Health Benefits of Potassium

The health benefits of potassium include relief from stroke, blood pressure, heart and kidney disorders, anxiety and stress, as well as enhanced muscle strength, metabolism, water balance, electrolytic functions, and nervous system.

Potassium, the third most abundant mineral in human body, is a powerful element in improving health. It contains the components for maintaining a high level of well-being and an improved lifestyle. You should not underestimate the importance of potassium in your dietary plan.

Apart from acting as an electrolyte, this mineral is required for keeping the heart, brain, kidney, muscle tissue and other important organ systems of the human body in good condition. Potassium chloride is the main variety of this mineral, and it works in association with sodium to perform a number of critical body tasks.

Deficiency Symptoms

Deficiency of any nutrient in the body is undesirable and potassium is not an exception. A diet deficient in potassium may lead to symptoms like fatigue and muscle weakness. Other indications for a deficiency of potassium include inactive reflexes, abnormal heartbeat, heart palpitations, anaemia and severe headaches. Potassium-deficient people may also experience high blood pressure, pain in their intestines, swelling in their glands and diabetes as serious side effects of this deficiency.

Important Sources of Potassium

A balanced diet must contain a fair quantity of potassium, as per the recommendations of health experts. The most important dietary sources of potassium are citrus fruits, vegetables and grains. Also, you can get an ample amount of potassium from salmon, chicken, whole milk, fresh fruit juices and almonds. Apart from those, nuts, lime beans, potatoes and poultry are other products to be included in the potassium boosting list. However, the most important sources of potassium are avocados, bananas and coconut water.

Health Benefits of Potassium

Potassium is often considered an essential health nutrient, due to its numerous health benefits.

Stroke: Potassium plays an important role in keeping brain function at a normal level. High levels of potassium allow more oxygen to reach the brain, thereby stimulating neural activity and increasing cognitive function. There is a good reason why people call bananas brain food; they contain impressively high levels of potassium!

It is of great importance in preventing the occurrence of stroke in the human brain. It is not secret that people at high risk for this tragic condition are often found to be deficient in this essential nutrient.Since potassium acts as a vasodilator, the blood vessels relax throughout the body when proper amounts of potassium are consumed. This means that blood flows more freely, and is less likely to clot and break off to cause strokes.

Low blood sugar: A decrease in the potassium level causes a drop in blood sugar. Decreases in blood sugar can cause sweating, headache, weakness, trembling and nervousness. An intake of potassium chloride and sodium provides immediate relief from such situations. This is also why diabetic patients are encouraged to keep their potassium levels normal, to reduce the chances of unpredictable spikes and plunges in their glucose and insulin levels by stabilizing the blood sugar levels throughout the body.

Muscle disorders: Potassium plays an important role in regular muscle contraction. A sufficient concentration of potassium is required for the regular contraction and relaxation muscles. Most of the potassium ions in the human body are located in the muscle cells. It maintains optimal muscle and nerve function, and helps to keep our reflexes fast because it stimulates the neural connectivity of muscles and the brain!

Cramps: Muscle cramps are a common result of low levels of potassium in the blood, a condition called hypokalemia. If you consume a banana every day, you can easily prevent muscle cramps because bananas have a rich potassium content, not to mention all of the other benefits of bananas!

Bone Health: The benefits of potassium even extend to improving the health of your bones. There are certain qualities of potassium which neutralize various acids throughout the body which retain and preserve calcium, making it inaccessible to use for bone strength and durability. Furthermore, a study at the Linus Pauling Institute Micronutrient Information Center claims that eating fruits and vegetables that have high levels of potassium results in higher mineral density in bones, further strengthening and prolonging the life of your bones!

Brain function: Potassium channels play a key role in maintaining the electrical conductivity of the brain and dramatically affect brain funtion. It is also involved in higher brain function like memory and learning. In addition to this, serious ailments like epilepsy are related to the dysfunction of potassium channels that can occur through potassium deficiency.  There are actually potassium currents that play a major role in mammalian neurones. These channels are interconnected with a vast array of neural function and can help moderate and regulate electrical currents throughout the body!

