5 Good Reasons To Eat More Kiwis Starting Now

One of the things that I don’t like about the various “healthy eating” trends are people’s tendencies to demonize certain foods.

I’ve been guilty a time or 2 by making some foods appear worse than they are, I’ll admit.

But I want to make sure that I’m going on record today telling you that not all foods with sugar are bad. Yes, I know, I’m a huge proponent of the ketogenic diet.

However, doing the ketogenic diet doesn’t mean abstaining from good foods, and even fruits that have higher numbers of sugars. Which is why I’m here to tell you about the benefits of kiwis.

I don’t think kiwis are in heavy rotation in anyone’s household and that may be a mistake (at least you might think so too after you finish this article).

Beside being extremely tasty, kiwis offer some serious health benefits that anyone of any age and on any diet can benefit from.

Let’s check them out now.

5 Benefits of Kiwis

I think that the #1 benefit of kiwis is how good they taste. Not all foods taste great, and those that do are hardly ever “good for you.”

Kiwis happen to do some incredible things for your immune system, your gut health and can help resist the negative effects of aging.

I’ll get into those right now.

1 - They Deliver Insane Amounts of Vitamin C:

Vitamin C is one of the most well known antioxidants, and is at the forefront of helping people improve their overall sense of well being.

Vitamin C is best known for how it supports immune function, but it can also help to improve heart function, keep your kidneys healthy, and much more.

That’s why you’re going to be shocked to learn that a cup of Kiwis has 275% of your total daily value of vitamin C. That’s far more than a cup of oranges can provide. For superior immune support a kiwi is a great choice!

2 - They Can Help Restore Healthy Gut Function:

There are a lot of times where I think a supplement is going to help you get your gut in a good place.

However, you always want to start with food, as food is the main “ingredient” you regularly introduce into your gut in order to inform the good bacteria inside of what to do. 

Kiwis, being both rich in antioxidants and fiber, are one of the best types of food for helping to positively influence gut health.

The research into kiwis and gut health is quite promising with more than a few studies indicating that consistent consumption of kiwi may help people who suffer from complications related to (IBS) Irritable bowel syndrome as well as (IBD) inflammatory bowel disease.

While researchers believe that fiber’s a major factor in improving the microbiome, they believe there may be other compounds that aid the restoration of the gut. For instance, it contains an enzyme called Actinidin (or actinidain). This proteolytic enzyme is sufficient for breaking down proteins into amino acids that the body can use.

There may be other reasons behind kiwis' ability to help restore your gut function (like the fuzzy outside...ok, that’s a joke), and all I can say is fruit is always a good thing to add to your diet to feel better.

3 - Can Help You Sleep Better:

Not many people would associate a bright-green fruit like kiwi with better sleep. Typically, that’s what turkey does for sleep, right?

As it turns out kiwis contain chemicals that help to boost factors that trigger better sleep (as well as better mental health).

What’s interesting is that kiwis actually deliver a key neurotransmitter needed for sleep, and that’s serotonin.

According to scientists writing for the Asian Journal of Clinical Nutrition you may sleep better because of how much serotonin is in a kiwi.

They write: “Kiwifruit consumption may improve sleep onset, duration, and efficiency in adults with self-reported sleep disturbances. Further investigation of the sleep-promoting properties of kiwifruit may be warranted”.

Studies indicate that eating kiwis can “increase sleep time and sleep efficiency by 13 percent and 5 percent.” That’s pretty significant, and a good reason anyone who’s ever struggled with sleep may want to eat more kiwis.

Of course, there’s also a good amount of evidence that shows if you increase serotonin intake it could also lead to boosted memory and enhanced mood and even help reverse depression. So if better sleep and enhanced outlook on life are things you could always get MORE of in your life, then a kiwi can help.

4 - Kiwis May Help You Fight Cancer Too:

Cancer is a dreadful disease, and I believe we’re continuing to get closer and closer to figuring out how to tackle, stop, and even reverse most forms of cancer.

I think that equipping yourself with a diet rich in kiwis might help you in this regard too.

As Dr. Axe writes:

“The trees in the Actinidia family (kiwi trees) have been used as medicinal plants in China for many years, treating ailments like joint pain, bladder stones, and cancers of the liver and esophagus.

Both the fruit and roots of kiwi have proven inhibitory effects on human liver, lung and colon cancer cell growth. Thanks to its polysaccharide and the abundance of antioxidants found in fresh kiwi nutrition, studies in mice have shown anti-tumor effects and reduction of cancer cells.

These reasons are why kiwis are among some of the best cancer-fighting foods available in nature.”

 5- Can Help Boost Your Heart’s Health:

We know that fruits like grapes, and pomegranates are helpful at boosting heart health…

Turns out kiwis may help your heart as well.

Why exactly has to do with how kiwis literally deposit into your body minerals that your heart needs to beat with strength and consistency.

For instance, potassium in kiwi is known to help lower your blood pressure. It does this by acting as a vasodilator (expanding your blood vessels) and also counteracting the negative effects of sodium which can sometimes lead to constricting blood flow.

And antioxidants like vitamin C, and vitamin E among others are thought to play a virtual role in helping to balance your triglyceride levels. Research indicates eating kiwis regularly may help to lower your levels by as much as 15%

Furthermore the association with fiber intake and heart health make it plausible that the moderate amount of fiber per serving is enough to positively influence how your heart performs.

Lastly, the presence of vitamin K1, may also help reduce the risk for heart attacks. While vitamin K2 is something I’ve talked about extensively when it comes to heart health, K1 is also influential in cardiovascular maintenance.

The study found that people with the highest intakes of vitamin K1 were 21 percent less likely to be hospitalised with cardiovascular disease related to atherosclerosis.

Science Daily wrote the following about how K1 works to boost heart health.

“Researchers examined data from more than 50,000 people taking part in the Danish Diet, Cancer, and Health study over a 23-year period. They investigated whether people who ate more foods containing vitamin K had a lower risk of cardiovascular disease related to atherosclerosis (plaque build-up in the arteries).

There are two types of vitamin K found in foods we eat: vitamin K1 comes primarily from green leafy vegetables and vegetable oils while vitamin K2 is found in meat, eggs and fermented foods such as cheese.

The study found that people with the highest intakes of vitamin K1 were 21 percent less likely to be hospitalised with cardiovascular disease related to atherosclerosis.”

If that’s not a good enough reason to eat more kiwis, I don’t know what is.

Kiwis, Will You Eat Them?

I’m hoping that after you just read all that about kiwis, you’d eat more of them.

I suggest, if you do, get organic. You know why at this point.

And if you struggle to eat them because of the skin, which I know is a reason a ton of people ignore kiwis, I suggest peeling them. There’s quite a bit of nutrition in the skins, but it’s not all locked up in there. So, do yourself a favor, peel them and then pop them in your mouth for maximum health benefits!