Kiwi fruit anyone?

These hairy and difficult to peel fruit have many hidden wonders. Your gut bugs love a good kiwi fruit (apart from its furry outside). The reason I’ve got kiwi fruit on the agenda today is that not only are they a good fruit to eat if you have FODMAP issues (too many fructans) but they are also a great prebiotic.

Kiwi fruit is high in pectin (a prebiotic) which is in a lot of fruit and another great prebiotic fibre for your gut bugs and it has fibre which is always handy. Studies have shown that eating kiwifruit may have an effect on the Lactobacillus, Bacteroides, Clostridium, Bifidobacterium, and Enterococcus bugs that live in your gut.

Eating Kiwi fruit has shown to increase levels of Lactobacillus and Bifidobacterium but only if you keep eating them. Consumption of kiwi fruit, or in particular the isoflavones in the fruit, has been linked to the improvement in osteoporosis and menopause but more research needs to be done in this area. The reason kiwi fruit is a prebiotic fibre is that it is mostly soluble fibre which your gut bugs love. Having some kiwi fruit in your fruit salad or on your cereal can’t be a bad thing. Variety is the key so that we can spread the love of food to our gut bugs.

References

Kruger, M. C., Middlemiss, C., Katsumata, S., Tousen, Y., & Ishimi, Y. (2018). The effects of green kiwifruit combined with isoflavones on equol production, bone turnover and gut microflora in healthy postmenopausal women. Asia Pac J Clin Nutr, 27(2), 347-358. doi:10.6133/apjcn.062017.06

Lee, Y. K., Low, K. Y., Siah, K., Drummond, L. M., & Gwee, K.-A. (2012). Kiwifruit (Actinidia deliciosa) changes intestinal microbial profile. Microbial Ecology in Health and Disease, 23, 10.3402/mehd.v3423i3400.18572. doi:10.3402/mehd.v23i0.18572