I love kiwifruit. They are so delicious, and I discovered recently that the peelings are also nutritious. Though not yet courageous enough to eat the peelings because of their texture, I do put the whole fruit into my smoothies.
“A study conducted at Rutgers University in New Brunswick, New Jersey, evaluated the nutritional value of twenty-seven different fruits to determine, ounce for ounce, which provides the most nutrition. The results? Kiwifruit, with an index of 16, was found to be the most nutrient dense of all fruits. (Second place was papaya at 14, and third place was a tie between mango and orange, which both scored 11.) Kiwi has the highest level of vitamin C, almost twice that of an orange, and is also a decent source of magnesium. Two medium kiwifruits have almost 5 g of fiber. And kiwi—along with papaya and apricot—outranked bananas and oranges as the top low-sodium, high-potassium food!
“Another study in the Journal of Medicinal Food examined nine different fruits and fruit juices and reported that eight of them—including kiwi—exhibited significant ability to reduce oxidative stress (damage from free radicals) in human plasma. This ability of kiwi to protect against cellular damage was confirmed in yet another study in Carcinogenesis that was even more promising: In the carcinogenesis study, not only did the kiwifruit limit the amount of oxidative damage to DNA, but it also stimulated cellular repair of the damage that did occur! Even better, the effect of kiwifruit on DNA damage and repair was seen when it was simply added to a normal diet, and the effects were seen across a whole group of volunteers and in a very short time!
The 150 Healthiest Foods on Earth, Jonny Bowden, Ph.D., C.N.S., pages 122, 123.
If you like raw crunchies in the morning you will like the cereal recipe below.
Sunflower-Almond Cereal
Ingredients
Soak overnight:
2 Tbsp. raw almonds,
2 Tbsp. raw sunflower seeds
1 Tbsp. raw walnuts or pecans (optional)
½ cup fruit of your choice:
apple, banana, kiwifruit, berries, mango, peach, etc.
Process
Strain the first three ingredients and then add ½ cup of your favorite, chopped or sliced, fresh fruit. Add your favorite milk (almond, rice or soy) and enjoy!
OR, you can add all to a bowl of hot cereal!