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17 Thrilling Facts About Pear

Pears are one of our favorite fruits. They come in different sizes, shapes, and colors, but the taste is pleasant, juicy. One word is pears.

  1. Pears grow in large numbers in the wild in South Asia. From there, a thousand years before our era, they came to the European continent, but to America – only 4 centuries ago.
  2. With the light hand of Homer, pears began to be called “gifts of the gods”, but the pears themselves were given (donated) to the gods: the Greeks – Aphrodite and Hera, the Romans – Juno and Venus.
  3. The ancient Greeks saved themselves from motion sickness during sea crossings with the help of pears. They continuously absorbed pieces of these juicy fruits and the manifestations of motion sickness decreased.
  4. The pear tree is very durable, which is perhaps why the Chinese considered the pear to be a symbol of immortality (Li). Seeing a broken pear was a bad omen. If a person himself damaged a pear tree, even by accident, then his days were numbered.
  5. Pearwood is very durable. Therefore, furniture and musical instruments are made from it, which retain their appearance for centuries. Since ancient times, pearls have been used to make rulers for architects and engineers, since they are not subject to deformation. Now, pears are used for making kitchen utensils, plates, and mugs. Interestingly, they can be safely washed in the dishwasher.
  6. The Chinese, when they say “fen li”, means one of two things: to part or share a pear. Therefore, the ancient Chinese superstition says that you cannot share a pear, otherwise separation is inevitable.
  7. The leaves on a pear branch grow in a strict order, being at an angle of 135o from each other. This gives the pears maximum light and moisture.
  8. There is such a variety of pears as “Bergamot”, and there are citrus fruits with the same name. It is believed that citrus bergamot got its name from the pear.
  9. Many peoples consider the pear to be a female fruit, as it resembles a female figure in shape and contains a large amount of vitamin E, which helps women to maintain their attractiveness and youth longer. However, men should not be afraid – pears will have a positive effect on their body, they will not lead to any feminization.
  10. Surprisingly, a soft, juicy, and sweet pear helps to make teeth stronger. It’s all about trace elements. Pear contains natural calcium and phosphorus, which work together to strengthen tooth enamel.
  11. The easiest way to pick delicious pears is based on their flavor. Pears should smell very good. If there is no smell or it is unpleasant, then the pears were plucked a long time ago and were stored using a special air-gas environment. They won’t taste good.
  12. Knowledgeable people can store pears for up to a year. This can be achieved by placing whole, undamaged pears in a single layer in a dark, well-ventilated area without direct drafts. The ambient temperature should be around 0.
  13. One of the pear varieties has two very popular names: Bartlett and Bon Chretien. They are known in Europe under the name Bon Chretien, and they got their middle name thanks to a pear dealer who, without knowing their name, sold them under his last name Bartlett.
  14. Pears are considered to be hypoallergenic fruits, but people who react to birch and alder pollen may be allergic to pears.
  15. Pear fruits contain substances that are close in action to antifungal and antibiotic agents. Therefore, gastroenterologists recommend using the pear separately from other meals – this way it relieves the human intestine of harmful microorganisms and improves digestion.
  16. Some people cannot tolerate raw pears. In this case, they are advised to consume steamed pears. They retain almost all the beneficial properties but do not irritate the digestive tract.
  17. One pear contains 20% of the daily value of fiber, 10% of vitamin C, and 6% of potassium.

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Prickly Pear Seed Oil: Application, Effect and Disadvantages

Prickly pear seed oil is said to ensure beautiful skin and even lower blood sugar. But what about the promises? And what about the environmental balance of the oil?

Prickly pear seed oil is obtained from the seeds of the cactus species Opuntia ficus-indica. The plant originally comes from Mexico. It is very popular in South American cuisine: the so-called “nopales”, the cactus leaves, are traditionally served by Mexicans with various dishes such as vegetable pans and tacos. The cactus fruit itself is also edible – in English it is known as “prickly pear”. Their juice is considered a “superfood” in Mexico

There are two ways of extracting the oil from the prickly pear seeds: maceration (softening) or cold pressing. With cold-pressed prickly pear seed oil, the ingredients remain in large quantities.

Prickly pear seed oil and its ingredients

Prickly pear seed oil is rich in various healthy nutrients. It consists of 88 percent fatty acids such as omega-6 and omega-9.

Omega-6 (linoleic acid): This unsaturated fatty acid is the main component of prickly pear seed oil. It is essential for your body’s immune response.
Omega-9 (oleic acid): Oleic acid is said to have a positive effect on brain function and the cardiovascular system. Some studies suggest that the acid may help prevent breast cancer. It is not only contained in prickly pear seed oil, but also in olive oil, for example.
Prickly pear seed oil is also rich in tocopherols, which belong to the vitamin E group. Tocopherols are antioxidants and protect the body’s cells from free radicals

Prickly Pear Seed Oil: Effect on your health and beauty

Prickly pear seed oil is famous for having a positive effect on the human body, both internally and externally.

Topical use: Take two drops of the oil and either apply it to your skin without any additives or mix it with your daily skin cream for extra dry skin. Despite its rich fatty acid content, prickly pear seed oil is non-comedogenic—so it won’t clog pores. The oil is suitable for daily use.
Internal use: You can also use the prickly pear seed oil for culinary purposes and mix a few drops into your salad dressing, for example. The oil has a light fruity note. However, you should not heat it: it can lose its valuable ingredients.
Researchers have already been able to demonstrate some of the health-promoting effects that prickly pear oil is said to have – including, for example, its antioxidant effect. Other effects, on the other hand, have not yet been sufficiently proven:

Sun protection and anti-aging:
Anti-inflammatory: the so-called
Prevents cancer: As part of a study, scientists treated induced tumor cells from nude mice with prickly pear extract. They found that the tumor cells died more often as a result. The exact reason for this and whether prickly pear seed oil has the same effect on people has not yet been clearly established.

Prickly pear seed oil: What you should look out for when buying

If you want to buy prickly pear seed oil, you should always make sure that it is the cold-pressed version. Since the oil has to be made from a large quantity of fruit, it is particularly valuable and expensive. So if you come across a surprisingly cheap offer, it may be a chemically extracted product. This not only lacks important ingredients, it can even contain harmful substances. So make sure that it is not contaminated with so-called “hexane”. An organic seal is also important – this way you can also ensure the ecological quality of the oil.

But you should also keep an eye on the environmental balance of prickly pear seed oil: The biggest problem is the long transport routes. Globally, Mexico grows the most prickly pears. The second largest producer, on the other hand, is Italy (Sicily). It is therefore possible to buy prickly pear seed oil from the EU.

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