Kiwifruit and Antioxidants

What's Antioxidant?

Antioxidants are substances or nutrients in our foods which can prevent or slow the oxidative damage to our body (Oxidation, a natural process or need that occurs within your body's cells, can produce reactive substances called free radicals). While oxygen is essential to life cells in our body, oxidation is the “dark side” of oxygen that most people don’t know about it. When our body cells use oxygen, they naturally produce free radicals (by-products) which can cause damage. Antioxidants act as "free radical scavengers" and prevent and repair damage done by these free radicals.  Health problems such as heart disease, macular degeneration, diabetes, cancer are all contributed by oxidative damage. Antioxidants may also enhance immune defense and therefore lower the risk of cancer and infection.

Therefore, oxidation is a natural process, so a diet rich in antioxidants is necessary for health.

Where to find common Antioxidants?

Antioxidants are part of the vitamins, minerals and nutrients present in foods. Antioxidants are found in many foods, including fruits and vegetables especially in the skin of fruits and vegetables. They are also available as dietary supplements. Examples of antioxidants include:

 We are mentioned briefly kiwi fruit common antioxidants for you:

Lutein

kiwifruit contains the phytochemical lutein, which works to prevent age-related blindness and protect eyes from various kinds of damage.

Lycopene

Lycopene is a red, fat-soluble pigment from the carotenoid family that can be found in certain fruits and vegetables. It has too many benefits for us. First of all, lycopene is a very powerful antioxidant that acts as free radical as well as especially effective in preventing prostate, lung and stomach cancer.

Beta-carotene

The beta-carotene in the fruit is thought to help fight heart disease, defend against cancer(β-carotene was a cancer-protective agent)and protect skin from sun-damage.

Selenium

Selenium is a naturally-occurring non-metallic trace element. The human body contains about 13 to 20 milligram of selenium. It is known to play a role in certain vital human functions (include strengthening of the immune system and activation of antioxidant enzymes).Our body needs only a small amount of selenium. It must be noted that selenium can be toxic, if consumed in large doses. On the other hand, low selenium levels in the body are linked to poor immune function.
The kiwi fruit contains smaller amounts of Selenium.

Vitamin C

kiwi fruit is a good source of the vitamins and some vitamins are more of other fruit in it like vitamin C. Kiwi provides more vitamin C than an orange. The kiwi fruit average provides 273 percent of the daily requirement for vitamin C (a large orange provides 163 percent). Vitamin C is an antioxidant that can protect the body cells from free radicals. It is important for the formation of collagen, cartilage, blood vessels, and muscles. It also facilitates the absorption of iron, and reduces the risk of cardiovascular diseases and cancer. A deficiency of vitamin C can cause scurvy, which can cause spongy bleeding gums, loss of weight, irritability, and wounds that do not heal easily.

Vitamin E

Vitamin E is an antioxidant that protects body tissue from damage caused by substances called free radicals. The body also needs vitamin E to help keep the immune system strong against viruses and bacteria.

Vitamin E is also important in the formation of red blood cells and it helps the body use vitamin K. It also helps widen blood vessels and keep blood from clotting inside them. Vitamin E also can prevent cancer, heart disease, dementia, liver disease, and stroke is still not known.

The kiwi fruit contains smaller amounts of vitamin E.

Vitamin A

Vitamin A can be found in many fruits, vegetables and etc.
Vitamin A is used for treating vitamin A deficiency. It is also used to reduce complications of diseases such as malaria, HIV, measles, and diarrhea in children with vitamin A deficiency.

The kiwi fruit contains smaller amounts of vitamin A.

The kiwi fruits are rich sources of antioxidants so their continuous consumption is useful for us and lowers risks of certain diseases.