According to my friend Dharma Singh Khalsa, M.D., the internationally acclaimed expert in integrative medicine and author of Food as Medicine, the kiwifruit is one of the most underrated healing foods. “Because of their rich array of disease-fighting antioxidants and phytonutrients, they are often prescribed in yoga nutritional therapy to help fight cancer and heart disease,” he says.
Kiwis Have Twice the Vitamin C of Oranges
I’m not surprised. A study conducted at Rutgers University in New Brunswick, New Jersey, evaluated the nutritional value of twenty-seven different fruits to determine, ounce for ounce, which provides the most nutrition. The results? Kiwifruit, with an index of 16, was found to be the most nutrient dense of all fruits. (Second place was papaya at 14, and third place was a tie between mango and orange, which both scored 11.) Kiwi has the highest level of vitamin C, almost twice that of an orange, and is also a decent source of magnesium. Two medium kiwifruits have almost 5 g of fiber. And kiwi—along with papaya and apricot— outranked bananas and oranges as the top low-sodium, high-potassium food!
Another study in the Journal of Medicinal Food examined nine different fruits and fruit juices and reported that eight of them—including kiwi— exhibited significant ability to reduce oxidative stress (damage from free radicals) in human plasma. This ability of kiwi to protect against cellular damage was confirmed in yet another study in Carcinogenesis that was even more promising: In the Carcinogenesis study, not only did the kiwifruit limit the amount of oxidative damage to DNA, but it also stimulated cellular repair of the damage that did occur! Even better, the effect of kiwifruit on DNA damage and repair was seen when it was simply added to a normal diet, and the effects were seen across a whole group of volunteers and in a very short time!
Kiwi Works as a Blood Thinner, with None of Aspirin’s Side Effects
In research at the University of Oslo in Norway, kiwi has been shown to promote heart health by working as a blood thinner. This latter ability is really important, considering how many people are told to take an aspirin a day for the same purpose. According to gastroenterologist and author of Optimal Digestion Dr. Trent Nichols, daily aspirin can cause small breaks in the intestinal walls, contributing to all sorts of problems. In the Norway study, lead researcher Dr. Asim Duttaroy noted that it was unlikely that kiwi would create any of the risk factors associated with aspirin such as stomach pain, excessive bruising, or bleeding. Kiwi also doesn’t disrupt the effects of any other medication. Can you imagine how great it would be to find natural food substances and supplements that accomplish the same cardiovascular protections as some medicines do, without any of the side effects?
Kiwifruits look like little brown furry eggs, and are native to China, though they’re now grown in Australia, New Zealand, and California. The little black seeds inside are completely edible, and the kiwi makes a great addition to fresh juice. If you juice them unpeeled, and with the seeds, they are rich in healthy enzymes.
Consumption of fresh fruits rich in vitamin C has been shown to be beneficial in protecting against respiratory symptoms associated with asthma and to help with wheezing symptoms in children. Kiwi has one of the highest vitamin C contents of any fruit.
Kiwis Have Twice the Vitamin C of Oranges
I’m not surprised. A study conducted at Rutgers University in New Brunswick, New Jersey, evaluated the nutritional value of twenty-seven different fruits to determine, ounce for ounce, which provides the most nutrition. The results? Kiwifruit, with an index of 16, was found to be the most nutrient dense of all fruits. (Second place was papaya at 14, and third place was a tie between mango and orange, which both scored 11.) Kiwi has the highest level of vitamin C, almost twice that of an orange, and is also a decent source of magnesium. Two medium kiwifruits have almost 5 g of fiber. And kiwi—along with papaya and apricot— outranked bananas and oranges as the top low-sodium, high-potassium food!Another study in the Journal of Medicinal Food examined nine different fruits and fruit juices and reported that eight of them—including kiwi— exhibited significant ability to reduce oxidative stress (damage from free radicals) in human plasma. This ability of kiwi to protect against cellular damage was confirmed in yet another study in Carcinogenesis that was even more promising: In the Carcinogenesis study, not only did the kiwifruit limit the amount of oxidative damage to DNA, but it also stimulated cellular repair of the damage that did occur! Even better, the effect of kiwifruit on DNA damage and repair was seen when it was simply added to a normal diet, and the effects were seen across a whole group of volunteers and in a very short time!
Kiwi Works as a Blood Thinner, with None of Aspirin’s Side Effects
In research at the University of Oslo in Norway, kiwi has been shown to promote heart health by working as a blood thinner. This latter ability is really important, considering how many people are told to take an aspirin a day for the same purpose. According to gastroenterologist and author of Optimal Digestion Dr. Trent Nichols, daily aspirin can cause small breaks in the intestinal walls, contributing to all sorts of problems. In the Norway study, lead researcher Dr. Asim Duttaroy noted that it was unlikely that kiwi would create any of the risk factors associated with aspirin such as stomach pain, excessive bruising, or bleeding. Kiwi also doesn’t disrupt the effects of any other medication. Can you imagine how great it would be to find natural food substances and supplements that accomplish the same cardiovascular protections as some medicines do, without any of the side effects?
Kiwifruits look like little brown furry eggs, and are native to China, though they’re now grown in Australia, New Zealand, and California. The little black seeds inside are completely edible, and the kiwi makes a great addition to fresh juice. If you juice them unpeeled, and with the seeds, they are rich in healthy enzymes.
Consumption of fresh fruits rich in vitamin C has been shown to be beneficial in protecting against respiratory symptoms associated with asthma and to help with wheezing symptoms in children. Kiwi has one of the highest vitamin C contents of any fruit.
WORTH KNOWING
The Environmental Working Group, a consumer advocate and protection nonprofit research organization, put kiwifruit on its 2003 list of twelve foods least contaminated with pesticides. Nice to know!
No comments:
Post a Comment