by Ashmin

Created on: May 15, 2008   Last Updated: June 16, 2008

This fuzzy skinned ,egg shaped fruit originally came from China and is called Chinese Gooseberry. It came to be called the Kiwi fruit after being popularised by the growers in New Zealand in the early 20th century ,after the flightless Kiwi bird.
Since ancient times people of Southern China , along the river Yangtze Chang have known of the very delicious flavour and many benefits of the Kiwi fruit. There have been many Chinese literature on Kiwi fruit since the 1400's AD. There have been many references to cancer like diseases in China , the oldest being recorded in 720's B. C . In the Chinese folk lore medicine , the use of Kiwi fruit is associated with cancer prevention and therapy. Many different cancers , especially of digestive system and mammary gland have been treated by the Kiwi fruit prescriptions ( Ai et al; 1982; Jiangsu New Medical School, 1977)

Kiwi fruits are rich in many Vitamins, flavonoids and minerals. In particular, they contain a high amount of Vitamin C (more than oranges), as much potassium as bananas and a good amount of beta-carotene.
A study published in issue of Thorax (April 2004)that followed 18,737 children aged 6-7 years living in Central and Northern Italy found that those 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 positive effects were evident even among children who ate fruit only once or twice a week.
A series of studies published by the Archives of Ophthalmology have proven that consuming 3 or more servings of fruit per day (including kiwi fruits) can reduce by 36% the risk of developing an eye-related disease called ARMD (the primary cause of vision impairment in adults), if compared to people who only consume 1.5 servings of fruit per day.
Three servings of fruit may sound like a lot to eat each day, but have sliced kiwi over your morning cereal, lunch time yogurt or green salads. For a more elegant meal, decorate any fish dish or fruit salad with kiwi slices .Kiwi fruit is an excellent source of polyphenols, vitamin E, magnesium, potassium, and copper, all of which may function individually or in concert to protect the blood vessels and heart. In this study, human volunteers who ate 2 to 3 kiwi fruit per day for 28 days reduced their platelet aggregation response (potential for blood clot formation) by 18% compared to controls eating no kiwi. In addition, kiwi eaters' triglycerides (blood fats) dropped by 15% compared to controls. (October 21, 2004)
Kiwi fruit contains more fibre than a cup of bran flakes, and the high content in dietary fibre helps improving diseases such as diabetes, by controlling sugar levels, and cancer , since fibre binds to toxic compounds in the colon and helps us expel them.
Increasing dietary fibre intake in terms of kiwifruit has also found to improve constipation in patients.( World J Gastroenterol. 2007.)
The fact that some people develop allergic reaction to kiwi fruits should not make us underestimate the many potential benefits of this wonderful fruit.
Had Erma Bombeck ( US humorist 1926-1996) known how good the "small brown hairy kiwi fruit" really is , would she have left it under the waste paper basket to die?
Definitely not.

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