Eat This Green Fruit to Prevent Blood Clots

What's green and fuzzy - and helps to prevent blood clots? If you said the kiwi fruit you're right on target. Here's why eating more of this exotic fruit could benefit your health.

Prevent Blood Clots With the Kiwi Fruit?

Researchers at the University of Oslo discovered that the kiwi fruit, an exotic green fruit native to New Zealand, helps to reduce blood clots. This furry fruit acts as a natural blood thinner in the same way aspirin does without the risk of stomach irritation. They discovered that eating two to three kiwi a day not only reduced the risk of blood clots but lowered triglyceride levels as well. Triglycerides are fats carried in the bloodstream that are linked with heart disease and stroke.

Unfortunately, scientists don't know what compound in kiwi is responsible for the blood-thinning effect of this luscious fruit. When you eat kiwi, you not only get a healthy amount of natural antioxidants called polyphenols, but you benefit from a whopping dose of vitamin C. In fact, the kiwi fruit tops the list of vitamin C rich fruit with1.5 times the daily requirement of this antioxidant vitamin.

Eating kiwi is also good for your vision since it contains lutein, which helps to filter out blue light that can damage the eyes by causing free radicals to form. These free radicals increase the risk of macular degeneration, a common cause of age-related visual loss.

The Green Fruit with Many Health Benefits

Eat kiwi fruit to prevent blood clots and protect your heart and vision - but eat the outer skin whenever possible. Many of the vitamins and antioxidant compounds are concentrated just beneath the skin, and if you peel the kiwi fruit you lose some of them. It's okay to bite into a kiwi whole just as you would an apple. The skin is a bit tangy, which is a nice contrast to the sweet interior. Another option? Wash it and toss it into the blender with other fruits to make a super nutritious smoothie. Don't forget that the outer skin is a good source of fiber too.

The Bottom Line?

The kiwi fruit has some surprising health benefits, and it's chock full of nutrition. Look for it the next time you're shopping for produce.

References:

Food Navigator website. "Kiwi Lowers Blood Clot Risk"

World's Healthiest Foods website