Blood Pressure: Potassium is helpful in reversing the role of sodium in unbalancing normal blood pressure. Thus, it acts as a vital component that maintains the normality of blood pressure in the human body. This further reduces the risk of heart diseases and hypertension. Regulation of blood pressure is one of the most important functions of this powerful mineral. As mentioned earlier, potassium has vasodilating properties that work to relieve the tension of blood vessels, which is one of the main causes of high blood pressure.

Muscular Strength:  One of the most useful benefits of potassium is its role in ensuring the proper growth of muscle tissues and the proper utilization of energy released during metabolism, which adds significantly to muscular strength. The muscles, including those all-important cardiac muscles, are prone to paralysis due to a deficiency of potassium in a person’s diet.

Stimulating cell growth and providing the metabolic energy to do so is a vital function of potassium, and muscular health would be compromised without it. Also, without the contractions and relaxations that potassium allows muscles to perform, exercise and additional muscle training would be impossible!

Metabolism: Potassium assists in the metabolic processing of various nutrients like fats and carbohydrates. Thus, potassium is of great value in extracting the energy from nutrients that are consumed. Studies have shown that potassium is also integral in the synthesis of proteins, which have an impact of tissue regeneration, cell growth, and an overall balanced metabolism.

Anxiety and Stress:Potassium is of great importance for people suffering from undesirable mental states like anxiety and stress. It is considered as a powerful stress buster and therefore ensures the efficient mental performance of the human body. Anxiety and stress are so detrimental to other parts of health that any bonus from things like potassium are considered a very good idea if you suffer from chronic stress. Potassium can help regulate various hormones in your body, including stress hormones like cortisol and adrenaline, excess amounts of which can be quite detrimental to a wide array of the body’s systems.

Heart and Kidney Disorders: The health benefits of potassium ensure good health for the heart as well as the kydneys. It plays an irreplaceable role in regulating the functions of the metabolism and keeping the heart and kidneys running smoothly. Additionally, this mineral assists kidneys in removing waste through the process of excretion. However, it is strongly advised to consult your doctor to get recommendations about potassium dosage, because potassium can help stimulate the body to absorb more calcium than necessary, which can actually calcify and cause kidney problems, rather than solve them.

Water Balance: Another significant role that potassium plays is in the maintenance of an optimal fluid balance in the human body. Different types of cells require a proper water balance for efficient functioning and potassium aids these cells in regulating the balance. Fluid balance keeps all of our organ systems functioning in one way or the other, which is why many people recommend eating bananas after athletic events, or after a heavy night of drinking, in order to rehydrate and optimize fluid balance.

Electrolytes: Potassium is also a great electrolyte in the human body. It helps in regulating the level of fluids in the body and thus aids in a number of critical body functions. Furthermore, electrolytes help to transmit electrical charges throughout the body from the brain and nervous system, so extra electrolytes keep everything functioning faster and more efficiently in the body!

Nervous System: In connection to the previous point about electrolytes, potassium helps to boost the efficiency of nerve reflexes that transmit message from one body part to another. This in turn helps in muscle contraction to perform various activities every day without tiring quickly, which are further benefited by potassium, which is required to induce muscle contraction and function.

A Few Words of Caution: It is definitely possible to have too much of a good thing. Excess potassium in the body, for example, from patients with kidney issues that cannot properly process potassium, may have dangerously high levels. This can lead to heart disease, muscle paralysis, trouble breathing, tingling in the hands and feet, heart arrhythmia, and nausea. Potassium can be a miraculous addition to certain diets, but always be careful that you don’t overdo, and if you choose to take potassium supplements on top of a change to your diet, consult your doctor first!

http://www.organicfacts.net/health-benefits/minerals/health-benefits-of-potassium.html

The Type of Food that Will Slow Nearly EVERY Inflammatory Disease...

You've probably heard of enzymes, and you probably already know they are important for your digestion. But you may not be aware of just how necessary enzymes are to every cell in your body—not just for digestion but for ALL your physiological processes.

Enzymes are composed of amino acids and are secreted by your body to help catalyze functions that would normally not occur at physiological temperatures. They literally make magic happen and are absolutely vital to your life.

More than 3,000 different enzymes have been identified, and some experts believe there may be another 50,000 we have yet to discover. Each enzyme has a different function—like 3,000 specialized keys cut to fit 3,000 different locks. In this analogy, the locks are biochemical reactions.

Enzymes drive biological processes necessary for your body to build raw materials, circulate nutrients, eliminate unwanted chemicals, and the myriad of other biochemical processes that go on without your even thinking about it.

