Asian Pear & Fiber

An Asian pear is considered a good source of fiber.

A raw Asian pear eaten with its skin is considered a good source of dietary fiber. A medium-sized Asian pear's 4 grams of fiber is equivalent to the amount of fiber in a medium raw apple with skin. The recommended daily intake of fiber is 25 grams per day, based on a 2,000-calorie diet. A medium Asian pear supplies 18 percent of the recommended daily intake.

Good Fiber Source

The United States Department of Agriculture (USDA) considers any food with 2.5 to 4.9 grams of fiber per serving to be a ''good'' fiber source. Asian pears fall into this category. It is one of the fruits richest in fiber. ''Excellent'' or ''high fiber'' sources are foods containing at least 5 grams of dietary fiber per serving, or 20 to 30 percent of the recommended amount, according to the USDA. Peas and beans generally fall into this category.

Definition

Simply put, fiber is good for you. It is the portion of the Asian pear, or any other plant-based food, that is not digested by enzymes in the intestinal tract. Studies have shown a high-fiber diet to reduce high cholesterol levels and cardiovascular disease, according to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention. In the colon, fiber binds with bile salts and flushes them out of the body. The body then has to break down its own cholesterol to replace these bile salts. Most of the fiber in an Asian pear is concentrated in the skin, so peeled or canned forms are less nutritious.

Pectin

Most of the fiber in an Asian pear is provided by pectin. Pectin is found in many fruits and also used to make jams and jellies. Pectin is a type of water-soluable fiber found in the cells of plants. Water-soluble fiber slows the passage of food through the intestines. Pectin and other soluble fiber has been shown to alleviate diarrhea and help develop solid stools and regular bowel movements. It also slows the rate at which glucose is absorbed into the blood.

Toxins

The fiber in an Asian pear also helps remove toxins from the body. Toxins attach to the bile salts that are pushed out of the system by fiber. Fiber also binds to cancer-causing chemicals in the colon and removes them from the body. A diet rich in high-fiber foods is associated with a reduced risk of colon cancer, according to the George Mateljan Foundation, a nonprofit organization that promotes healthy eating habits.

Nutrition

At 50 calories, a medium Asian pear is a nutritional bargain. It has no fat or cholesterol. Comparatively, a medium apple provides 95 calories and 4 grams of fiber, or 17 percent of the daily recommended value. For roughly the same amount of calories (115), a large Asian pear just over 3 inches high and 3 inches in diameter (275 grams) provides 10 grams of dietary fiber, or 40 percent of the recommended daily intake of fiber. This is also more fiber than contained in a large European pear (230 grams), which provides 133 calories and 7 grams of dietary fiber, or 29 percent of the recommended amount.

References

• Centers For Disease Control & Prevention: Fruit of the Month: Asian Pear
• Nutrition Data: Pears, Asian, Raw
• The World's Healthiest Foods.org: George Mateljan Foundation: Pears