Click one of the buttons above, or cut and paste the following link to share this page with your network.
This link will automatically track your referrals to Joyful Belly:
Pears are a soothing, cooling, and Kapha friendly fruit that calms the heart and relieves restlessness. Western naturopaths consider pears to be hypoallergenic, a safe choice for those with food sensitivities.
Their cold and expectorant qualities are used in Chinese medicine when heat conditions dry up fluids in the lungs. Their lubricating action also relieves cough, especially when the juice is combined with rock candy. Although pears quench thirst they are also a diuretic.
In ancient Greece, pears were used to treat nausea. They are laxative and a good source of fiber. Too many pears, however, will have an excess cooling effect on digestion, aggravating Vata and Kapha. Avoid eating pears late at night, or if you have acid reflux.
Pears are also high in vitamin C and copper
About Pears
Pears are an ancient fruit eaten since pre-historic times. Older varieties of pear had a hardened flesh that required hours of cooking to soften. Impossible to eat raw, the Romans stewed pears with honey and spices. Around the 18th century pears were bred to have a softer, sweeter flesh more common in produce stores today. Despite breeding, pear flesh contains stone cells, which are grittier than the flesh of their related cousin, the apple.
Buying & Preparation
Pears are generally cultivated in cold, temperate climates. They are hardy, even growing as far north as Scandinavia. Although pears have become wild in Europe and form part of the natural vegetation of the forest, the genus originated in western China in the foothills of the Tian Shan. Pears ripen from the inside out; the best way to judge ripeness is to "check the neck." Since pears perish soon after ripening, they are generally sold unripe in the grocery store. When left at room temperature they will usually ripen within a few days after purchase. Storing them in the fridge will slow the ripening process. If you buy them in bulk and want to stretch your pear-eating time, try putting a third in the fridge, a third in a bowl, and a third next next to bananas that will help them ripen sooner. Ripe pears for days!
Cooking Pears
Pears are eaten raw, stewed, canned, as juice, or dried. They are often paired with raisins, nuts, sugar, and spices when cooked. Raw or cooked, pears are a frequent ingredient in gourmet salads, where they are often drizzled in balsamic vinegar. Cooking pears are generally harder than varieties eaten raw, and have a snappy crunch. Fermented pear juice is called perry or pear cider.
Learn about the health benefits of pears for FREE
You'll receive free access to our entire website including
healthy recipes,
nutritional diet plans,
medicinal uses of ingredients,
& ayurvedic health tips.
Sign in once and you can use our website indefinitely..
Find out by taking this free, easy quiz.
You'll learn your body type, and whether 'Pears' is a good fit.
Complete the basic quiz in 1 minute, or go deeper with additional quizzes
at your own leisure to learn more about your body.
AYURVEDA'S GUIDE TO VITALITY & WHOLESOME NOURISHMENT
Your Ayurvedic diet is tailored to your individual body and your specific imbalances.
With an Ayurvedic diet you feel joy and satisfaction because what you are eating truly nourishes and balances you.
Disease results from diets and lifestyles that are incompatible with your nature.
By eating a personalized diet matched to your body, you experience optimal health.
See How it Works.
Health Virtues of Pears
Personalized medicine systems use biocharacteristics to classify the metabolic nature of food, hebs, lifestyle choices, indivdual constitutions, and disease.
METABOLIC NATURE / BIOCHARACTERISTICS
Metabolic Nature / Biocharacteristics
Ayurveda assesses metabolic imbalances through 20 main biocharacteristics
(vital qualtiies).
Aggravating them weakens your body and causes imbalance.
By knowing which biocharacteristics are habitually imbalanced in your body, you will be able to identify and correct metabolic imbalances before you get sick.
Every biocharacteristic has an opposite which balances it (i.e. hot balances cold).
You restore balance by favoring diet and lifestyle choices that increase the opposite biocharacteristic.
Taste is used to sense the most basic properties and effects of food.
Each taste has a specific medicinal effect on your body.
Cravings for food with certain tastes indicate your body is craving specific medicinal results from food.
Taste is experienced on the tongue and represents your body's reaction to foods.
Sweet taste causes physical satisfaction and attraction whereas bitter taste causes discomfort and aversion.
Kapha should use less sweet taste while Vata and Pitta would benefit from using more sweet taste.
One of the first signs of illness is that your taste and appetite for food changes.
The six tastes are sweet, sour, salty, pungent, bitter, and astringent.
Do you crave foods with any of the tastes below?
Ayurveda is a metabolic theory of medicine that explains individual health, tendencies, and disease patterns through the concept of doshas, which can be understood as your metabolic patterns and tendencies.