For starters, here are just some of the activities in your body requiring enzymes:

• Energy production
• Absorption of oxygen
• Fighting infections and healing wounds
• Reducing inflammation
• Getting nutrients into your cells
• Carrying away toxic wastes
• Breaking down fats in your blood, regulating cholesterol and triglyceride levels
• Dissolving blood clots
• Proper hormone regulation
• Slowing the ageing process

And small amounts of enzymes can affect profound changes! Enzymes are the catalysts that cause many essential biochemical reactions to happen—but they are not "used up" IN the reaction. They merely assist—meaning, they accelerate reactions—sometimes to a mind-boggling several million reactions per second!

Enzymes lower the amount of energy needed for a reaction to occur. Without them, some reactions simply would not function in your body.

But enzymes don't work alone.

Enzymes rely on other elements to accomplish their tasks, such as certain vitamins and minerals. These elements are called "coenzymes."

You are probably already familiar with one of these—coenzyme q10. CoQ10 is found in the mitochondria (power centers) of your cells where it is involved in making ATP, every cell's principal energy source. Another example is magnesium, which participates in over 300 enzyme reactions.

The Concept of "Enzyme Potential"

Dr. Edward Howell spent his entire professional life studying enzymes and can be credited with catalyzing enzyme research.

Whether or not this is true, Howell believed you were born with a limited enzyme-producing capacity, and that your life expectancy depends on how well you preserve your "enzyme potential." His theory was that if you don't get enough enzymes from the food you eat, great strain is placed on your digestive system to "pick up the slack," i.e., produce enough enzymes to accomplish the task.

A deficiency in digestive enzymes then reduces availability of your metabolic enzymes. Howell believed this metabolic enzyme deficit was at the root of most chronic health problems.

Enzyme Basics

There are three basic categories of enzymes:

1. Digestive
2. Metabolic
3. Food based

Digestive enzymes, as their name implies, help you break down food into smaller parts that can be absorbed, transported and utilized by every cell in your body. Digestive enzymes are extra-cellular—meaning, they are found outside your cells.

Metabolic enzymes are intra-cellular—meaning, inside your cells, where they help the cell carry out a variety of functions related to its reproduction and replenishment.

Your pancreas produces most of these digestive and metabolic enzymes.

Fortunately, you get (or should be getting) many enzymes from the foods you consume—particularly, raw foods. These directly help with your digestive process.

The more raw foods you eat, the lower the burden on your body to produce the enzymes it needs, not only for digestion, but for practically everything. Whatever enzymes are not used up in digestion are then available to help with other important physiological processes.

Your Meal's Journey through Your Digestive System

Once consumed, your meal begins a complicated, multi-phased journey of breakdown and conversion into nutrients your body can use. This process is, of course, called digestion, and enzymes play a key role.

There are eight primary digestive enzymes, each designed to help break down different types of food:

1. Protease: Digesting protein
2. Amylase: Digesting carbohydrates
3. Lipase: Digesting fats
4. Cellulase: Breaking down fiber
5. Maltase: Converting complex sugars from grains into glucose
6. Lactase: Digesting milk sugar (lactose) in dairy products
7. Phytase: Helps with overall digestion, especially in producing the B vitamins
8. Sucrase: Digesting most sugars

Digestion begins in your mouth, starting with saliva. Did you know that you produce about 1.7 litres of saliva each day? Your mouth is where enzymes (primarily amylase) begin to exert their action. Amylase in your saliva begins to break down carbohydrates.

As food passes into your stomach, proteins are worked on by protease. From there, the bolus of food passes into your small intestine, where lipase begins to break down fats, and amylase finishes off the carbohydrates.

Did you know that 90 percent of your digestion and absorption takes place in your small intestine?

From here, the micronutrients are absorbed into your bloodstream through millions of tiny villi in the wall of your gut. But what happens when this process goes awry?

Disease—or "dis-ease."

Aftermath of the Western Diet: Enzyme Deficiency

Insufficient enzyme production is at the root of much "tummy trouble" in our country. Digestive problems cost Americans $50 billion each year in both direct costs and absence from work.

It is a sad fact that 90 percent of the food Americans buy is processed food. Diets heavy in cooked, processed, and sugary foods, combined with overuse of pharmaceutical drugs such as antibiotics, deplete your body's ability to make enzymes.

