Kiwifruit Offers Vitamin C, Potassium, Fiber, and Other Nutrients

08/09/06 Kiwifruit's triple threat of vitamin C, potassium and fiber packs a nutritional punch that most foods can only wish for.

Other foods, such as oranges, bananas and bran cereal have been recognized for containing these nutrients, but none of them can offer all three in the same generous quantities as kiwifruit.

"These foods continue to be nutritious players," said Joy Blakeslee, a registered dietitian with ZESPRI Kiwifruit. "But kiwifruit is a step
above ... maybe even on a different playing field."

A two-piece serving of tangy-sweet GREEN or tropical-sweet GOLD Kiwifruit has twice the vitamin C of an orange, as much potassium as a banana and as much fiber as a serving of bran flakes. In addition to these nutrients, kiwifruit also offers vitamin E, folate, magnesium and beta-carotene.

Health-savvy people aren't the only ones recognizing that kiwifruit brings its "A game." Rutgers University research deemed kiwifruit as one of the most nutrient-dense fruits in the world, containing more essential nutrients than 27 of the most commonly eaten fruits.

Other research has linked the fruit to reducing the risk of age-related macular degeneration, the leading cause of irreversible blindness in older Americans, and reducing the risk of heart conditions, with an effect similar to aspirin.