Everyone craves healthy foods that can keep them going through the day. While most people pick traditional foods like apples and bananas to keep seasonal health issues at bay, a less popular fruit which is easily available and also helps prevent a host of ailments is the pear.

Here is what you need to know about the healthy fruit, which is also called ‘nashpati’ in Hindi.

Pear is considered to be among the healthiest fruits due to its high fibre content, antioxidants, and minerals. It is also said that one should regularly include pear in their diet, either as a whole fruit or in juice form.

It is also an easily available fruit in India, mentions Jeff Correa, international marketing director, Pear Bureau Northwest, USA Pears. “Pear is easily available because India’s own harvesting season ends around September, when all imported pears enter the market. This cycle helps Indian businesses flourish while also providing a year-round supply of the fruit,” he says.

Pear, which comes from the family of Rosaceae, is a must-have fruit that is also known to have the ability to contain sweet cravings.

How does the pear help fight diseases?

*Reportedly, 1.8 million people suffered from strokes in India in 2016 alone. Since various factors like age, diet, activity levels and even one’s genes contribute to cardiovascular diseases, diet can make a difference. Pear, which is a good source of flavonoids, helps decrease the risk of strokes, comments Correa.

*Any medium-sized pear provides 24 per cent of the adequate intake of fibre for a woman under the age of 50, according to the US Office of Disease Prevention and Health Promotion. Usually, inflammation occurs due to a weak immune system. Higher amounts of fibre helps to fight against inflammation as well as constipation which increases the metabolic activity of the body.

*Correa mentions that it is “often commonly misrepresented” that since pear naturally contains sugar, it is not appropriate for managing diabetes. However, when ranked on the glycemic index scale (that ranks foods based on how they affect blood sugar levels) from 1 to 100, a medium-sized pear ranked 38 making it is a low glycemic food, according to the Journal of Diabetes Care.

*Besides, pear is a sodium-free, fat-free and cholesterol-free fruit.

*Pear also has high water content, which acts as an antioxidant that flushes out toxins.