Enzymes may be relatively large, but their protein structures are fragile. The amino acids in the molecular chain link together to form certain patterns and shapes, which give enzymes their unique characteristics and functions. When something disrupts the chain's structure, the enzyme becomes "denatured"—it changes shape and loses its ability to perform.

Heating your food above 116 degrees F renders most enzymes inactive.

This is one of the reasons it's so important to eat your foods raw. Raw foods are enzyme-rich, and consuming them decreases your body's burden to produce its own enzymes. The more food that you can eat raw, the better. Ideally, you should get 75 percent of your digestive enzymes from your food.

In addition to heat, enzymes are also very sensitive to shifts in pH, which is why different enzymes work in different parts of your digestive tract, based on the pH each enzyme needs in order to function.

Enzyme deficiency results in poor digestion and poor nutrient absorption. This creates a variety of gastrointestinal symptoms, including:

• Constipation
• Bloating
• Cramping
• Flatulence and belching
• Heartburn and acid reflux

Chronic malabsorption can lead to a variety of illnesses. Think about it—if your body doesn't have the basic nutritional building blocks it needs, your health and ability to recover from illness will be compromised.

Besides breaking down food, enzymes (particularly the proteases) can help with gut healing, controlling pathogens, and immune support. Your immune system begins in your gut—and if you have enzyme and digestive issues, chances are your immune system isn't functioning as well as it should be.

Complicating matters, your capacity for enzyme production also declines with age.

How Aging Affects Your Enzyme Production

Research has shown that your natural enzyme production starts to decline by the time you're about 20.

Studies show that, every ten years , your body's production of enzymes decreases by 13 per cent. So by age 40, your enzyme production could be 25 percent lower than it was when you were a child. And by the time you're 70, you could be producing only ONE-THIRD of the enzymes you need.

Making matters worse, your stomach produces less hydrochloric acid as you age, and hydrochloric acid is crucial in activating your stomach's digestive enzymes.

When digestion of foods requires such a heavy demand, enzyme supplies run short and your enzyme-producing capacity can become exhausted. Why does this matter? The high demand for digestive enzymes depletes your body's production of metabolic enzymes, which every cell in your body needs in order to function.

The Many Roles of Metabolic Enzymes

Now that you know how important digestive enzymes are for getting nourishment, let's take a look at another type of enzymatic activity—your metabolic enzymes. Metabolic enzymes are intimately involved with running your circulatory, lymphatic, cardiac, neurologic, endocrine, renal, hepatic, and reproductive systems, and maintaining your skin, bones, joints, muscles and other tissues.

Every one of your 10 trillion cells depends on these enzymes and their ability to catalyze energy production. As I said before, each of these enzymes is highly specialized as a function of its particular molecular structure.

Consider these two examples:

• RNA polymerase is an enzyme your body uses to transcribe DNA into RNA, which is used to make proteins.
• Lysosomal enzyme, produced in the lysosome of each cell (also called the “suicide bag”), breaks down macromolecules and other foreign particles the cell has ingested (such as bacteria) so they can be disposed of. The lysosome is a microscopic garbage disposal!

One of the most important functions of metabolic enzymes happens in your blood. If you think about it, it makes sense. We know that bacteria, fungi, and parasites are comprised of protein, as is the shell encompassing viruses. Enzymes in your blood—primarily proteases (proteolytic enzymes)—serve to break down protein-based foreign bodies, effectively cleansing your blood.

As blood cleansers, these enzymes combat chronic inflammation, which left unchecked can lead to everything from autoimmune diseases, to cardiovascular disease and even cancer. Enzymes reduce inflammation in your body by:

1. Breaking down foreign proteins in the blood that cause inflammation and facilitating their removal via your blood stream and lymphatic system
2. Removing “fibrin,” a clotting material that can prolong inflammation
3. Reducing edema in the inflamed regions

It follows, then, that any disease caused by inflammation—which is practically every chronic disease we face today—can be benefited by increased levels of functional enzymes in your blood.

I will discuss oral enzyme supplementation shortly. Although taking an enzyme supplement may be helpful, NO manufactured product can duplicate the positive effects of a nutrient-rich diet.

