14 DAY TRIAL // People who eat kiwi after enjoying a meal that is particularly rich in proteins are likely to have an easier time digesting it, a study recently published in the journal Advances in Food and Nutrition Research argues.
Specialists say that, according to recent investigations, said fruit contains an enzyme that makes it easier for the body to digest proteins.
Specifically, it boosts the body's ability to process proteins found in red meat, dairy and fish.
By doing so, this enzyme significantly reduces the feelings of overfullness and discomfort that most people experience after eating a fairly large and more or less nutritious meal due to the fact that the enzymes naturally occurring inside their bodies are having trouble breaking down the food.
“Faster and more complete digestion of food proteins occurs due to the presence of a unique naturally occurring enzyme present only in kiwi fruit, actinidin,” says Dr. Lovedeep Kaur of New Zealand's Massey University, as cited by Daily Mail.
The scientists reached this conclusion after investigating how the digestive system of laboratory rats that were being fed a high-protein diet responded to said enzyme.
Dr. Lovedeep Kaur and his colleagues maintain that people whose digestive systems are not as effective as they should be, either because of age or because of various medical issues, are the ones who would benefit the most from eating kiwi after their meals.
“It is clear from the studies that consuming green kiwi fruit as part of a protein-rich meal increases the extent of protein digestion, particularly in the stomach,” the researchers reportedly write in their paper.
“Faster stomach emptying in the presence of actinidin may help reduce feelings of overfullness and gastric discomfort sometimes reporter by those consuming a high-protein diet,” they go on to say.
Apart from containing this enzyme that promotes the digestion of proteins, kiwi has been documented to contain more vitamin C per gram than oranges do.