal complaints. Gastroenterology, 84(1), 30-33.

[6] Fan Jinbu. Analysis of sugar and acid content and components in different varieties of pear fruits[D]. Nanjing Agricultural University, 2022. DOI: 10.27244/d.cnki.gnjnu.2020.001251.

[7] An Jingshu, Guan Yeqing, Cheng Yudou, Mou Dehua, Guan Junfeng. Analysis of total phenolic and flavonoid contents and antioxidant capacity in different parts of five pear varieties[J]. Freshness and Processing, 2020, 20(3): 162-166

[8] Zhao Xiwu, He Yulian. Characteristics and application of fructose[J]. Beverage Industry, 2006(04):4-9.

[9] Ma Wei, Tian Yuting, Zhao Tingting, et al. Changes in fruit weight loss rate and chlorophyll and wax content in peel of different varieties (lines) of pear during storage[J]. Northern Fruit Trees, 2019(04):5-8+12.DOI:10.16376/j.cnki.bfgs.2019.04.002.

[10] Wang Xia. Pear storage and preservation technology[J]. China Fruit and Vegetable, 2020, 40(08): 5-7+22. DOI: 10.19590/j.cnki.1008-1038.2020.08.002.

Planning and production

Author: Xue Qingxin, member of Chinese Nutrition Society, registered nutritionist, health manager, public nutritionist

Review | Ruan Guangfeng, Deputy Director of Kexin Food and Health Information Exchange Center

Planning丨Lin Lin

Editor: Lin Lin