Christmas Eve Cooking!
I enjoy healthy and delicious foods! Stay tuned for more of my Christmas healthy cooking! I will be posting through the holiday season festive deliciousness! I especially like cooking with fruits! Nutrient packed and does not deplete your immune system or contain processed sugars and chemicals, all natural. I have always liked baking pears in the oven for winter season and holidays! They turn out super sweet, guilt free and nutritious!
Baked pears with cranberries pecans, almonds, cinnamon!
Ingredients:
Pears
Cranberries
Honey raw
Cinnamon
Almonds
Pecans
Greek yogurt
For nutritional reasons, we’re often advised to consume the skins of fruits. However, it’s less often that research provides strong evidence in support of this advice. Recent studies have shown that the skin of pears contains at least three to four times as many phenolic phytonutrients as the flesh. These phytonutrients include antioxidant, anti-inflammatory flavonoids, and potentially anti-cancer phytonutrients like cinnamic acids. The skin of the pear has also been show to contain about half of the pear’s total dietary fiber.
In recent studies measuring risk of type 2 diabetes in U.S. women, pears have earned very special recognition. Researchers now know that certain flavonoids in food can improve insulin sensitivity, and of special interest in this area have been three groups of flavonoids (flavonols, flavan-3-ols, and anthocyanins). All pears contain flavonoids falling within the first two groups, and red-skinned pears contain anthocyanins as well. Intake of these flavonoid groups has been associated with decreased risk of type 2 diabetes in both women and men. However, a new analysis of the Nurses’ Health Study has shown that among all fruits and vegetables analyzed for their flavonoid content, the combination of apples/pears showed the most consistent ability to lower risk of type 2 diabetes. We believe that this special recognition given to pears as a fruit that can help lower risk of type 2 diabetes in women is likely to be followed by future studies showing this same benefit for men.
Health benefits of pears
Pears fruit is packed with health benefiting nutrients such as dietary fiber, anti-oxidants, minerals and vitamins, which are necessary for optimum health. Total measured antioxidant strength (ORAC value) in pears is 2941 µmol TE/100 g.
Pears are a good source of dietary fiber. 100 g fruit provides 3.1 g or 8% of fiber per 100 g. Regular eating of this fruit may offer protection against colon cancer. Most of the fiber in them is non soluble polysaccharide (NSP), which functions as a good bulk laxative in the gut. Additionally, its gritty fiber content binds to cancer-causing toxins and chemicals in the colon, protecting its mucous membrane from contact with these compounds.
In addition, pear fruit is one of the very low calorie fruits; provides just 58 calories per 100g. A low calorie but high fiber diet may help bring significant reduction in body weight, and blood LDL cholesterol levels.
They contain good quantities of vitamin C. Fresh fruits provide about 7% of RDA per 100 g.
They are moderate sources of antioxidant flavonoids phyto-nutrients such as beta-carotene, lutein and zea-xanthin. These compounds, along with vitamin C and A, help the body protected from harmful free radicals.
The fruit is a good source of minerals such as copper, iron, potassium, manganese and magnesium as well as B-complex vitamins such as folates, riboflavin and pyridoxine (vitamin B-6).
Although not well documented, pears are among the least allergenic of all the fruits. For the same reason, they often recommended by health practitioners as a safe alternative in the preparation of food products in allergic persons.
Pears have been suggested in various traditional medicines in the treatment of colitis, gallbladder, immune system strengthening, arthritis, and anti inflammatory.
Stay tuned for more of my Happy Holiday Healthy Cooking!
If you want to have me as your Nutritionist and Personal Trainer, send me a message. I am passionate in bringing out the best in others; increasing others quality of life, fitness and health!
