WHY NUTRIKIWI IS SO GOOD!

Our kiwis are guaranteed to be the best in town, so if you see our Nutrikiwi sticker, you’ve hit a homerun. There are a few ways to spot a top notch kiwi:

Look for Nutrikiwi green kiwi fruit in quality fruit and vegetable stores

To ripen a kiwi, simply place in a brown paper bag with an apple!

Kiwifruit is an excellent source of the essential nutrient, Vitamin C, simply one of the best. One NutriKiwi (green Kiwifruit*) has around 117 grams of Vitamin C.  2 X more Vitamin C than an orange (*per serve)

How much Vitamin C do we need each day?

Just one Kiwifruit per day ensures everyone will be meeting their Vitamin C target!

The recommended dietary intake’s (RDI) per day are as follows:

• 45mg: adult men and women
• 40mg: children aged 9-18 years
• 35mg: children aged 1-8 years
• 60mg: pregnant women
• 85mg: Breast feeding women

It’s important to replenish vitamin C daily. This is because Vitamin C is a water soluble vitamin and isn’t stored in the body to any great extent.

* RDIs given are for Australia
** weight of 1 NutriKiwi =150 g

What do we need it for?

Vitamin C acts as a powerful antioxidant.

Vitamin C is vitally important for collagen synthesis and helps maintain healthy skin, gums, cartilage and other body tissues. Vitamin C helps to heal those cuts and scratches and enhances iron absorption which can reduce tiredness and overall fatigue.

Standard 1.2.7 Nutrition, Health and related studies claim the following benefits associated with Vitamin C

• Contributes to iron absorption from food
• Necessary for normal connective tissue structure and function
• Necessary for normal blood vessel structure and function
• Contributes to cell protection from free radical damage
• Necessary for normal neurological function
• Contributes to normal growth and development (children)
• Contributes to normal collagen formation for the normal structure of cartilage and bones
• Contributes to normal collagen formation for the normal function of skin
• Contributes to normal energy metabolism
• Contributes to normal psychological function
• Contributes to normal immune system function
• Contributes to the reduction of tiredness and fatigue

Nutrikiwi’s are brimming with antioxidants! They contains a wide range of phytonutrients like polyphenols, along with vitamins Vitamin C and E which have antioxidant power.

What are antioxidants?

Antioxidants help defend the body’s tissues against oxidative damage by destroying free radicals. Antioxidants act like the body’s defence force trying to stop the ‘free radicals’ from damaging our bodies.

There is some debate about whether the antioxidant capacity of a food actually increases the antioxidant levels in the blood and if there are any health benefits.

Another important antioxidant found in kiwifruit is Vitamin E. This is an essential group of 8 plant derived, fat soluble compounds including tocopherols. These are the most biologically active form of this vitamin group.

Kiwifruit is one of the few low fat sources of Vitamin E.

Why do we need it?

The most important function of Vitamin E is it’s antioxidant function and it’s role in many metabolic functions. Other antioxidants in Kiwifruit are carotenoids especially lutein and zeaxanthin. They are very important for eyes as they are associated with the pigment in the macular of the eye. Kiwifruit has one of the highest  concentrations of lutein in fruit.

There are a vast array of other antioxidant compounds in kiwifruit including the polyphenols such as quercetin. These compounds are only present in small amounts, but it’s the combination of these compounds that may offer benefits.

Aactinidin is a cysteine protease enzyme which helps to break down proteins. Recently there have been studies looking at the potential role of this enzyme in helping to digest food proteins like those found meat, milk, legumes and grains.

NutriKiwi has high levels of Aactinidin activity compared with other types of kiwifruit like the Gold variety. Nutrikiwi’s are able to digest proteins more quickly and more completely than digestive enzymes alone.

That’s why NutriKiwi can be a delicious way to tenderise your calamari or meat.

Kiwifruit is a good mix of soluble and insoluble dietary fibre. Inside a Kiwifruit, you can see the edible black seeds which add to the soluble fibre content while the structural part of the fruit together with the fuzzy skin provide the insoluble fibre.

One NutriKiwi (green kiwifruit) provides 4.5 grams of fibre.

How much fibre do we need each day?

One serve of Nutrikiwi (2 kiwifruits) provides more than 30% of your daily fibre target.

While there is no exact recommended dietary intake for fibre, an adequate intake per day is:

• 25g: women
• 30g: men
• 14-18g: children aged up to 8 years
• 24-28g: 20-28g

It’s always a good idea include a variety of fibre sources in your diet, including wholegrains, legumes, nuts , seeds, vegetables and fruit.

What do we need it for?

Dietary fibre is very important for a healthy digestive system – keeping everything functioning the way it should.

• Soluble fibre including pectins is the sticky, gum-like fibre found mainly in plant cells which helps to lower cholesterol absorption and maintain blood sugar levels as well as helping with constipation.
• Insoluble fibre includes cellulose and lignins, and makes up the structural component of the plant adding bulkiness to stools, thereby helping to maintain normal bowel function.

Fabulous folate – the B Vitamin that is essential for mums to be, babies, our hearts, blood and normal cell growth and development.

How much folate do we need each day?

One serve of NutriKiwi (2 kiwifruit) will give you just over 25% of your daily folate needs.

The recommended dietary intake (RDI) is:

• 400 micrograms: for all people aged 14 and over
• 600 micrograms: pregnant women
• 300 micrograms: children 9-13 years old

The best approach to meet your folate needs is to eat a varied diet with a wide range of green leafy vegetables and fresh fruit like Kiwifruit. Some everyday foods like bread and cereals are fortified with folate.

It’s important to note that folate is destroyed upon cooking (between 50-80% is lost). Since Kiwifruit are commonly eaten raw they are a good folate find!

What do we need it for?

Folate is involved in >100 different processes within the body. It is essential for the formation of new cells and tissues as well as the proper growth, development and functioning of the brain, blood and immune systems.

When folate levels are low, there can be an increase in chromosome damage and abnormal gene expression.

GI is a measure of the rate at which a food that contains a certain amount of carbohydrate affects our blood glucose (sugar) levels.

• High GI foods are rapidly digested and absorbed and cause a rapid rise in blood glucose levels
• Low GI foods are digested and absorbed more slowly and result in a more gradual rise in blood glucose levels and insulin levels.

Carbohydrate-containing foods are categorised as either:

• Low GI: <55
• Moderate GI: 56-69
• High GI: >70

NutriKiwi has a low GI value ( GI=39)

It’s best to have more low GI foods in our diets, especially for people needing to manage their blood glucose levels.

NutriKiwi Nutrition Table