Guess The Best Fruit!

Everything that you read these days reminds you that a diet high in fresh fruits and vegetables can help protect you from disease and obesity.  But can you guess the best fruit to include in your daily diet? 

This fruit can help thin your blood, reduce clotting and lower fat in the blood --- all needed for a healthy heart.

This fruit can provide protection against DNA damage and speed repair of damaged DNA --- helps protect against cancer.

This fruit ranked #1 in nutrient richness when compared to other fruit.  One serving* of this delicious, refreshing fruit:

• Has almost twice the level of Vitamin C of an orange.
• Outranks bananas as the top low-sodium, high potassium fruit.
• Twice the Vitamin E of an avocado with only 60% of the avocado’s calories.
• Ranked higher in lutein content than all other fruits (and vegetables – except spinach and yellow corn).

This fruit is cute and fuzzy on the outside, beautiful like an emerald green star on the inside and tastes deliciously like a fruit salad.  Have you guessed? --- it’s kiwifruit.  Enclosed in this packet is information that backs our claim that kiwifruit is the best fruit, possibly the best food, to include in every American’s daily diet. 

** One serving is two medium-sized fruit.

Did You Know?

Did you know kiwifruit promotes heart health?  Enjoying just a couple of kiwifruit each day can significantly lower your risk for blood clots (platelet aggregation reduction 18%) and reduce the amount of fats (15% reduction of triglycerides) in your blood. 

Did you know kiwifruit protects against Cancer and aids in DNA repair?  Eating kiwifruit daily can provide substantial protection against DNA damage that can trigger cancer and, more significantly, greatly speeds the repair of DNA damage. 

Did you know kiwifruit is the most nutrient dense fruit?  A study conducted by Dr. Paul Lachance of Rutgers University evaluated the nutritional value of fruits to determine–ounce for ounce–which provide the most nutrition.  The study found that out of the 27 most commonly consumed fruits; kiwifruit is the most nutrient dense.

Did you know kiwifruit has the highest level of Vitamin C?  Kiwifruit has almost twice the Vitamin C of an orange. A serving of kiwifruit (two medium) provides about 230% of the U.S. Recommended Daily Allowance.  Vitamin C aids in wound healing, iron absorption and maintains bones, blood vessels and teeth.

Did you know that Vitamin C rich kiwifruit may help protect against asthma?   A study published in the April 2004 issue of Thorax that found that children eating the most citrus and kiwifruit (5-7 servings per week) had 44% less incidence of wheezing compared to children eating the least (less than once a week).  Shortness of breath was reduced by 32%, severe wheeze by 41%, night time cough by 27%, chronic cough by 25% and runny nose by 28%.  Children who had asthma when the study began appeared to benefit the most, and protective effects were evident even among children who ate fruit only once or twice a week. 

Did you know kiwifruit outranks bananas as the top low-sodium, high potassium fruit?   A serving of kiwifruit contains an average of 20% more potassium than a banana.  Potassium is an important mineral that controls heart activity and works with sodium to maintain fluid balance in the body. 

Did you know kiwifruit is a good low-fat source of Vitamin E?  A serving of kiwifruit has some 10% of the U.S. Recommended Daily Allowance.  Kiwifruit actually has twice the Vitamin E of an avocado, but has only 60% of the avocado’s calories. Vitamin E is a potent antioxidant and may reduce the risk of heart disease and some forms of cancer.

Did you know there are few foods equal to kiwifruit in folic acid?  Kiwifruit provides 10% of the U.S. Recommended Daily Allowance of folic acid, or folate.  Folic acid is essential to the reproduction and formation of red blood cells. Lack of folic acid can contribute to some problems of anemia and it is especially important for expectant mothers to protect against birth defects.

Did you know kiwifruit is especially rich in lutein?  Kiwifruit ranked higher than spinach and all other fruits and vegetables, except yellow corn, for its lutein content. Lutein is an antioxidant that may decrease the risk of advanced age-related macular degeneration.

Did you know kiwifruit is an excellent source of dietary fiber?  Kiwifruit provides both soluble and insoluble forms of fiber (16% USRDA), providing more than a serving of bran flakes and four times that of a cup of chopped celery. Soluble fiber appears to play a protective role in heart disease and diabetes, while insoluble fiber aids in prevention of constipation, diverticulosis, hemorrhoids and some forms of cancer.

