Kiwi fruit 'really works' for health

The adage about an apple a day keeping the doctor away may have to be changed to kiwifruit.

The furry fruit could be the key to living longer as it appears to be the perfect food for preventing all sorts of liver problems, as well as keeping white blood cells healthy, says Professor Robin Fraser, of Otago University's Christchurch School of Medicine.

Fraser, who has seen many unhealthy livers in his time as a pathologist, is a convert to the benefits of the fruit.

"It just seems as though it works," he said. "I'm so convinced that I eat kiwifruit every morning for my breakfast."

Fraser likened the liver to a sieve that when working properly effectively filtered the carrier of cholesterol.

But those holes could be closed because of excess drinking, an overly fatty diet, smoking, illicit drug use and stress, he said. That led to atherosclerosis, which was a major killer through heart failure, strokes, gangrenous feet and aortic aneurism.

A daily dose of kiwifruit, along with a healthier lifestyle, appeared to be able to reopen those holes in the liver, he said.

Fraser, who was speaking at the annual scientific meeting of the Royal College of Pathologists of Australasia in Christchurch yesterday, said it was an exciting development.

He said kiwifruit was the most efficient way of getting the recommended dose of vitamin C, the active ingredient that appeared to fix the liver.

Dr Margreet Vissers, the dean of research at Otago University in Christchurch, said that while most people thought of oranges for vitamin C, kiwifruit was the better option.

"Out of one kiwifruit you will get the complete recommended daily allowance."

While some berries and red peppers had higher amounts of vitamin C, people had to eat a lot more to get the required amount, she said.

The liver hypothesis had been given added credence by a recent study in the United States that found that Werner syndrome, a liver problem that led to premature ageing, could be reversed in mice by extra doses of vitamin C, Vissers said.

The extra vitamin C opened holes in the liver, allowing it to work properly.

Vissers said vitamin C was also needed by white blood cells to kill bacteria and ensured they did not kill off everything else in the process.

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