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It’s important to get enough vitamin C, but eating oranges and other citrus fruits aren’t the only way to do it.
Now you have another option – the Kiwi fruit. Kiwi is the little green fruit that outshines the orange when it comes to boosting vitamin C levels – and it tastes good too. What’s not to love about that?
The Kiwi Fruit: The Little Green Fruit That Boosts Vitamin C Levels
The Kiwi fruit, also known as the Chinese gooseberry, has a unique taste that’s both sweet and fragrant. Not only that, but it has a ton of nutritional power for a fruit that’s only three inches long.
While the average orange has 70 to 85 milligrams of vitamin C, the Kiwi fruit has between 90 and 110 milligrams. That’s almost one-and-a-half times the minimum daily requirement for vitamin C.
Vitamin C is an important antioxidant vitamin that helps to protect cells from damage, but it’s also critical for making healthy collagen that lines the bones, ligaments, tendons, cartilage, and teeth.
Vitamin C also plays a role in immune function, although it probably doesn’t cure a common cold, as was once thought.
Another Reason to Boost Vitamin C Levels
If you were to not eat vitamin C foods for a few months, you would develop the vitamin C deficiency disease known as scurvy.
Scurvy causes symptoms of joint pain, swelling in the extremities, bleeding gums, and fatigue.
The only way to cure it is to replenish the body’s stores of vitamin C. People who don’t get enough vitamin C in their diet are also more prone to certain infections due to vitamin C’s effects on immune function.
Boost Vitamin C with the Little Green Fruit Called Kiwi
You’ll get more than vitamin C when you eat the Kiwi fruit. It ranks high on the antioxidant scale, thanks to the flavonoids and carotenoids it contains.
It’s also heart-healthy. Not only is it a rich source of cholesterol-lowering fiber; but a 2004 study showed that eating this little green fruit helps to keep platelets from clumping together – a condition which could lead to a heart attack or stroke.
The Bottom Line?
Boost vitamin C levels by adding the Kiwi fruit to your next fruit salad. It’ll keep your immune system and collagen healthy – and benefit your heart too.
References: Food Navigator website. “Kiwi Lowers Blood Clot Risk” The Nutritionist. Robert Wildman, Ph.D., RD. 2002.
