When it comes to juicy summer fruits, pears always top the list. The fiber-rich fruit never disappoints us with its deliciousness and intense cooling effects. Moreover, it comes loaded with vital nutrients for our body, which help maintain overall health by enhancing immunity. Simultaneously, the fruit keeps our skin and hair healthy and lively. So, whether you consume pears crisp or soft, you can reap its benefits throughout the year. Keep reading this article to know more about the benefits of pears for skin and hair.
What are Pears?
Let us know a bit more about the fruity delight. Pears, also known as ‘nashpati’, are bell-shaped fruits with sweet flesh. The mild fruit with a fibrous center keeps changing its skin color and texture as it ripens from inside out. Native to China, Europe, and the United States, pears are recognized as the ‘fifth most widely produced fruit in the world’. They come from the plant belonging to the Pyrus species in the Rosaceae family. Though there are lots of varieties of pears, they are usually classified into Asian Pears (Pyrus pyrifolia) and European Pears (Pyrus communis) (1). Common pears include anjou, bartlett, bosc, concorde, comice, forelle, starkrimson, seckel, etc.
Nutrition Value of Pears
Pears are rich in nutrition, which makes them highly beneficial for our health, skin, and hair. They are filled with carbohydrates, dietary fibers (71% insoluble and 29% soluble) (2), antioxidants, fructose, and sorbitol. They also contain lots of essential vitamins (A, C, D, E, K, folate, niacin, thiamin, riboflavin, pyridoxine, pantothenic acid) and minerals (calcium, magnesium, potassium, manganese, copper, iron, zinc, phosphorus). The skin of pears also comprises tons of ascorbic acid and phenolic phytonutrients (crypto-xanthin-ß, lutein-zeaxanthin, hydroxybenzoic acid, hydroxycinnamic acid, hydroxyquinones, flavonols, anthocyanins, carotenoids). Most importantly, pears are free of fat and cholesterol with very high water content.
Also Read – Expert Speaks – Cecilia Wong on Nutrient-Rich Diet For A Flawless Skin
Health Benefits of Pears
Before delving into how we can look beautiful with pears from the outside, we will talk about how the fruit makes us healthy from the inside. Here we go:
- Being an excellent source of antioxidants, pears prevent our body from oxidative damage by combating free radicals and boosting immunity effectively.
- Pears improve digestion and keep the gut healthy with their strong dietary fiber content. The low-calorie, water-filled fruit may also help in keeping our body weight in check.
- The abundance of dietary fibers in the fruit can also reduce blood pressure and cholesterol levels significantly, thereby lowering the risks of stroke and other heart diseases by up to 50%.
- Fibers and anthocyanins in pears are known to potentially prevent and control type-2 diabetes by regulating blood sugar levels.
- High flavonoid, vitamin, and mineral contents make the fruit a potent anti-inflammatory agent that keeps issues like arthritis and rheumatoid arthritis away.
- The anti-cancer properties of pears contributed by dietary fibers and flavonoids may help avert lung, breast, stomach, ovarian, bladder, and colon cancers.
Benefits of Pears for Skin
Our skin reflects our health. And as pears are great for our overall health, they are beneficial for maintaining skin health too. Check out below how amazingly the fruit can beautify our skin:
1. Keeps Skin Moisturized
As mentioned earlier, pears are very high in water, which hydrates the skin naturally from inside out. They are also full of natural humectants that help retain the natural moisture of the skin by balancing its normal water content. So, pears are an excellent remedy for keeping dry and flaky skin moisturized throughout the day. You can eat the juice of one fruit daily or apply a moisturizing lotion containing pears extract to make your skin soft, supple, and smooth.
2. Exfoliates It Thoroughly
If your skin develops a layer of dead cells, pears can work as a wonderful natural scrub. The fruit contains plenty of natural enzymes that help exfoliate the skin thoroughly by eliminating dead cells from its superficial layers. All you need to do is add some pear extract to your regular face pack and scrub your face gently with the mixture. You can even use pear extract as a gentle natural peel for exfoliating skin and accelerating cell turnover.
3. Controls Oil Secretion
When the sebaceous glands in your skin become overactive, consider including pears in your beauty routine. The fruit can treat oily skin effectively by controlling the excess secretion of sebum. For this, you need to blend pear extract very well with fresh cream and honey. Use the mixture as a face mask three times every week to make your skin look matte and fresh always.
4. Combats Acne and Pimples
As pears regulate the oiliness of your skin, the chances of developing acne and pimples also go down. The high levels of vital vitamins and essential minerals in the fruit can also boost your immunity and heal your skin infections from inside. This results in clean and healthy skin that is free of acne and pimples.
5. Prevents Collagen Damage
The collagen protein in our skin gets damaged with age due to the frequent discharge of sugar into the bloodstream. This reduces the skin’s elasticity and steals its life by making it dull and uneven. Being loaded with dietary fibers, pears put a stop to these repeated sugar spikes in the blood, thereby averting collagen damage effectively. It helps in making the skin look soft, smooth, and plump.
6. Slows Down Premature Aging
Munching on pears with peels helps slow down the appearance of aging. The antioxidant properties of the fruit, attributed to vitamin C, vitamin K, and copper, make it exceptionally capable of preventing cellular damage. Consequently, the signs of aging like fine lines, wrinkles, age spots, etc., do not appear early.
Benefits of Pears for Hair
Just like skin, pears are highly beneficial for our hair too. Following are the hair benefits of the fruit that you would love to explore:
1. Improves Hair Health
The nutrient-dense fruit imparts lots of nutrition to our locks. In addition, Sorbitol or glucitol (natural sugar alcohol) present in pears is known to offer both nutrition and hydration to the hair roots. This nourishes the scalp and keeps the hair healthy.
2. Softens Dry Hair
When it comes to reducing hair dryness, pears work the best. The moisturizing and conditioning properties of the fruit help in maintaining the health of hair cells. As a result, the strands become softer and smoother.
3. Tames Frizzy Hair
While reducing the dryness of hair, pears also tame its frizziness. This eliminates ugly tangles and makes the locks manageable.
4. Brings Back Lost Shine
Pears help in restoring the natural shine of hair. You can prepare a natural mask for this purpose by blending pear extract with diluted apple cider vinegar. Then, apply it all over your dull and lifeless hair to revitalize it and make it look shiny.
Note:
Make sure that you do not consume too many pears in a day as it may cause digestive issues by obstructing nutrient absorption. Some other adverse effects of overconsumption of pears that you should be aware of are poor appetite, heartburn, diarrhea, bloating, nausea, headache, etc.
References:
- “Can People with Diabetes Eat Pears?”, Healthline.com
- “Systematic Review of Pears and Health”, NCBI.nlm.nih.gov
