The Kiwi Fruit Could Be The Key To Improved Health | Amoils.com
This rather flashy fruit has bright green flesh with tiny black seeds and is often available year round because the California kiwi fruit appears in stores between November and May while the New Zealand crop of kiwi fruit is on sale from June to October. A small fruit, the kiwi is approximately 3 inches long and weighing about four ounces.
The kiwi fruit comes in its own robust packaging
Its green flesh is almost creamy in texture with a delicious taste reminiscent of strawberries, melons and bananas but with its own unique sweet flavor. Although we tend to think of the kiwi as originating from New Zealand (because of the name kiwi which is a famous bird), the fruit is actually native to China where it is known as macaque peach.
How to eat the kiwi fruit
You can eat kiwi fruits just as they are by peeling with a small knife or cutting in half and scooping out the flesh with a spoon. Some people enjoy eating the skins too – after rubbing off the peach-like fuzz. Those skins are full of nutrients and fiber. If you choose to add kiwi fruit to a fruit salad, leave until the last minute to avoid the other fruits becoming too soft. Alternatively, add kiwi fruit to tossed green salads or served sliced with strawberries and topped with yogurt. Kiwi fruits have a wonderful flavor and presentation when topping a fruit tart.
The kiwi fruit has a great taste but numerous health benefits too
- Kiwi fruit’s phytonutrients protect DNA with its variety of flavonoids and carotenoids that have demonstrated antioxidant activity. The protective properties of kiwi fruit have been found to lessen the likelihood of respiratory-related health problems including wheezing, shortness of breath, night coughing or even the symptoms of asthma in children.
- The kiwi fruit is an excellent source of vitamin C. An adequate intake of vitamin C has been shown to be helpful in reducing the severity of conditions like osteoarthritis, rheumatoid arthritis and asthma while preventing conditions such as colon cancer, atherosclerosis and diabetic heart disease. Vitamin C has a multitude of health benefits.
- Kiwi fruit is rich in fiber for blood sugar control as well as as cardiovascular and colon health plus it has a good source of potassium.
- Kiwi fruit offers protection against macular degeneration. Include kiwifruit in your 3 daily servings of fruit to help you protect against the severe form of this vision-destroying disease.
- Enjoying just a couple of kiwi fruit each day may significantly lower your risk for blood clots and reduce the amount of fats (triglycerides) in your blood, therefore helping to protect cardiovascular health.
- Kiwi fruit is also rich in Vitamins A and E, and its black seeds can be crushed to produce kiwi fruit oil, which is very high in Alfa-Linoleic Acid (an important Omega-3 essential fatty acid).
A word of warning
There is just one downside to kiwi fruit and that is that some people can be allergic to them as they contain the protein-dissolving enzyme “actinidin”. The most common symptoms include itching of the mouth, lips and palate, but can range to a more severe level such as wheezing or collapsing.