Did you know all the other rich minerals that are in kiwifruit?  Besides potassium, there are four minerals contained in kiwifruit which have a nutrient density of one or more.  These are:  calcium (RDA of 5.5%); Iron (RDA, 4%); Magnesium (RDA, 6%) and Copper (RDA, 8%). In addition, kiwifruit is an unusual supplier of some new researched trace minerals including Manganese, essential to the enzymes involved in the body’s use of protein and food energy, and Chromium, known to be a key factor in regulating the heartbeat and the body’s use of carbohydrates.

Study Shows Kiwifruit Consumption Promotes Heart Health

If you are concerned about your heart health, you'll be interested to know about a tasty way to help protect your heart -- eat two to three kiwifruit a day.

Recent research conducted by the University of Oslo in Norway reveals that consuming two to three kiwifruit per day can work to thin blood, reduce clotting and lower fat in the blood that can cause blockage, without negatively affecting cholesterol levels. In short, kiwifruit consumption has similar effects to the daily dosage of aspirin recommended by physicians to improve heart health.

"Platelet inhibitory drugs, such as aspirin, have been shown to reduce the incidence of myocardial infarction, stroke and death from cardiovascular disease," said Professor Asim K. Duttaroy of the Institute for Basic Medical Sciences at the University of Oslo, Norway who spearheaded the research. "Our study shows that consuming two or three kiwifruit per day for 28 days significantly reduced platelet aggregation (blood clotting) in human volunteers. Moreover, plasma triglyceride levels were also reduced in these volunteers."

In his research paper, which was published in the August 2004 issue of Platelets medical journal, Dr. Duttaroy explains that certain phytonutrients, known as polyphenolic compounds, are widely distributed in fruits and vegetables. He notes that many of these have antioxidant as well as anti-thrombotic properties, which help prevent blood clotting. However, Duttaroy stresses that although kiwifruit contains very significant amounts of antioxidants such as polyphenols and vitamins C and E, these were not included in the study.

"There is something in kiwifruit which creates an anti-platelet effect," said Dr. Duttaroy, who also notes that it appears the mode of action by which kiwifruit elicits this response is quite different from that of aspirin. "Further research on identification of the active compound is required for a more definitive conclusion."

However, Duttaroy notes that one thing is clear from the research. Consuming kiwifruit is an effective way of inhibiting blood clotting and can improve cardiovascular risk profiles in healthy adults. Volunteers who participated in the study consumed two to three kiwifruit per day for a period of 28 days and experienced significant reductions in platelet aggregation (blood clotting) when compared to controls. This is despite the fact that volunteers maintained their regular diets during the supplement period. Further, after a two-week wash out period in which the volunteers stopped kiwifruit consumption, their blood levels returned to pre-supplement period base line.

Dr. Duttaroy explains that the dosage level in the study was restricted to two to three fruits per day to prevent any negative side effects. He also noted that it could be assumed kiwifruit consumption would not create any of those risk factors associated with aspirin such as stomach pain, excessive bruising or bleeding, nor does kiwifruit appear to disrupt the effects of any other medications.

For now, researchers are stopping short of recommending kiwifruit as a replacement for aspirin by cardio vascular patients. Those under a doctor's care should consult their physician before making any dietary changes.

"The results of our study are quite promising and are an indication that kiwifruit is an excellent choice for people trying to improve heart health through diet," said Duttaroy. "Further research is warranted, but for now, we would recommend kiwifruit consumption as a tool to help healthy adults prevent or halt processes that lead to cardio vascular disease."

Breakthrough - Eating Kiwifruit Might Help To Prevent Cancer

Dr Andrew Collins of the respected Rowett Research Institute in Aberdeen, Scotland, in the United Kingdom, put together a research project to look at the ability of kiwifruit to prevent damage to DNA, which is an early step in the process that leads to cancer.  Dr Collins is an internationally respected research worker in this field who has been working on a method to measure DNA damage inside cells.  Called the comet assay, it is a technique involving electrophoresis that is a very sensitive and reliable method for measuring DNA breaks and base oxidation. In addition, the levels of a number of anti-oxidants were measured, including vitamin C, various carotenoids and vitamin E, in blood plasma.

Large-scale trials using humans have given variable results when looking at the protection afforded by individual micronutrients, including anti-oxidants. These compounds, in isolation, may behave differently from mixtures of anti-oxidants and other phytochemicals that would be found naturally in fresh fruits and vegetables.  Dr Collins therefore decided that he would investigate the effects of kiwifruit as a particularly rich source of nutrients, including vitamin C, and other potentially active phytochemicals on oxidative DNA damage in human lymphocytes, using the comet assay technique, as well as measuring plasma levels of antioxidants.

