If you have diabetes and are wondering: “Are pears good for you?” or “Is Pear Good For Diabetes??” then you have found the right article!
Eating pears can benefit people with diabetes because, compared to many other fruits, pear is high in fiber and has a low glycemic index. Fresh pears make a great sweet snack since they are easily portable and contain lots of beneficial nutrients and minerals.
Living with diabetes means carefully monitoring what you eat and how it affects your blood glucose levels. Keep reading to learn about pears’ nutritional value, health benefits, how they may fit into a diabetes diet and glycemic index!
Is Pear Good For Diabetes?
Yes, pears can be a great choice for people with diabetes. They are high in fiber and have a low glycemic index, which means they do not raise your blood sugar as much as other sweet foods. They also have lots of potassium, vitamin C, and antioxidants.
According to the United States Department of Agriculture,[1] one medium-sized pear of the Bartlett variety (weighing about 177 grams) has the following nutritional value:
As you can see, pears are low in calories but have lots of fiber, vitamin C, and potassium. In fact, one medium Bartlett pear contains 6.9% of women’s daily potassium needs and 5.3% of men’s daily potassium needs.
It also contains 10.4% of women’s daily vitamin C needs and 8.7% of men’s daily vitamin C needs.
In addition to vitamins, one of the most nutritious aspects of pears is their high fiber content. With 5.49 grams of fiber, one medium pear will provide 26.1% of women’s daily fiber needs and 18.3% of men’s daily fiber needs.
Fiber is particularly important because most people do not eat enough fiber. The United States Department of Agriculture’s 2020-2025 Dietary Guidelines for Americans[2] recommends that women eat 21 to 25 grams of fiber daily and men eat 30 to 38 grams daily.
However, a 2016 study[3] reported that the average American only eats 16 grams of fiber daily. Thus, eating whole fruits like pears could help you have a more balanced diet.
Pears can be a great addition to any healthy diet, including for people living with diabetes. However, if you have diabetes, you may wonder: is pear good for diabetes? When asking this question, one important thing to consider is the food’s glycemic index or GI.
GI is a number between 1 and 100, representing how quickly the food will spike your blood sugar level. A food with a low GI will raise your blood sugar more gradually, whereas a food with a high GI will raise your blood sugar rapidly. GI values are typically only reported for foods high in carbohydrates.
Foods are categorized as low, medium, or high GI foods. High GI foods have a GI value over 70, medium GI foods have a GI value between 55 and 70, and low GI foods have a GI value below 55. High-GI foods include potatoes and other grains. Fresh fruit, vegetables, legumes, and dairy are typically low or medium-GI foods.
Determining the GI value of food is difficult and requires advanced scientific knowledge. Thus, the International Table of Glycemic Index and Load is the most reliable source for GI values. The most recent version of the table was first published in 2021.[4]
The most recent version of the table reports that pears have a GI value of 18 to 43, depending on the variety. Bartlett pears, the most common pear variety in the United States, have a GI value of 41. Asian pears have the lowest GI value of 18. This means that pears may be a good choice if you are trying to regulate blood sugar levels.
Including pears in your diet could have a preventative effect on developing diabetes. Fresh fruits are some of the most healthy foods for diabetes prevention. After reviewing many studies about the health benefits of pears, researchers[5] concluded that consuming whole fruit. Still, especially pears and apples regularly are linked to a lower risk of developing type 2 diabetes.
However, the same was not true for consuming fruit juice. In fact, consuming fruit juice[6] was associated with a higher risk of developing type 2 diabetes. When individuals replaced pear fruit juice consumption with whole pear fruit, the risk of developing type 2 diabetes was lowered by 18 percent.
This may be because without the skin and pulp, fruit juice does not have the fiber content that whole pears do. Fiber slows digestion, meaning the juice is digested much faster than whole fruit.
And don’t forget about the prickly pear from the cactus plant; it offers other health benefits besides its distinctive flavor. The prickly pear cactus promoted as a treatment for managing diabetes, obesity, high cholesterol, and hangovers may be among the finest medical foods on the market. Look for the prickly pear at your farmer’s market!
Additionally, fiber and protein have been shown to reduce the impact[7] of high-GI foods when eaten together.
In addition to their preventative benefits, pears may also have many health benefits for people with diabetes. In 2014, researchers[8] studied the health benefits of eating Bartlett and Starkrimson pears to help manage type 2 diabetes.
Those with type 2 diabetes are more prone to issues like hyperglycemia, high blood sugar, hypertension, or high blood pressure.
These researchers reported that certain compounds in pears contain antioxidants that help slow the metabolization of glucose. Slowing down glucose metabolization is beneficial for managing both hyperglycemia and hypertension.
Creating a meal plan can help you ensure you get all the nutrients you need. Some diabetes-friendly recipe ideas using pears:
Side effects really only occur if you are allergic to pears or eat far too many pears.
Since pears are high in fiber, eating too many could have negative consequences.
If you eat too much fiber[9] from pears, or even if you just increase your fiber intake too quickly, you could experience uncomfortable issues such as bloating, diarrhea, or intestinal obstruction. If you are increasing your fiber intake, it is typically wise to increase your water intake as well.
Additionally, if you need to follow a low-FODMAP diet, pears could cause gastrointestinal issues. Overall though, as long as you are eating pears as part of a healthy diet (and you are not allergic to them), there should not be any side effects or safety issues.
Research indicates that pears could help manage and prevent type 2 diabetes. Eating pears for diabetes can be a great choice since they have a relatively low glycemic index and high fiber content compared to other fruits. Even if you do not have diabetes, pears are a great source of fiber, potassium, and vitamin C!
Pears are one of many diabetes-friendly fruits since they have a low glycemic index and lots of beneficial properties like fiber and antioxidants.
Do pears have fiber?Pears have a significant amount of fiber. One medium Bartlett pear provides 5.49 grams of fiber, which is 26.1% of women’s daily fiber needs and 18.3% of men’s daily fiber needs.
Do pears raise blood sugar levels?Pears have carbohydrates (sugars and fiber), so eating pears raises your blood sugar levels. However, they will not spike your blood sugar as much as some other fruits and grains since they have a low glycemic index.
Are pears high in sugar?One medium Bartlett pear has 17.2 grams of sugar. This isn’t too high, especially when you compare it to snacks that contain added sugars, like candy bars and granola bars.
Do pears affect blood sugar?Since pears contain sugar, they will affect your blood sugar levels. Whole pears affect your blood pressure significantly less than pear juice since whole pears are slower to digest.
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