Pears are a popular fruit, but popularity doesn’t necessarily mean healthy. Here’s a look at the nutritional value of pears to get a better understanding if this is a fruit you want in your diet.
Pears are in season from August through the fall, and can be a tasty treat. That could be because pears are loaded with sugar. In fact, a small pair (148g) has 15 grams of sugar. In fact, this cored fruit was originally cultivated by the Ancient Romans, and was used in desserts.
You’ll hear that “natural sugars” are okay, but is that the truth? Are pears good for you or are they just sugar-water?
Nutritional Value of Pears
Well, there is a little more to a pear than sugar and water. A small pear has approximately 10% of your of vitamin C and 5% of your daily recommended potassium. That’s nothing to snub your nose at, but it’s also not enough to fully justify high sugar levels.
They are also a great source of dietary fibre. One small pear has 5g of dietary fibre, which is about 18% of your daily value. To make this even better, a large portion of the fibre in pears is pectin.
Pectin is water-soluble. It binds to toxins, fats, and cholesterol in the digestive tract and removes these substances from your body. If you’ve recently eaten something not so good for you (like a fast food cheeseburger), pectin can help remove some of the garbage sitting in the digestive tract. That doesn’t mean it completely flushes the junk you ate, but it can take some toxins with it.
Apples have commonly been the go-to source of pectin, but in fact, pears have more pectin than apples.
Vitamin C is vital for life. It boosts the immune system, fights inflammation and free radicals. Vitamin C can combat stress, the common cold, and chronic diseases.
As good as vitamin C is for you, and it’s very important to get your daily vitamin C, but at only 10% of your daily requirement, the 15 grams of sugar found in pears (even if the 5g of fibre are taken into account) prevent it from being a fruit you should be eating regularly.
Pear peels contain many important flavonoids, polyphenols, phenolic acids, and phytonutrients (antioxidants). Rats eating pear peels saw significantly higher antioxidant activity compared to eating the peels of other fruit. While this study doesn’t look at the complete fruit, it does show that in terms of peels, pears come on top for their antioxidant potential. This could make pears great for combating inflammation and disease.
In terms of the natural sugar, is a pear better than a chocolate bar or a handful of chips? Obviously, but that doesn’t mean pears should be your go to fruit. Pears can be a delicious snack that has some health benefits, but they should still be treated as a snack.
Be wary of pesticides and chemicals sprayed on the fruit. Pears are heavily sprayed and the chemicals can soak into the peels and flesh of the fruit. An organic pear may be okay, but otherwise, you’re probably better off avoiding this fruit.