According to a new study eating fresh pears may help improve blood pressure in middle-aged men and women with metabolic syndrome. The study, aptly named "Fresh pear (Pyruscommunis) consumption may improve blood pressure in middle-aged men and women with metabolic syndrome," was presented at Experimental Biology in San Diego.

The randomized, placebo-controlled, crossover, clinical trial evaluated the antihypertensive effects of fresh pear consumption in middle-aged men and women with MetS. Fifty men and women aged 45 to 65 years with three of the five features of MetS were randomly assigned to receive either 2 medium-sized fresh pears (~178 g) or 50 g pear-flavored drink mix (placebo) per day for 12 weeks.

Preliminary analyses of 36 participants show that after 12 weeks of fresh pear consumption, systolic blood pressure and pulse pressure were significantly lower than baseline levels, wheras there were no changes in the control group. Further research is needed to confirm the antihypertensive effects of fresh pears as well as to assess their impact on vascular function.