Kiwifruit: A Nutrition Powerhouse

Kiwifruit: A Nutrition Powerhouse by Ashleigh Feltham Accredited Practising Dietitian and Accredited Nutritionist

There is nothing like the sweet and tangy taste of a delicious kiwifruit. In addition to their zesty flavour, kiwifruits are extremely nutrient dense. Kiwifruits are a rich source of vitamin C, E, K, folate, carotenoids, potassium, phytochemicals and fibre.

Vitamin C, a powerful antioxidant, plays an important role in keeping your immune system working at its best. It does this in many ways, including enhancing the function of neutrophils, a type of white blood cell that protects you from infection. Vitamin C also helps to make the protein, collagen. We need collagen for strong ligaments and tendons as well as youthful looking skin.

The dietary fibre found in a kiwifruit helps improve symptoms of constipation and promotes bowel health and digestion. Kiwifruit has 3.4g of dietary fibre per 100g – this is the type of fibre your gut needs for health. More than 70% of adults are not meeting their daily dietary fibre needs for gut health. Adults need 25-38g of dietary fibre a day for gut health. One serve of fruit, or two kiwifruits, every week will help you achieve your dietary fibre goals.

Kiwis feed the healthy gut microbes, which are essential for metabolism and proper gut function, thereby supporting your digestive health. The type of dietary fibre, called soluble fibre, and the phytochemicals found in kiwifruit are prebiotics to your healthy gut microbes. Prebiotics are an essential part of your diet for the health of your gut. If you do not feed the healthy microbes, less healthy varieties will replace them, causing you ill health outcomes and disease states.

Kiwifruit also has amazing water retaining ability – more than four times the capacity of bran fibre and two times the capacity of an apple. This means it can bind to more of the insoluble type of fibre that helps move your stool and supports normal and comfortable trips to the bathroom.

In addition to these components, kiwifruit is the perfect fruit to aid digestion, thanks to an enzyme called actinidin. This enzyme helps your body to digest proteins, especially in seafood, dairy and meat. In addition to this, actinidin increases the rate that the contents in your gut move through the GI tract, called gastric emptying. This may help reduce symptoms of bloating after a protein rich meal.

Some ideas on ways you can enjoy kiwifruit include:

1. Simply on its own with a spoon.
2. Sliced on top of your breakfast cereal.
3. With yoghurt and granola.
4. In a summer salad.
5. On top of a meringue.
6. In kiwifruit, lime and coconut muffins.
7. In a salsa alongside seafood.
8. As part of a green smoothie.

Take home message

There are so many ways to enjoy the sweet, tangy taste of a kiwifruit. Make sure you include one in your diet each week to give your body all the health benefits this delicious fruit contains.

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