Kiwi Fruit Health Benefits

Kiwi fruit has a brown hairy peel with white pulp and green flesh. It has tiny black seeds and green creamy and yummy flesh. Immature fruits are hard while mature ones are softer and yield to little pressure. They are full of vitamin C and act as good appetizers in salads, fish, meat dishes, puddings, cakes and pies. However most of us are unaware about the varied heath benefits of this delicious fruit.

1. Kiwifruit are the nutrition powerhouse of fruit

Kiwifruit consistently rank at the top of fruit in nutrition density models, which tell us exactly how nutritious foods are. That means you get more vitamins and minerals per gram, and per calorie, of kiwifruit than most other fruit.

2. Kiwifruit are rich in vitamin C

While everyone always thinks of oranges for vitamin C, they should actually think of kiwifruit - there is twice as much vitamin C in kiwifruit as there are in oranges! So much, in fact, you only need one kiwifruit each day to get the amount recommended for your daily intake.

Kiwi fruit has more vitamin C than equal amount of oranges. Children fed 5-7 portions of kiwi fruit developed 44 percent less chances of being affected by wheezing as compared to those who were fed once a week, according to an Italian study published in the Thorax, an International Journal of Respiratory Medicine (BMJ group).

3. Copper

Copper, which is contained in trace amounts in many foods, is an important mineral for the healthy function of the nervous system, according to the Linus Pauling Institute. A cup of kiwi provides about 20 percent of your recommended daily intake for copper, making it an unusually rich source of that mineral compared to other fruits. Maintaining an optimal nervous system improves the function of your retina, the part of your eye that contains the nerves that convert images into electrical impulses for your brain to interpret.

4. Healthy Fats Aid Vitamin Absorption

Lutein and zeaxanthin are fat-soluble carotenoids. Although kiwi contains slightly more fat than other fruits due its seed and seed oil content, it still has a nearly negligible amount of fat. To help your body absorb the kiwi's fat-soluble nutrients properly, North Dakota State University recommends eating a small amount of a food containing omega-3 fats, such as walnuts, certain fish or flax, with the kiwi.

5. Vitamin E
It's quite unusual for a low fat food - let alone fruit - to be a good source of vitamin E, which is well-known for its heart health and antioxidant properties. However, kiwifruit is a great low-fat, natural source of vitamin E.

6. Folic Acid
Kiwifruit are a natural source of folic acid which is needed to prevent cardiovascular disease, help brain and cognitive development and prevent neural defects in babies - both before and during pregnancy.

7. Potassium
Kiwifruit has about the same levels of potassium as bananas but only half the calories - making kiwifruit an excellent low-sodium, high-potassium fruit which can be beneficial in the maintenance of blood pressure and for heart health.

8. Kiwifruit can help improve the function of your immune system

Kiwifruit gives you natural protection from daily challenges, helping you to ward off the effects of stress, inflammation and attack from bacteria and viruses. Recent and ongoing trials have shown kiwifruit to be high effective at beneficially modulating the immune system.

9. Kiwifruit helps improves repair of damaged DNA

Eating just two kiwifruit a day has been proven to reduce the amount of oxidative damage to your cells and improve the repair of damaged DNA caused by oxidative stress. This has been shown in human studies both in New Zealand and Europe.

10. Reduce risk of cardiovascular disease

Eating just 2-3 kiwifruit a day has been shown to reduce blood platelet aggregation. Platelet aggregation is a known risk factor for cardiovascular disease - it contributes to arterial and blood vessel blocking.

11. Kiwifruit help to relieve constipation

It is widely recognised as a natural digestive aid due to its unique combination of fibre and other components. 

In short kiwi helps

 

• Prevents Asthma 
•  Fights cardiovascular diseases
•  Helps prevent cancer
• Aid in digestion
•  Protect your eyes
• Help manage blood pressure
• Boosts immune system
•  Provide many vitamins and antioxidants
• Strengthens bones
• Helps reduce wrinkles
• Prevent muscle soreness