Boosting Your Enzyme Levels Naturally

There are four ways to naturally increase your enzyme levels:

1. Increase your intake of raw, living foods
2. Eat fewer calories
3. Chew your food thoroughly
4. Avoid chewing gum

The very best way to get enzymes into your body is by consuming at least 75 percent of your foods raw. For many of you, you'll have to work toward this goal gradually.

While all raw foods contain enzymes, the most powerful enzyme-rich foods are those that are sprouted (seeds and legumes). Sprouting increases the enzyme content in these foods tremendously. Besides sprouts, other enzyme-rich foods include:

• Papaya, pineapple, mango, kiwi, and grapes
• Avocado
• Raw honey (the enzymes actually come from the bee's saliva)
• Bee pollen
• Extra virgin olive oil and coconut oil
• Raw meat and dairy

The best way to bump up your metabolic enzymes is to provide your body with raw materials and energy it needs to make them. By eating these types of foods, you supply your body with the amino acids and the enzyme co-factors needed to boost your own natural enzyme production.

Another way to lower your body's demand for enzymes is to reduce your caloric intake. Did you know the average person spends 80 percent of his available energy simply digesting food?

By reducing overall consumption, as well as introducing more living foods, you reduce your need for digestive enzymes, which allows your body to put more of its energy into producing metabolic enzymes.

Which brings us to chewing. Quite apart from the esthetic pleasure of an unhurried meal, there are important physiological reasons to chew your food well.

Chewing stimulates saliva production, and the more time you spend chewing, the longer your saliva enzymes have to work in your mouth, lessening the workload of your stomach and small intestine. Chewing also stimulates a reflex that sends a message to your pancreas and other digestive organs, "Gear up—we've got incoming!"

And don't chew gum.

Chewing gum fools your body into believing it is digesting something, so it pumps out digestive enzymes unnecessarily. Why waste those precious resources?

Digestive Enzyme Supplementation

If you suffer from occasional bloating, minor abdominal discomfort, and occasional constipation and suspect your enzyme production is low, you might want to consider a digestive enzyme supplement in addition to eating more of your foods raw.

Digestive enzymes should be taken WITH a meal. There are hundreds on the market, so how do you choose a good one? You should look for an enzyme formula with the following characteristics:

• It should contain a mixture of different types of enzymes, to help digest all of the different components of your diet (including lipase, protease, and amylase)
• The ingredients should be high quality, all-natural, and free of allergens and additives
• The supplement should be labeled as to the enzymatic strength of each ingredient, not just its weight
• It should be made by a reputable company with rigorous quality control and testing for potency

Besides digestive enzyme supplementation, there is another way to use oral enzymes—for systemic use. This requires taking enzymes between meals so they can be absorbed through your gut and into your bloodstream, where your cells can use them metabolically.

Systemic Enzymes—Playing Catch-Up with European Medicine

Getting enzymes from your digestive tract into your bloodstream isn't as easy as it would seem. As I've already discussed, enzymes are very susceptible to denaturing and must be helped to survive the highly acidic environment in your stomach. They are often given an "enteric coating" to help them survive the journey through your digestive tract.

And then, there is the matter of absorption.

For nearly 100 years, medical dogma insisted that enzymes taken orally were too large to pass through the digestive tract wall.

However, there is now a good deal of research that they can indeed pass through your intestine intact and into your bloodstream and lymphatic system, where they can deliver their services to the rest of your body... one of the mysteries of medical science.

Now that we know this is possible, systemic oral enzymes have been used to treat problems ranging from sports injuries to arthritis to heart disease and cancer, particularly in European countries. But most of the research has been published in non-English language journals.

This systemic use of enzymes is just now taking off in the United States.

It is crucial that, in order for enzymes to be used systemically, they must be ingested on an empty stomach. Otherwise, your body will use them for digesting your food, instead of being absorbed into the blood and doing their work there.

Let's take a look at how systemic enzymes can benefit your health by examining their applications for two major health problems we face today: heart disease and cancer.

How Systemic Enzymes Battle Heart Disease

It is now fairly well recognized that heart attacks and strokes are related to inflammation, which is why C-reactive protein (an inflammatory marker) can be predictive of cardiac events.

However, according to an excellent article about systemic enzymes by Michael Sellar, French researchers have proposed that bacteria might be a causative factor in coronary artery disease. Very high levels of bacteria were found in their patients' arterial plaques, possibly explaining elevations in C-reactive protein.

