Lychee vs Pear – Which is Healthier?

Our Verdict

When comparing lychees to pears, we picked the lychees.

Why?

Both have their strong points:

In terms of macros, the only meaningful difference is that pears have nearly 3x the fiber—other macros have only negligible differences (i.e. within the margin of variation, so it’d depend on the individual plant you got it from), so this is a clear deciding factor here is the fiber, and it’s clearly in pears’ favor.

In the category of vitamins, lychees have more of vitamins B2, B3, B6, B7, B9, C, and choline, while pears have more of vitamins A, E, and K. Notably, lychees are an especially good source of vitamin C, with 1 cup providing 1.5x the daily requirement. In any case, lychees are also the winner here by strength of numbers in total.

When it comes to minerals, lychees have more copper, iron, magnesium, manganese, phosphorus, potassium, and selenium, while pears have more calcium and zinc. Another win for lychees!

Adding up the sections makes for an overall win for lychees, but pears are great too, especially for fiber, so do by all means enjoy either or both; diversity is good!

Want to learn more?

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What’s Your Plant Diversity Score?

Enjoy!