Juice! Cucumber Kiwi Lime & Nutritional Benefits of Kiwi

I don’t know about you guys, but when I was a little girl I used to sometimes play with my food, or randomly try mixing together weird combinations just to see what would happen. For whatever reason I was in a slightly adventurous mood this morning and I decided to put my last two kiwi’s to use in this juice by blending them in after juicing the rest of my ingredients. It was tart, but really good. If you prefer slightly sweet add in an apple to this recipe.

What I learned from my little experiment which made me curious about the nutritional benefits of kiwi’s is that they are great immune boosters like orange and papayas. They actually have more vitamin C than oranges! Kiwi’s originally were called the “Chinese gooseberry” and then got the name kiwi from New Zealanders who named it after their national bird. With one kiwi you get around 230% of the RDA for vitamin C, which helps heals wounds, increase absorption of iron, and boosts your immune system.  In addition to that kiwi provides 16% of RDA fiber which prevents constipation, fights some cancers, and also helps move food through the digestive system at an even pace which regulates blood sugar absorption, and 10% RDA for folic acid which is good for mothers-to-be and is involved in producing red blood cells in our bodies. Add to that calcium, chromium, copper, iron, magnesium, potassium, and zinc. The phytonutrients in kiwi repair DNA and also act as antioxidants. Not bad for a little fuzzy green berry.

A famous study conducted in Italy followed more than 18,000 six or seven years olds and found that those who ate citrus and kiwi were 44% less likely to experience wheezing, 32% less likely to have shortness of breath, 28% less likely to have runny noses, and 25% less likely to have chronic cough than the control group. So kiwi is effective in combating respiratory health problems such asthma and cough. They also reduce the potential for blood clots and decrease triglycerides (fats) in the bloodstream. Other studies have shown that eating three or more servings of kiwi per day may lower the risk of macular degeneration, the primary cause of vision loss in adults.

Below is the recipe for my juice. Kiwi’s are also really good in smoothies. Hopefully you’ll keep in mind from now on,  if your immune system is down and you need a vitamin C boost, kiwi’s can come to the rescue. -XoXo Raw Girl

Cucumber Kiwi Lime Juice

Ingredients: 

1 long English cucumber or 2 large cucumbers

1 head of romaine lettuce

1 lime

1 apple (optional)

2 kiwis

Juice the cucumbers, romaine, and lime. Strain into blender, add in peeled kiwis, and blend together until smooth. Serve & enjoy!