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Healthy Diet Plans >>  Health Food >>  Kiwi Health Benefits

Kiwi Fruit Information And Health Benefits

Counted as on of the most exotic fruits, the kiwi fruit makes for a delicious snack. Sliced and chopped, kiwis can be used in salads and in fruit-based desserts. Packed with nutrition, kiwi is good for your health too. Let’s look at kiwi fruit nutrition and kiwi fruit information.

Kiwi Fruit Health Benefits

  • Kiwi has a high content of minerals, vitamins and flavonoids. Rich in vitamin C, kiwi also has a good amount of potassium and beta-carotene.
    It is believed that kiwi fruits have the same amount of potassium as bananas.
  • Research has shown that kiwi fruits are good for the respiratory system. A study conducted in Italy on small children, showed that kids who ate kiwi fruits and other citrus fruits regularly had less chances of getting respiratory problems like wheezing than those who seldom ate fruits.
  • Flavonoids in kiwi fruits can protect the cells of the body from oxidation and protect the DNA from mutation.
  • Kiwi fruits can protect people from macular degeneration that happens with age. Studies show that including at least three servings of fruits in regular diet can reduce the chances of macular damage to the eyes.
  • The kiwi fruit is rich in vitamin A, C and E. Vitamin C, which is a water-soluble antioxidant, can protect the body from free radicals. This in turn, prevents cardiovascular damage as well as protects you from cancer.
  • The vitamin E in kiwi fruits is also good and it compliments the vitamin C in the fruit. Vitamin E in kiwis also helps fight free radicals.
  • Kiwi fruits are rich in fiber – fiber in food can combat and reduce your chances of contracting diseases such as diabetes by controlling the sugar level in the blood. Fiber also binds to toxins in the colon and flushes them out from the body. Fiber is known to reduce the level of bad cholesterol in the blood and can protect a person from cardiovascular diseases.
  • The vitamin in kiwi helps absorb iron and prevents anemia.
  • Eating kiwi fruits raw or consuming the juice is said to boost metabolism and improve nerve function.
  • The folate in kiwi fruits is essential for cell development in pregnant women and thus, great for pregnant women.
  • Kiwi is also said to be beneficial for the fluid balance in the body.
  • The L-arginine in the fruit is good for keeping joints, muscles, skin and liver healthy.


Kiwi Fruit Nutrition

Kiwi fruit is a sweet tasting fruit that has a hairy brown colored peel. This is an edible fruit that is borne by Actinidia Deliciosa, and other hybrid plants of this species. The name of the fruit itself comes from the kiwi bird, which is found in New Zealand. The peal of the fruit is much like the body of the kiwi bird, and from this similarity emerges the nomenclature of the sweet tasting fruit. Once the hairy brown kiwi fruit skin is removed, you can dig into the fleshy and pulpy center. The flesh of the fruit is filled with edible seeds that are black in color. The taste is sweet and may remind you of the taste of various different fruits such as bananas, strawberries, and pineapples. The fruits themselves are native to China; however, they are more popular in other parts of the world.

Kiwi fruit calories are not much. A 100 gram serving of the fruit offers you 61 Kcals. Therefore, this is a perfectly safe food to consume when you are preparing for weight loss. In fact, the fiber contained in the fruit will help you lose weight.When talking about kiwi fruit benefits, they are nutritionally similar to many other fruits. Although they contain as much amount of potassium as bananas, they contain far more vitamin C. Kiwi health benefitslie mostly in their being a rich source of vitamin C and antioxidants. Other major constituents of the kiwi fruit are vitamins A and E, both of which are anti-carcinogenic and are considered excellent antioxidants. Kiwi fruit nutrition comes from the juice of the fruit as well as the fibrous pulp. The fruit is rich in micronutrients, and the black seeds of the fruit are rich in omega-3 fatty acids.
 