C-reactive protein functions to stop the spread of bacteria in your body.

Since enzymes inhibit platelet aggregation, help your immune system combat pathogens, and break down fibrin (which makes up clots), they may offer significant benefits for vascular diseases like thrombosis, phlebitis, and varicose veins.

Sellar quotes enzyme researcher Rudolph Kunze:

"Although enzymes reduce inflammation and we used to think that was all they did, we now believe that the central target of systemic enzymes is the immune system. It is my belief that heart disease is an immune disease very much, although obviously not totally, related to bacterial pathogens and other invaders."

Systemic Enzymes in the Treatment of Cancer

The use of enzymes to treat cancer has its roots all the way back to 1911 with John Beard's The Enzyme Treatment of Cancer and Its Scientific Basis. Beard believed cancer was a result of diminished pancreatic enzymes, impairing your immune response.

A study in 1999 suggests he may have been right on target.

Ten patients with inoperable pancreatic cancer were treated with large doses of oral pancreatic enzymes (along with detoxification and an organic diet), and their survival rates were 3 to 4 times higher than patients receiving conventional treatment. Proteolytic enzymes can be helpful in treating cancer because they help restore balance to your immune system.

Dr . Nick Gonzalez in New Youk city, NY has also done a lot of work on enzymes in cancer treatment and has written a book on the subject.

Some of the ways proteolyc enzymes can be helpful in the fight against cancer are:

• Boosting cytokines, particularly interferon and tumor necrosis factor, which are very important warriors in destroying cancer cells.
• Decreasing inflammation.
• Dissolving fibrin: Cancer cells hide under a cloak of fibrin to escape detection. Once the cancer cells are “uncloaked,” they can be spotted and attacked by your immune system. It is also thought that fibrin makes cancer cells “stick together,” which increases the chance for metastases.
• German studies have shown that systemic enzymes increase the potency of macrophages and killer cells 12-fold.

For more about the difference between digestive enzymes and systemic enzymes, click here for a video interview with enzyme expert Nena Dockery.

Hopefully you can now appreciate just how important enzymes are to your overall health, right down to the cellular level. Once you understand this, you may begin to see just how important it is to eat a diet rich in fresh, organic, raw foods. You may even want to try juicing some of your vegetables as a way of getting more nutrients—and enzymes—into your body.

It has been said, "You are what you eat." But really, "You are what you digest" is closer to the truth.

http://articles.mercola.com/sites/articles/archive/2011/08/21/enzymes-special-report.aspx

30 Amazing Benefits Of Pears For Skin, Hair And Health

Who doesn’t like those juicy and sweet pears especially in summers? They provide some much needed relief with their fiber rich juiciness to get some cooling effect especially for kids. They have a lot of fiber content and its anti-oxidants help to fight against many health problems improving immunity.

Below listed are a few important pears fruit benefits for health, which you might find useful.

Health Benefits of Pears:

1. Fights against free radicals:

The presence of vitamin C, vitamin K and copper in pears fights against free radicals that damage our body cells.

2. Prevents heart diseases:

Pears benefits include the presence of fiber, which reduces the cholesterol in the body and thereby protects us from heart diseases. Daily intake of fiber rich food like pears can reduce the risk of stroke by up to 50%.

3. Prevents cancer:

High content of fiber present in pears binds to the carcinogenic cells by removing them and prevents colon cancer. A pear a day can prevent breast cancer by upto 34% in women after menopause.

4. No allergic reactions:

Pears when compared with other fruits have less chance of allergenic reactions when eaten and thus are one of the few fruits that can be given to infants.

5. Controls blood sugar level:

Even though it is slightly sweet, with low glycerin index and high fiber content pears helps in controlling the sugar levels in the blood and prevents diabetes.

cc licensed ( BY ) flickr photo shared by tracy ducasse

6. Boosts immune system:

High content of anti-oxidants like vitamin C and copper helps in boosting the immune system of the body to fight against various diseases.

7. Prevents osteoporosis:

Bone problems are very common these days. So in order to keep those bones healthy and prevent osteoporosis, it is very important to maintain the pH of the body and eat recommended amount of calcium daily. pH of the body can be maintained through diet by consuming fruits and vegetables daily. The boron rich pears can help to absorb the calcium consumed easily.

