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Saturday, October 12, 2013

Kiwi fruit- Chinese gooseberry seeds

Kiwi fruit nutrition facts

Kiwi fruit, also known as Chinesegooseberry, is one of the delicious fruits with full of promising health promoting phyto-chemicals, vitamins and minerals. This widely recognized, wonderfully unique fruit is native to eastern Chinese "Shaanxi" province. This exotic fruit is also recognized as China’s national fruit.

The kiwifruit plant is a semitropical, deciduous, large woody vine belonging within the family of Actinidiaceae; Genus, Actinidia. Scieintific name: Actinidiachinensis.

The journey of this humble gooseberry from China's mainland to Oceania, and thence to worldwide be quite interesting! During early years of twentieth-century kiwifruit seeds were carried to New Zealand by missionaries where it has become naturalized. From New Zealand, the fruit spread all across the world, and now grown at a commercial scale in many European and as far as in California regions in North America.

During each season which lasts from September until November, The kiwivine bears numerous ovals shaped, fuzzy, brown colored fruits. 

ovals shaped, fuzzy, brown colored fruits. Each fruit measures approximately the size of large hen’s egg, and weighs up to 125 g. internally; its flesh is soft, juicy, emerald green with rows of tiny, black, edible seeds. Fruit texture is similar to strawberry or sapodilla and the flavor resembles a blend of strawberry, apple and pineapple fruits.

Several other cultivars are grown apart from the common kiwifruit variety. "Hardy kiwi fruit" (A.arguta) also known as baby kiwi, are much smaller than "Fuzzy kiwifruit" (A. deliciosa). Their size is similar to that of a large grape with smooth, edible skin. Inside, "hardy kiwi fruit" resembles "fuzzy kiwi-fruit" in color, texture, but usually has intense flavor and sweetness. "Gold Kiwifruit," developed by hybrid technique by agricultural research department in New Zealand, has a smooth, sparse hairs, bronze skin, a pointed cap at one end and distinctive golden-yellow flesh with less tart and more tropical flavor than green-kiwifruit. Commercially, it has a higher market value than common green kiwifruit.

Health benefits of Kiwi fruit

  • Kiwifruit is a very rich source of soluble dietary fiber (3.8 g per 100 g of fruit OR 10% of RDA), which makes it a good bulk laxative. The fiber content helps to protect the colon mucous membrane by decreasing exposure time to toxins as well as binding to cancer-causing chemicals in the colon.

  • The fruit is an excellentsource of antioxidant vitamin-C; providing about 154% of the DRI (daily-recommended intake). Consumption of foods rich in vitamin-C helps the body develop resistance against infectious agents and scavenge harmful free radicals.

  • Kiwi fruit contains verygoodlevels of vitamin-A, vitamin-E, vitamin-K and flavonoid anti-oxidants such as beta-carotene, lutein and xanthin. Vitamin K has a potential role in the increase of bone mass by promoting osteotrophic activity in the bone. It also has established role in Alzheimer's disease patients by limiting neuronal damage in the brain. Total antioxidant strength measured in terms of oxygen radical absorbance capacity (ORAC) of kiwifruit (gold, raw) is 1210 µmol TE/100 g.

  • Research studies have shown that certain substances in kiwi-fruit functions as blood thinner function similar to aspirin; thus, it helps prevent clot formation inside the blood vessels and protect from stroke and heart-attack risk.

  • Kiwi-fruit seeds are an excellent source of omega-3 fattyacids. Research studies show that consumption of foods rich in omega-3 fatty acids may reduce the risk of coronary heart disease, stroke, and help prevent the development of ADHD, autism, and other developmental disorders in children.

  • Fresh kiwi fruit is a very rich source of heart-healthy electrolyte "potassium." 100 g contains 312 mg or 7% of daily-recommended levels of this electrolyte. Potassium is an important component of cell and body fluids that help regulate heart rate and blood pressure by countering malefic effects of sodium.

  • It also contains good amounts of minerals like manganese, iron and magnesium. Manganese is used in the body as a co-factor for the powerful antioxidant enzyme, superoxide dismutase. Magnesium is an important bone-strengthening mineral like calcium.

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