Benefits of kiwi fruit.The health benefits of kiwi fruit have been studied for a long time. There are many studies that have proved that kiwi benefits include improvement of symptoms of asthma in young children, lowering the risk of colon cancer, and ultimately improving skin conditions due to high quantities of vitamins A, C and E. The benefits of kiwi berryare due to the high amounts of minerals, vitamins, and flavonoids contained in the berry. Kiwi fruit contains more amount of vitamin C than the most commonly known source of vitamins—oranges. The fruits also contain high levels of beta carotene as well as potassium. A recent study performed in Europe has shown that regular consumption of kiwi fruits can improve respiratory function. There is much less probability of developing respiratory infections and allergic symptoms such as wheezing in children who are regularly given citrus kiwi fruits.


Apart from the nutritional benefits of kiwi fruits, the benefits of kiwi for the skin are also many. The biggest benefits of kiwi fruit on the skin are that the vitamins, specifically vitamins C and E, have astringent properties. They not only lighten the skin tone but also help in tightening the pores, helping the skin appear younger than it really is. Other kiwi fruit benefits for skin come from the fact that kiwi fruit is rich in antioxidants, and therefore, it helps the skin remain youthful by reducing the signs of aging and by tightening the skin.On the other hand, the flavonoids present in the kiwi fruit help protect the body from oxidative damage. Therefore, kiwi fruit can also protect our DNA from any kind of damage as well as mutation.

There are benefits of kiwi seed oil as well. Kiwi seeds are rich in linoleic oil, which is a rich source of omega-3 fatty acid. This is not only an excellent antioxidant and a great source of vitamin E, but it also helps in lowering cholesterol and removing the risk of heart problems. Also, there have been a series of studies performed in the area of ophthalmology that suggest that three servings of citrus fruits, including kiwi, can help decrease the risk of developing Age Related Macular Degeneration (ARMD) by 36%. ARMD is one of the primary causes of ocular complaints in adults. This reduction of risk of ARMD can be attributed to the healthbenefits of kiwi juice, which is rich in the antioxidants vitamins A and C.

Kiwi fruit nutrition data shows a high amount of calcium, iron, magnesium, phosphorus, and sodium in the fruit. One hundred grams of kiwi fruit per day can take care of the nutritional needs of almost all micronutrients that your body requires. Apart from that, kiwi fruit nutrition facts also show that the omega-3 fatty acid contained in the kiwi fruit seeds can help you improve heart functioning. There is also considerable amount of carbohydrates and fiber in the fruit, and therefore, this is an ideal snacking option if you are looking to lose some weight. Kiwi fruit nutrition with skin is also very high. The skin of the fruit, though fuzzy and hairy, is an important source of insoluble fiber, flavonoids, and antioxidants. One of the primary health benefits of kiwi skin is that it increases the nutritional value of the fruit as a whole.

Benefits of kiwi fruit in pregnancy.Apart from the vitamins and minerals, kiwi fruits are also rich in folates, which is why they are considered excellent for pregnant women. The benefits of kiwi during pregnancy do not end here. Apart from the folates, which are essential for the growth and development of the baby, kiwi fruits also have a good amount of fiber that can help prevent constipation and heartburn in pregnancy. One of the kiwi fruit benefits for a pregnant woman is that it helps keep hemorrhoids at bay.  When you eat a healthy amount of fiber, you can also avoid hemorrhoids as well as other digestive discomforts that are so common during pregnancy. Kiwi fruits benefits during pregnancy extend to the amount of antioxidants contained in the fruit. The antioxidants help in repairing any tissue damage or internal damage that may have been caused due to the pregnancy. One of the main kiwi fruit benefits during pregnancy is that it improves the overall strength of the mother as well as the fetus.

Kiwi fruit facts.Although kiwi fruit nutritional data and kiwi fruit nutritional value cannot be doubted, the truth is that there are many who are allergic to kiwi fruit. Thus, while there are no nutritional side effects to the fruit, if someone suffers from an allergy from kiwi fruit, consuming the fruit can be potentially fatal.

Submitted on January 16, 2014