Each dosha reflects a distinct metabolic nature and describes strengths & weaknesses in bodily function, and how these affect energy levels, digestion, susceptibility to disease, and many other tendencies.
Your metabolic nature not only affects your physical characteristics, but also influences your mental thought patterns, confidence, and enthusiasm.
Ayurveda balances these metabolic strengths & weaknesses to support your body's vitality and prevent recurrent disease cycles. This support is a critical aid, especially in chronic or incurable disease conditions.
The 3 metabolic body types
(doshas),
are Catabolic (Vata), Metabolic (Pitta), and Anabolic (Kapha).
Through dosha, Ayurveda empowers people to identify metabolic imbalances early, break repetitive patterns of disease, and cultivate habits that support long-term vitality and well-being.
Ultimately, these metabolic patterns also provide a framework for understanding yourself, including body, mind, and spiritual tendencies.
Ayurveda & Greek Medicine were the dominant form of medicine along the Silk Road from England to China and South Asia.
They work by assessing your metabolic type, patterns, and nature.
Greek medicine recognizes 4 metabolic temperaments, Melancholic, Choleric, Sanguine, and Phlegmatic.
Has a hot and dry metabolic nature. Enthusiastic, vibrant and bright. In excess burns up fluids and ojas, irritable. Corresponds to high bilirubin in the blood that irritate and heat up the body and liver.
A Phlegmatic has a cold and wet metabolic nature. The coldness implies a slow metabolism, the moisture that you are well-nourished. Phlegmatics tend towards sluggishness and thickened fluids, including mucus.
Medicinal Benefits, Uses & Herbal Actions of Pears
Experiences are Personal
Experiences vary according to the person and constitution. Individual results may vary.
The list of herbal-actions below has not be approved by the FDA and should not be used to treat a medical condition.
A class of laxative that adds bulk and water to stools. The large size of the stool stimulates peristalsis so the stool can pass more easily through the colon. It is important to drink plenty of water when using high fiber laxatives, as they can be dehydr
Inositol is an alcohol sugar made naturally in the human body from glucose. It is lipotropic (aiding fat metabilism in the liver). It affects a variety of hormones, neurotransmitters, steroid, growth factors and water.
Pears may temper these symptoms.
The suitability of any food for a condition is highly dependent on the individual.
Please see your doctor before using this food to treat a medical condition.
We will use this information to better predict food that helps you.
CONTRAINDICATED FOR THESE SYMPTOMS
Pears may be harmful or contraindicated for these symptoms.
Note this is not a complete list of all possible contraindications.
Please see your doctor before using this food to treat a medical condition.
Pears (Pyrus communis) are generally safe, nutritious, and gentle on the system, but there are a few contraindications and precautions
Fructose Malabsorption / IBS (Irritable Bowel Syndrome): Pears are high in fructose and sorbitol, which are poorly absorbed by some people. This can trigger bloating, gas, cramping and/or diarrhea.
Pears are considered high-FODMAP, which means they may worsen symptoms in people with IBS.
Sorbitol Sensitivity: Sorbitol is a naturally occurring sugar alcohol in pears. Some people are sensitive to sorbitol, even if they tolerate fructose, leading to GI distress, loose stools, and/or abdominal discomfort.
Eating Ayurvedically makes you feel nourished and energized. Food digests with ease when
right for your body type (dosha). Healthy digestion is seen as the cornerstone of well-being in
Ayurveda. Healthy digestion generally prevents illness. If you do get sick, a strong digestive fire
reduces the severity of illness and increases your resilience. It also improves your mood. Once
you begin eating Ayurvedically, you will feel refreshed, vital and strong.
John Immel, the founder of Joyful Belly, teaches people how to have a
healthy diet and lifestyle with Ayurveda.
His approach to Ayurveda is clinical, yet exudes an ease which many find enjoyable and insightful.
John also directs the Joyful Belly College of Ayurveda,
offering professional clinical training in Ayurveda for over 15 years.
John's hobbies & specialties include advanced digestive disorders, medieval Catholic philosophy,
& botany. He holds a bachelor's degree in mathematics from Harvard University.
John, his wife Natalie and their 7 kids live in Asheville, NC
Want our top Ayurvedic recipes and health tips? Subscribe to our free newsletter!
* These statements have not been evaluated by the Food and Drug Administration.
The information and products on this website are not intended to diagnose, treat, cure or prevent any
disease.
On MeWe
On Pinterest
On Facebook
On Twitter
On WhatsApp
On Email
Create a recipe with it
Compare with other fruits
Ayurvedic Perspective
Biocharacteristics & Herbal Actions
Similar foods and herbs
Indications / Benefits
Contraindications / Aggravates
Comments and reviews