8. Increases energy levels:

The high glucose content in pears gives you instant energy when you feel weak. It gets absorbed very quickly by the body and converts into energy.

9. Digestion:

A medium sized pear contains around 20-25% of the recommended daily intake of fiber. Since its fiber is insoluble, it moves through the colon easily and prevents colon polyps. The high fiber content helps and improves digestion.

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. For weaning children:

For weaning children, it is always recommended to give pears because it is hypoallergenic and is a low acidic fruit. So it doesn’t create any digestion related problems. This fruit can be peeled, heated and then pureed. The peel also can be fed but it is very important to take care that it doesn’t have any harsh edges that can hurt children. Pears should not be given to children with diarrhoea.

12. Against gallbladder, colitis, arthritis, gout:

Pears help to prevent gallbladder problems, colitis, arthritis and gout if taken regularly.

13. Blood pressure:

Anti-carcinogen glutathione and anti-oxidants present in pears help in controlling the blood pressure.

14. Fever:

Pears help in curing fever easily with its cooling effects.

15. Inflammation:

Pears have anti-inflammation properties which help to reduce inflammation of arthritis and other such problems.

16. Shortness of breath:

During summers shortness of breath is quite common due to heat in both children and adults. So it is recommended to take pears during those hot days.

17. Throat problems:

Pears prevent throat problems during summers. So it is good to take a pear a day or a glass of its juice will do the work.

To get all the benefits of pears, take them regularly during these hot summer days.

Skin Benefits of Pears

18. Fibers Prevents Skin Damage: 

Pears are loaded with dietary fibers which play a pivotal role in keeping our skin smooth and soft. They decelerate the discharge of sugar into the bloodstream and prevent the damage of skin collagen (certain type of protein) caused due to frequent sugar spikes. Consequently, we get a smooth skin and plump look.

19. Keep Wrinkles Away: 

Munch on pears daily to stay away from aging. The fruit is rich in vitamin C – a super effective antioxidants, vitamin K and copper. All these elements are capable of combating harmful free radicals thereby protecting our skin cells from severe damages. It eventually helps in toning up the skin and curtailing the formation of fine lines near our eyes as well as lip area.

20. Treat Oily Skin: 

If you have an oily skin, pears can be really beneficial for you. Just smash a pear and mix fresh cream and honey with it. Use this paste thrice a week as a face mask and the over secretion of the sebaceous glands present in your skin will reduce to a great extent.

21. Get Acne-Free Skin: 

People with acne-prone skin can also be benefited by pears. Pears contain high levels of vital vitamins and essential minerals, these fruits can boost their immunity and make them stronger internally. As a result, their skin becomes able to fight against acne, pimple and all other types of skin infections from inside.

22. Stay Moisturized for Long: 

Pears not only good for oily skin, but are also good for dry and flaky skin. They contain natural humectants, which help balance the normal water-content of the skin and retain its natural moisture. Hence, the extract of this fruit is widely used in making moisturizing lotion. Regular intake of pear juice can also make your skin even and smooth.

23. Effective Natural Scrub: 

The natural enzymes present in the fruit make it a great scrubbing agent. You can easily get rid of the dead skin cells present in the superficial layer of your skin by blending a mashed pear in your regular face pack and exfoliate your skin with it. The fruit extract can also be used as a gentle peel for accelerating the cell turnover.

24. Good for Lip Treatment: 

Pears are excellent for our lips. The credit goes to the lactic acid present in its extract. This acid content of the fruit can keep the cells of your lips healthy and hydrated for long so that you get a soft and smooth pout.

25. Anti-Inflammatory by Nature: 

The anti-inflammatory properties of pears works as a beauty remedy. Consuming pears or using any beauty products containing its extract does not impose any allergic reactions. Hence, it is good for skin and useful for infants too.

Hair Benefits of Pears

26. Healthy and Nourished Hair:

When it comes to the most excellent hair benefits of pears, the first thing that should be included in the list is its ability to make hair healthy and nourished. Pears, especially the ripe ones, contain a natural sugar alcohol named ‘sorbitol’ or ‘glucitol’, which feeds the hair roots, nourishes the scalp and keeps the hair moisturized in order to make it healthy.

