Kiwi’s progenitor is a wild Chinese sinensis (“Chinese gooseberry”), a kind of Actinidia, and like all actinidias, it is a treelike liana. Modern kiwi is a result of selection by New Zealand scientists and it emerged only at the end of the 19th century. The plant was named after a kiwi bird, which is a symbol of the country.
The weight of the selected kiwi 2-4 times exceeded the weight of the wild one. Kiwi pulp may be green or yellow (Gold Kiwi). There is an opinion that spread of kiwi throughout the world was facilitated by American soldiers – they brought the fruit to America, and then it got popular in Europe. Today, kiwi grows not only in New Zealand, but also in many regions of the world with subtropical climate (Georgia, California, Israel, Italy, Chili, Canada and France).
Kiwi fruit ripens in autumn. Its berry contains proteins, fats, complex carbohydrates, unsaturated fatty acids, dietary fibers, as well as special enzymes and organic acids. Kiwi is rich in wide range of minerals – salt of iron, calcium, potassium, sodium, magnesium, phosphorus, sulfur, boron, iodine, fluorine, copper etc. Kiwi also contains vitamins (A, B1, B2, B6, B9, PP), but most concentration has vitamin C (75 mg per 100 g of the product, which is twice as much as any other citrus fruits).
Kiwi is not only delicious, but it is healthy as well. Having kiwi every day may prevent many health problems and help you to remain young for a long time.
Kiwi fruit benefits
According to dieticians, kiwi fruit is a storehouse of vitamins and minerals. It contains two daily norms of vitamin C and can support vital activity of the organism as a whole:
- increases body resistance to infection;
- activates body defensive functions;
- strengthens immunity;
- normalizes metabolism;
- prevents cardiovascular diseases, atherosclerosis, thrombosis;
- helps to get rid of constipation (it is enough to eat regularly one fruit on an empty stomach in the morning);
- clears the body of waste products, saline residues, nitrates;
- eliminates heaviness in the stomach, heartburn, eructation ;
- promotes loss of weight;
- accelerates regeneration of cells, kiwi fruit contains antioxidants, which are necessary for maintaining youth and beauty;
- delays appearance of grey hair and helps skin to generate natural collagen;
- kiwi pulp mask tones up, moistens skin and smoothes fine wrinkles;
It has been proved that kiwi may be rated among the products, which reduce risk of oncological and cardiovascular diseases (hypertension, coronary insufficiency etc.).
Progenitor of kiwi – “Chinese gooseberry”, or Chinese actinidia, has been used in traditional Chinese medicine since old times, for :
- prevention of rheumatic diseases;
- improvement of digestion;
- prevention of renal calculus formation;
- sedation of nervous system;
- prevention of hair canities.
It has been noted, that kiwi fruit enhances physical endurance, which allows to include it into the sportsmen’s menu.
Contraindications to kiwi use
There are very few of them:
Kiwi pulp and juice are not recommended for people with peracidity of gastric juice and individual intolerance (allergy), gastritis and ulcer.
One should not eat too much kiwi fruit, it may cause allergic reaction.
Kiwi is not recommended in case of food poisoning and diarrhea. The fruit has laxative effect and may aggravate the situation.
Kiwi storage methodsDelicious kiwi fruit are eaten fresh and compose various dishes. For long-term storage they are dried and frozen. Sweet and tasty products are made of kiwi fruit – preserves, jam, marmalade, jelly, syrup and candied fruit. Kiwi juice has got healing properties. Kiwi is also used in wine-making for making wine and liqueur. More detailed information on kiwi storage is given in this article.