This entry was posted on Wednesday, October 24th, 2007 at 11:39 am and is filed under Diet, Fruit. You can follow any responses to this entry through the RSS 2.0 feed. You can leave a response, or trackback from your own site.
I have a very mixed opinion when it comes to the Kiwi as far as taste goes. It only seems to be in season for a very short amount of time which means that most of the time when I eat one I am wincing like I have just sucked on a lemon. That said I have found out some interesting facts which I was not aware of and now my opinion has changed (we are very pro kiwi – Beeble).What’s in a Kiwi:
Nutrients are based on 100 grams
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Calories: 60 kcal
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Protein: 1.31 grams
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Carbohydrates: 14.41 grams
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Fibre: 3.4 grams
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Fat: 0 grams
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Calcium: 26.2 milligrams
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Phosphorus: 39.3 milligrams
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Potassium: 330 milligrams
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Zinc: 0.13 milligrams
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Iron: 0.39 milligrams
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Magnesium: 30.13 milligrams
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Vitamin A: 18.34 micrograms
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Vitamin B1: 0.026 milligrams
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Vitamin B2: 0.052 milligrams
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Vitamin B3: 0.524 milligrams
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Vitamin B6: 0.052 milligrams
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Vitamin C: 74.67 milligrams
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Vitamin E: 1.13 micrograms
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Folate (folic acid): 10.48 micrograms
(Our furry little friend packs a punch - Beeble)
What do these figures mean?
There will be no surprise here that the kiwi has a high vitamin C content, what may cause a surprise is that it contains more than twice the amount of vitamin C than the equivalent amount of an orange. That is huge and a massive 230% of the USA recommended daily allowance (per person and not the whole of America - Beeble). It also contains as much potassium as a banana, so all in all it is looking like a challenger for the most perfect fruit.
Why eat a kiwi?
Stating the obvious, but with that much vitamin C you are guaranteed to boost your immune system up to super human levels. There is a selection of scientists who advocate increased dosages of vitamin C above and beyond that of the RDA (click here for more info and look at the daily dosage section). It has been found through studies that the kiwi is the most nutrient dense of all major fruits and that can only be good news for you and your body. The kiwi contains approximately 10% of the recommended daily allowance of vitamin E, which by the way is nearly twice that of the avocado and yet it contains only 60% of the avocados calories!
The kiwi doesn’t stop there either, it also contains 16% RDA of fibre, both soluble and insoluble which is supposed to be more than a serving of Bran Flakes and 4 times that of a cup of chopped celery. More importantly, it tastes 10 times better than both! This high fibre content can really help to clear your digestive system which will protect it against bowel disease. It will also help keep your heart and veins healthy by removing excess sodium from the body and helping protect it from diabetes.
Phytonutrient lutein is found in kiwis, which has been shown to help maintain healthy eyesight and it is packed with cancer fighting beta-carotene.
Easy to eat….
When the kiwi is ripe - it should be slightly soft - cut it in half (no need to peel it) then just scoop out the delicious flesh with a spoon – what could be simpler?
Be careful!
Although the kiwi seems to be one of the best fruits around it is also one of the more common ones to be allergic to. Bad reactions range from mild itching in the mouth to difficulties in breathing. If you experience any unusual reactions whilst consuming one I would recommend to stop and find alternatives, of which there are many other fruits.
Summary
I hope like me that after digesting all this information that the kiwi will now form a regular part of your daily diet. Its benefits are hard to deny and by regularly eating them your health is only going to improve (unless you are one of the unlucky allergic few - Beeble)
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