I’ve seen a lot of talk recently in some of the online health groups about the amazing health benefits of kiwi fruit. Kiwi is a small fruit but densely packed with nutrients. It is considered to be one of the healthiest foods as it contains twice as much vitamin C as an orange and is a good source of antioxidants and fiber.
When it comes to eating the fruit, some benefits of the kiwi fruit include improving heart health, preventing certain kinds of diseases, acts as a good prebiotic, ideal for detoxification, and aids in the treatment of constipation.
If you want to know how healthy eating kiwi is, here are the top 10 benefits of the kiwi fruit.
Health Benefits of Kiwi Fruit for Detoxing
1. Treats Constipation
Kiwis have plenty of fiber, which aids in digestion. They contain both soluble fiber and insoluble fiber with more insoluble than soluble. The insoluble fiber draws water into the bowel and adds bulk to your stool, helping it to pass more quickly through your intestines.
Related reading: What is Acacia Fiber? Is it Good for Detoxing Your Gut?
The skin contains extra fiber which you can eat too especially if you seek out the fuzz free ones. You can defuzz the regular ones by rubing them briskly with a small brush and washing well.
One study found that kiwi contains high levels of a proteolytic enzyme called actinidin, which helps to break down protein. Actinidin is known to promote laxation, i.e. bowel movement.
One of the benefits I saw being discussed in one of the health groups was as a solution for constipation. Eat two kiwis before going to sleep at night and by morning, you can expect to hit the toilet!
Related reading: Health Benefits of Chia Seeds for Detoxing the Gut
It’s important of course that you have regular daily bowel movements when you follow a detox program so the toxins are expelled as quickly as possible. The longer they remain in your colon the more likely they will get reabsorbed into your body.
Then, they get taken back to the liver where they have to go through the detox process all over again. This not only gives your liver more work but uses up precious nutrients.
2. Acts as a Prebiotic
Kiwi fruit are considered to be prebiotics. Prebiotics enhance the growth of intestinal lactic acid bacteria, which supports digestive health. This kind of bacteria is known to help improve the immune system, improve metabolic health, and even prevents certain diseases.
Related reading: 5 Foods that Help the Immune System
Kiwi is considered to be a prebiotic due to its content of pectic polysaccharides and dietary fiber, which work to support the growth of good gut bacteria. The beneficial gut bacteria play a part in detoxification.
They may metabolize chemicals and have been shown to have a role in excretion of heavy metals so it’s important to support them.
The skin of the kiwi is rich in polyphenols which are known to feed the beneficial bacteria in the gut and combat the increase of pathogenic ones.
3. Detoxifies the Body
Kiwi is a great fruit to detoxify your body. It is low in calories and high in alpha and beta-carotene, lutein & zeaxanthin, folate (vitamin B9), vitamins E, copper and C, as well as having high levels of minerals. They include calcium, magnesium, potassium, copper and phosphorous.
Many of these are needed for the efficient function of the detox system. And, as the detox process results in free radicals, Vit C and E act as antioxidants to mop up these damaging molecules.
Kiwis are great at flushing out toxins from the colon. If you have been feeling bloated, a kiwi smoothie is a great solution to flush out waste from the gut. Try this tasty and effective recipe.
Gut Cleansing Kiwi Smoothie
Ingredients
½ organic green apple
½ small organic cucumber
1 organic defuzzed kiwi, well washed
1/2 cup organic coconut water
1/4 cup organic aloe vera juice
1 thumb-sized chunk ginger root or 1/2 teaspoon dried
1 tablespoon chia seeds
Directions
Add all ingredients to your blender but omit the aloe vera juice. Whizz up until very smooth. Add the aloe vera juice and blend again to just mix. Pour into your serving glass and sip slowly. Enjoy!
