An apple a day keeps the doctors away, or so the saying goes. But a pear a day may keep cancer at bay, according to South Korean researchers. A local university research team claims pears, when consumed regularly after meals, can speed up the elimination of carcinogenic substances acquired from smoking or in some cases eating meat that's been overroasted or burnt.

In their study, the amount of cancer-causing substances found in the urine of people who consumed slices of the Korean pear after indulging in roasted meat was up to 5 times higher per hour than those did not eat the pear.

"Pears can flush out cancer-causing substances from our system so that they are not inside our body for a long time."

In the case of smokers, the amount of cancer-causing substances in the blood is said to have decreased significantly, according to the scientists, after consuming the Korean pear, while those substance levels increased in their urine.

The researchers also recommend heating pear juice, saying heat increases the cancer-preventing substances in the fruit.

They advise people, especially meat-lovers and smokers, get in the habit of having a pear after meals as a simple and tasty way to prevent cancer.

Arirang TV