27. Reduce Hair Dryness: 

The moisturizing property of pears is extremely beneficial for reducing the dryness of our hair. Moreover, it holds lots of vitamin C, which works as a natural antioxidant and helps keep the hair strands conditioned by maintaining the health of the hair cells.

28. Tame Your Frizzy Hair: 

From regular consumption of pears to giving your tresses a treatment with the fruit – everything is helpful for eliminating those ugly tangles. Your frizzy hair can easily become manageable with the help of pears.

29. Restore the Lost Shine: 

If you are worried about your dull and unattractive hair, pears can be of help. All you need to do is to prepare a natural hair mask at your home by mixing the extract of 1 fresh and ripe pear, 2 tablespoons of apple cider vinegar and water. This is a great hair revitalizer that can revive your dull hair and restore its lost shine.

30. Maintain Curly and Coloured Locks: 

Maintaining the curls and shades of your hair can be much easier with the application of pear hair pack. To make such a pack, peel and smash a pear properly and then form a smooth paste by adding soybean oil to it. Now, spread this paste all over your hair evenly. After an hour, wash it off with a mild shampoo. The difference will be easily visible!

How to Select and Store Pears

Choosing the right pears and storing them in a perfect manner are essential for getting the most out of the fruits. Here is a guide for you:

1. How to Select the Right Pears:

• Ripe-to-fall pears are the best to pick. If the skin of the fruit is bright and glossy, do give it a miss. Rather go for the ones that are matte golden in color, featuring a nice fragrant and having a little soft neck.

• A good pear should be firm enough (not too stiff). The skin of the fruit must be even as well as damage-free. Even if it has a bit russet (brownish patches) on the skin, go for it as there will be nothing wrong with the flavour or the benefits of the fruit.

• While buying a pear, make sure that the top portion (close to the stem) is neither too soft nor too rigid. In order to do so, just press that area lightly with your fingertips instead of squeezing the entire fruit.

2. How to Store the Selected Pears:

If you want to store ripe pears, put them simply in the refrigerator. Conversely, if you wish to make them ripened at room temperature, place them in a bowl without washing as moisture can decompose the fruit fast.

You can also help the pears to be fully grown by keeping them in a pierced paper bag. It will help them get enough oxygen and slow down the decay or over ripening.

Tips for Cooking / Eating Pears

Now, when you have almost all information about pears, get ready to eat or cook it. Here are some tips for you:

• Clean and wash a fresh pear, pat it dry and eat it along with the skin. This way, you can make the most of the fibers, phytonutrients and antioxidants present in the fruit.

• Pears can be sliced by using an apple corer. You need to cut it from the base so that the core can be removed effortlessly. Also, pour 2-3 drops of lemon juice into the slices as soon as possible so that they do not get oxidized.

• You can prepare a dessert by combining blue cheese or goat cheese with the pears. If you want to come up with something more delicious, just make a cheese board with some buttery pears, fresh walnuts and honey.

• A tasty pear salad can be prepared by combining the fruit with some leeks, mustard green and watercress. Make it a bit more nutritious by spreading a few walnuts over it.

• Coring pears and softening them with red wine and sugar can also be a wonderful choice.

Principle	Nutrient Value	Percentage of RDA
Energy	58 Kcal	3%
Carbohydrates	13.81 g	11%
Protein	0.38 g	<1%
Total Fat	0.12 g	0.5%
Cholesterol	0 mg	0%
Dietary Fiber	3.10 g	8%
Vitamins
Folates	7 µg	2%
Niacin	0.157 mg	1%
Pantothenic acid	0.048 mg	1%
Pyridoxine	0.028 mg	2%
Riboflavin	0.025 mg	2%
Thiamin	0.012 mg	1%
Vitamin A	23 IU	1%
Vitamin C	4.2 mg	7%
Vitamin E	0.12 mg	1%
Vitamin K	4.5 µg	4%
Electrolytes
Sodium	1 mg	0%
Potassium	119 mg	2.5%
Minerals
Calcium	9 mg	1%
Copper	0.082 mg	9%
Iron	0.17 mg	2%
Magnesium	7 mg	2%
Manganese		2%
Phosphorus	11 mg	2%
Zinc	0.10 mg	1%
Phyto-nutrients
Carotene-ß	12 µg	–
Crypto-xanthin-ß	2 µg	–
Lutein-zeaxanthin	45 µg	–

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