Here’s a tasty and effective kiwi fruit detox smoothie recipe:
Kiwi Fruit Detox Smoothie
Ingredients
serves 1
1 cup frozen peach slices
1 -2 fuzz free kiwi, sliced
1 frozen organic banana, peeled and sliced
1 cup organic baby spinach
½ avocado peeled
Juice of an organic lemon
¼ cup unsweetened almond milk
¼ cup coconut water
Grated ginger to taste
1 scoop unsweetened protein powder (optional)
Put all ingredients in your blender and whizz up until very smooth. Add more liquid to thin if necessary or add less to begin with if too liquid for your taste. Pour into your serving glass and sip slowly. Enjoy!
4. May Help in the Treatment of Asthma
Because of its Vitamin C and antioxidant content, kiwis have been known to help in the treatment of asthma. A study in 2000 revealed that eating the fruits on a regular basis can improve lung function. Among the fruits used in the study was the kiwifruit.
5. Helps Manage Blood Pressure
Kiwi has been shown to lower blood pressure levels. In a 2014 study, data reveals that kiwi contains bioactive substances that lowers blood pressure. When consumed long term, this can mean that eating kiwi can reduce your risk for conditions that are associated with high blood pressure levels like stroke, heart disease, and other chronic ailments.
6. Boosts Immune System
With nutrients such as Vitamin C, K, E, folate, and potassium, kiwi helps to boost your immune system. One cup of kiwi fruit will give you 273% of your daily need for Vitamin C, which is an essential nutrient for fighting and warding of diseases and infections.
7. Boosts Heart Health
Since kiwi helps manage blood pressure levels, it also helps to boost heart health. High blood pressure can increase the body’s inflammation levels, which is dangerous for the heart, and even on all the organs of the body.
Kiwi has been found to have anti-inflammatory properties, control bad cholesterol levels, and high levels of fiber, which all contribute to better heart health. The actinidin in them mentioned above also acts as an anti-inflammatory.
8. Reduces Blood Clotting
A study that was done at the University of Oslo discovered that eating 2 to 3 kiwi fruits a day can significantly lower the risk of blood clotting. The same study also revealed that eating this amount of kiwi can reduce the amount of fat in the blood.
Researchers of the study stated that these results were similar to the effects of aspirin in improving heart health. Why take aspirin that can damage the lining of your digestive system when you can eat kiwi fruit?
9. Reduces Risk for Macular Degeneration
Macular Degeneration is the leading cause of vision loss. A study revealed that eating kiwi fruit might just help to lower the risk of Macular Degeneration.
The study found that eating 3 servings of kiwi a day reduces the risk by 36%. This is due to the fruit’s high levels of the anti-oxidants lutein and zeaxanthin, which are speculated to help in improving eye health and preventing eye diseases.
10. Improves Skin Health
Because kiwi contains high levels of beta carotene, which can get converted to Vitamin A in the body, Vitamins C, E, and antioxidants, it has been studied that the fruit improves skin health. The fruit has also been studied to improve sleep quality, which further helps to boost the health of the largest body organ.
In a 2011 study, researchers discovered that eating kiwi fruit significantly improves skin quality by having a positive result in sleep problems.
Allergy warning
Kiwi fruit can cause an allergic reation in some people especially if you’re allergic to avocados, hazelnuts, latex, wheat, figs, or poppy seeds. They can cause hives, rashes, nausea, vomiting, diarrhea and mouth irritation.
The allergic reactions have been linked a range of proteins in kiwi fruit including actinidin. Kiwi allergies are more common in areas that also have a lot of birch pollen.
There you have it, 10 health benefits of kiwi fruit which will have you heading out to the fruit stand or supermarket to have your daily dose of this superfruit. Helping to boost your detox and immune systems, relieving constipation, boosting heart health, and tastes delicious, eating a kiwi a day will keep the doctors away.
Thank you, Sand,y for this very informative article. Given all the benefits listed, I’m going to eat more than my usual one daily kiwi. I didn’t know one can eat the peel as well! Kind regards
Hello Rita,
Glad you liked my article and are going to eat more kiwi fruit as a result of learning about all the benefits. I will be interested to hear if you notice any improvements in your health.
Thanks for visiting and taking the time to comment.
Best wishes for good health,
Sandy