Nutritional benefits of the gourd-shaped red pear, how it differs from the snow pear, and can pregnant women eat it?

Red pear generally refers to the red beer pear, a fruit with greenish-red skin, a shape like a little gourd, firm flesh, tender texture, sweet taste, and plenty of juice. It suits most people, but it should not be eaten with goose meat or crab. So what nutritional value and benefits does the red pear have? How does it differ from the snow pear? Can pregnant women eat it?

1. What nutritional value and benefits does the red pear have?

1. The red beer pear is rich in carotene, vitamins B1 and B2, and malic acid, and has the effect of “moistening the lungs and cooling the heart, reducing inflammation and clearing heat, and neutralizing sore toxins and alcohol toxins.

2. The vitamin B rich in red beer pears can protect the heart, reduce fatigue, enhance myocardial vitality, and lower blood pressure.

3. The glycosides and tannic acid and other components contained in red beer pears can dispel phlegm and relieve cough, and have a nourishing effect on the throat.

4. Red beer pears contain more saccharides and various vitamins, are easily absorbed by the human body, improve appetite, and have a protective effect on the liver.

5. Red beer pears have a very high pectin content, which helps digestion and clears the stomach and intestines.

2. What is the difference between red pear and snow pear?

Red pear refers to a new up-and-comer in the pear family with bright red color and a beautiful appearance. New varieties include Shuofeng Hong, Bayue Hong, Hong Nanguo, and Hong Jinqiu. Red pears sell well on the market because their special nutritional components greatly satisfy the health needs of people with weak constitutions who seek dietary therapy. According to research and analysis by French “color therapy experts,” red fruits and vegetables can provide people with abundant vitamin C and the trace element “iron,” thereby causing the body's resistant tissues to generate a kind of heat energy, controlling the body temperature raised by a cold, and speeding up the patient's recovery.

It can be seen that red pear and snow pear are not the same variety, but after all they are both a kind of pear. Autumn is a good season for eating pears. Pears are cool in nature, sweet with a slight sour taste, and enter the lung and stomach meridians. They can promote fluid production and moisten dryness, clear heat and resolve phlegm. There is a folk saying that “eaten raw, they clear the heat of the six bowels; cooked, they nourish the yin of the five bowels.” Eating pears raw can noticeably relieve symptoms such as dry, itchy, and painful throat, hoarseness, as well as constipation and reddish urine in patients with upper respiratory tract infections. Eating pears cooked can nourish yin and moisten the lungs, relieve cough and resolve phlegm, and has a good moisturizing and protective effect on the voice.

3. Can pregnant women eat red pears?

Because pears contain more glycosides, tannic acid components, and various vitamins, people with hypertension, heart and lung disease, hepatitis, or cirrhosis who experience dizziness, palpitations, and tinnitus often benefit greatly from eating pears regularly. For hepatitis patients, eating pears can protect the liver, aid digestion, and increase appetite.

In autumn, the weather gradually turns cool, and no matter how delicious pears are, not everyone can eat them freely and heartily. Because they are cold in nature, eating too many damages yang qi. People with coronary heart disease, diabetes, yang deficiency constitution, aversion to cold with cold limbs, and weak stomach and intestines, as well as pregnant women, should not eat too many or had best not eat them at all. Those with a deficient cold constitution or cold cough should not eat them raw; they must be steamed over water, or cooked in soup until done before eating.