New Zealand Listener – June 08, 2019

36 LISTENER JUNE 8 2019

THIS LIFE

NUTRIENT UNIT/

100g

ZESPRI

GREEN

HAYWARD

ZESPRI

SUNGOLD

(GOLD3)

FIBRE g 3 1.4

VITAMIN C mg 85.1 161

VITAMIN E mg 0.86 1.4

FOLIC ACID mcg 38 31

POTASSIUM mg 300 320

G
ET

TY

IM

AG

ES

Friend with

benefits

The familiar green and gold

kiwifruit are nutritional

powerhouses and a new red

variety offers even more.

Question:

I’m a great believer in kiwifruit, both for vitamin C

content and bowel regularity. Is the gold variety

as nutritious as the green? And what about the

new red strain?

Answer:

T

he spectacular red kiwifruit made a

dashing addition to Zespri’s kiwifruit

range this season. The fruit, being

developed by Plant & Food Research, is

similar in taste to Zespri’s SunGold and

is being trialled in some supermarkets.

All kiwifruit varieties are rich in

vitamin, but SunGold, which has 161mg of the

vitamin per 100g, has almost double that of the

traditional Hayward green (see table). Even that is

nearly twice the 45mg recommended daily intake

of vitamin C. Zespri hasn’t provided figures for the

red variety, since it is still in development.

Unlike the green and gold varieties, the red

fruit contain an anthocyanin, a natural pigment

responsible for their colour. Anthocyanins are

a type of flavonoid, a class of compounds with

health-giving antioxidant effects. They are also

found in fruit such as cherries, grapes, blackcurrants

by Jennifer Bowden

NUTRITION

and berries, as well as in red wine.

Kiwifruit are also rich in potassium,

with one Hayward fruit providing

about 220mg and a SunGold about

250mg. For a real potassium hit, how-

ever, a banana contains 400mg.

Kiwifruit also provide useful

dietary fibre and many other

nutritional and health benefits. The

red variety has more fibre than the

SunGold, but less than the green.

A

2018 review published in

the European Journal of Nutri-

tion highlighted kiwifruit as

nutrient-dense and linked regular

consumption to better nutritional

status and digestive, immune

and metabolic health.

The fruit also contain

vitamin E, folate and a

range of other antioxi-

dants, phytonutrients and

enzymes, all of which

contribute to their nutri-

tional goodness.