As we have already commented on several occasions, constipation is a problem that increasingly affects a greater number of people, estimating that it currently affects approximately 20% of the adult Spanish population, with a higher incidence in women over the men. It can originate, among other causes, by following a diet or a diet low in fiber, or by maintaining a sedentary lifestyle with little or no physical exercise.
Recently, thanks to a study promoted by Zespri in Spain published in the Spanish Journal of Human Nutrition and Diet and entitled “Improvement of functional constipation with kiwi intake in a Mediterranean population”, we have learned that taking 3 green kiwis daily improves constipation, since its intake facilitates evacuations and in turn increases the frequency of going to the bathroom.
In this study, a five-week follow-up was carried out among adult patients diagnosed with functional constipation, who were selected by 15 family doctors from 5 primary care centers in Barcelona. The first two weeks were pre-control with a regular diet, while in the remaining three weeks three green kiwis of the Hayward variety were included in their diet, without modifying the rest of their eating habits.
After only one week of kiwi consumption, 76% of patients went to the bathroom at least once a week than they did before, while at two weeks the percentage of patients with three or more weekly bowel movements increased to 98%. This was a 15% increase from the beginning of the study, while the weekly mean number of bowel movements increased by 4.5 additional bowel movements.
On the other hand, the quality of evacuation also improved significantly, since by the third week of kiwi consumption, twice as many patients had good quality stools.
It is evident that this study has shown that the daily consumption of green kiwis contributes to improving constipation and therefore the intestinal rhythm thanks to its high fiber content. In fact, it provides 3.7 grams of fiber per 100 kcal. In addition, kiwi fruit is rich in actinide, an enzyme that helps digest proteins better.