Volunteers took different amounts of kiwifruit over 3-week periods. Concentrations of dietary anti-oxidants were measured in their plasma as well as the resistance of lymphocyte DNA to oxidative attack as measures of anti-oxidant status. The second line of defence against oxidative DNA damage is DNA repair so this was also investigated.  The volunteers were healthy non-smokers who were not taking anti-oxidant supplements or medication. Each volunteer consumed 1, 2 or 3 kiwifruit a day for successive three week periods separated by 2-week washout periods. Otherwise they maintained their normal diet. They were allocated randomly to three groups, each of which was given a different order of kiwifruit doses. Early morning, fasted, blood samples were taken at the start of the study, at the end of each washout period and at the end of each 3-week phase. The blood samples were then separated into different components for the different tests.

The results of the work were published in the authoritative journal, Carcinogenesis, in March 2003 and show that eating kiwifruit daily can provide substantial protection against the kind of DNA damage that may cause cancer. This was shown by significantly lower levels of oxidised bases in DNA after consumption of kiwifruit, and an increased anti-oxidant capacity, with elevated levels of vitamin C in the plasma.

There are several novel findings from this work that makes it significant.

• First, kiwifruit has a dual protective role, limiting the amount of oxidative damage that is done to the DNA, and also stimulating cellular repair of the damage that does occur. There are no previous reports of changes to the base repair activity associated with the consumption of a particular food.
• The effects of kiwifruit consumption on DNA damage and repair were seen when kiwifruit was added to the normal diet. Restrictions on the consumption of other fruits were deliberately not imposed during the trial as the researchers were interested in the effects of including kiwifruit in a normal diet. Therefore the effect was due solely to the addition of kiwifruit to the usual diet of the volunteers.
• The effects were seen across the whole group of volunteers and in a short time. The statistical analyses of the results show that although the number of volunteers were quite small, the effect has a  very high level probability that it is very real – any larger number of volunteers would only give a small increase in this already high level of confidence in the results. There can be seasonal variations, perhaps as different foods become available. However, this effect was taken care of by randomly dividing the volunteers into three groups taking kiwifruit in different orders of dose. Washout samples were included at regular intervals which would have shown up any seasonal changes.

§         A significant increase in DNA repair was seen even after eating just one kiwifruit a day.  However, after three kiwifruit per day, the rate increased by two-thirds. Dr Collins was extremely excited by this new finding to such an extent that he has become a daily kiwifruit eater!

Study Shows Kiwifruit to be the Most Nutrient Dense Fresh Fruit

A study conducted by Dr. Paul Lachance of Rutgers University, New Brunswick, N.J., evaluated the nutritional value of fruits to determine--ounce for ounce-- which provides the most nutrition. The analysis determined the nutrient density of the 27 most commonly consumed fruits. Nutrient density is a calculation frequently used by dietitians and nutritionists to reflect a food's nutritional value. The findings, published in the October issue of the Journal of the American College of Nutrition, rank popular fruits on the basis of the amount of the daily value they provide per 100 grams of fruit.¹

The study found kiwifruit, with an index of 16, to be the most nutrient dense of all fruits, followed by papaya (14), mango (11) and orange (11). On the basis of the number of calories it takes to get 1% of the daily value of a nutrient, kiwifruit, citrus and papaya share the excellent category for fruits most appropriate for weight control. Kiwifruit has the highest level of vitamin C--almost twice that of an orange--and magnesium, a limited nutrient in the diet and important for cardiovascular health. Kiwi, papaya and apricot outranked bananas and oranges as the top low-sodium, high-potassium fruits. By FDA standards for nutrition labeling, kiwifruit is considered a good source of potassium. Likewise, kiwifruit was found to be a good low-fat source of vitamin E, which is unusual and important, as most good food sources of vitamin E are also high in fat. It is also considered by FDA's definition to be a good source of dietary fiber.

While consumers are known to associate certain fruits with certain nutrients, such as fiber with apples and vitamin C with oranges and grapefruit, the nutrient density index provides them with a broader tool for making informed choices about the fruits they eat. Instead of eating one fruit for one nutrient, consumers can use the index to select and eat fruits better able to meet their entire nutritional profile. According to The Packer Fresh Trends produce survey, vitamin C and dietary fiber are the top two reasons consumers purchase fresh fruits. An excellent source of both, look for kiwifruit to gain a more prominent place in mainstream fruit consumption.

¹ An index of the average percent contribution in nutritive value of each food item per 100 grams to the daily value of 9 nutrients deemed essential by the FDA.