Kiwi Fruit: Your Guts Best Friend

Kiwi Fruit: Your Guts Best Friend

Are you a fan of the delicious taste of a kiwi fruit? Kiwi fruits are extremely nutrient dense and 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, one including enhancing  the function of neutrophils, a type of white blood cell, which protects you from infection. Vitamin C is also needed to make the protein collagen. Collagen is needed for strong ligaments and tendons as well as youthful looking skin.

The dietary fibre found in a kiwi fruit helps improve symptoms of constipation and promotes healthy bowel health and digestion. Kiwi fruit 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 between 25-38g of dietary fibre  a day for gut health and by enjoying 2 kiwis or a serve of fruit in your week you will be on your way to achieving your needed dietary fibre goals.

Kiwis support your digestive health by feeding the healthy gut microbes which are essential for metabolism and function of your gut. The type of dietary fibre called soluble fibre and phytochemicals found in kiwi fruit 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 which support your health, they are replaced with less healthy varieties which can cause you ill health outcomes and disease states.

The soluble fibre in kiwi fruit also promotes optimal gut health by softening your stool and making it more comfortable to pass. In addition to this, kiwi fruit has amazing water retaining ability with 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 which helps move your stool through and supports normal and comfortable trips to the bathroom.

In addition to these components, kiwi fruit 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 called gastric emptying. This may help reduce symptoms of bloating after a protein rich meal.

Some ideas on ways you can enjoy kiwi fruit include:

  1. Simply by itself with a spoon.
  2. Sliced on top of your breakfast cereal.
  3. With some yoghurt and granola pieces on top.
  4. In a summer-based salad.
  5. On top of a meringue.
  6. Make kiwi fruit, lime, and coconut muffins.
  7. In a salsa.
  8. As part of a green smoothie.

Take home message: There are so many ways to enjoy the sweet taste of a kiwi fruit. Make sure you are including a kiwi fruit in your week and giving your body the all the health benefits included in this delicious fruit.

 

References:

  1. Kaur L, Boland M. Influence of kiwifruit on protein digestion. Adv Food Nutr Res. 2013;68:149-67. doi: 10.1016/B978-0-12-394294-4.00008-0. PMID: 23394986.
  2. Montoya CA, Hindmarsh JP, Gonzalez L, Boland MJ, Moughan PJ, Rutherfurd SM. Dietary actinidin from kiwifruit (Actinidia deliciosa cv. Hayward) increases gastric digestion and the gastric emptying rate of several dietary proteins in growing rats. J Nutr. 2014 Apr;144(4):440-6. doi: 10.3945/jn.113.185744. Epub 20 López-Sobaler AM, Aparicio Vizuete A, Ortega Anta RM. Beneficios nutricionales y sanitarios asociados al consumo de kiwi [Nutritional and health benefits associted with kiwifruit consumption]. Nutr Hosp. 2016 Jul 12;33(Suppl 4):340. Spanish. doi: 10.20960/nh.340. PMID: 27571859. 14 Jan 15. PMID: 24431326.
  3. Menard O, Gafa V, Kapel N, Rodriguez B, Butel MJ, Waligora-Dupriet AJ. Characterization of immunostimulatory CpG-rich sequences from different Bifidobacterium species. Appl Environ Microbiol. 2010;76:2846–55.
  4. Chan AOO, Leung G, Tong T, Wong NY. Increasing dietary fiber intake in terms of kiwifruit improves constipation in Chinese patients. World J Gastrenterol. 2007;13:4771–5.
  5. https://www.slideshare.net/KiwifruitSymposium/health-and-immune-function-benefits-of-kiwifruit-derived-vitamin-c-by-dr-anitra-carr?qid=2dc7853e-4655-459b-9832-44c399dc7338&v=&b=&from_search=5
Blog Posts, Diets and Health, Eating Behaviour, Living Well, Nutrition
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I am an Accredited Practicing Dietitian and the owner of Feed Your Future Dietetics. I believe everyone deserves to live a life of health and wellness. I am passionate about helping people achieve their highest quality of life through nutrition, mental health and exercise. I hold a Masters of Nutrition and Dietetics and a Bachelor of Human Nutrition. In addition to being an Accredited Practicing Dietitian, I am also a qualified personal trainer and group fitness instructor and have been working in the fitness industry for over 15 years. I was an elite gymnast as well as an elite rock climber where I represented Australia for four years. I have been exercising for as long as I can remember. Knowing the benefits of moving the body and eating well, and the impact that awareness and nutritional education has on the quality of life, I want to give back to the community in ways that I know best.

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