In a recent study published by the American Journal of Clinical Nutrition, researchers at the University of Otago, Christchurch, found that mice absorbed vitamin C from Zespri Gold Kiwifruit five times more effectively than an artificial vitamin C supplement.
Lead researcher, associate professor Margreet Vissers, says: “Vitamin C is an essential vitamin for humans, as it assists in completing a variety of chemical reactions in organs and body tissues essential for daily health. As humans are unable to generate their own vitamin C, vitamin C needs to be sourced from the foods we eat.”
In this study, vitamin C-deficient mice were fed a known quantity of vitamin C over a month, either as Zespri Gold Kiwifruit or as an equivalent of artificial vitamin C supplement.
“The results were astounding,” says Vissers. “The mice that were fed the Zespri Gold Kiwifruit absorbed vitamin C much more effectively than those given the purified supplement form, and they also retained it in their organs and tissues for longer.”
This research is the first of its kind to demonstrate the effectiveness of a food source of vitamin C in achieving and maintaining optimal vitamin C levels compared to a supplement, one of the most commonly consumed vitamin supplements.
Natalie Milne, health marketing manager for Zespri, says: “These vitamin C results are very exciting for Zespri. To know the vitamin C in Zespri Gold Kiwifruit – a natural fruit grown here in a clean, green and safe environment – is more than five times better absorbed by the body than a vitamin C supplement, confirms our view that Zespri Kiwifruit can naturally strengthen and protect the body for daily good health.”
Source: Zespri
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