DIGESTIVE HEALTH
THE IMPORTANCE OF DIGESTIVE HEALTH
Digestion is essential to life. While the main function of the digestive system is the uptake of water and nutrients from food and drink, it also plays an important role in the immune system. In both cases, the beneficial microflora living in the gut are important workers. The beneficial microflora:
“Having a healthy digestive system with regular bowel movements is so important to our overall health and wellbeing. The gut is now known to play a crucial role in supporting our immune system, and it interacts with other vital organs including the brain, skin and lungs.”
– Emma Graham, Scientist
WHAT CAN ACTAZIN DO TO HELP THE DIGESTIVE SYSTEM?
Every day our digestive systems do their best to sustain and protect our wellbeing. Their role is to provide the body with the building blocks required to function, feel good and fight invaders.
However fast-paced modern life and convenience foods can put a strain on digestion, which may lead to health problems – bloating, constipation, low energy levels and a weakened immune system, just to mention a few.
Actazin® was developed to support healthy digestion, relieving bloating and constipation to promote a healthy, happy life. It’s a natural, cold-pressed powder made entirely in New Zealand. Read more on green kiwifruit and how Actazin is made here.
SCIENTIFICALLY PROVEN
In two clinical trials, Actazin® was shown to significantly improve bowel movements, increasing the number of weekly bowel movements (Figure 1), softening stools (Figure 2), and reducing symptoms of constipation, bloating and gastric discomfort. An increase of greater than 1 bowel movement per week is considered by the US FDA as clinically significant. This magnitude of improvement was observed with a dose of 600 mg of Actazin® daily. Actazin is the only green kiwifruit powder with clinically proven efficacy at a low dose of 600 mg.
Figure 1: Change in weekly bowel movements after consumption of Actazin® (600 mg or 2,400 mg daily) by healthy people for 4 weeks [1].
Figure 2: Least square means for a repeated measures analysis of BSS (difference from baseline) for Actazin and placebo). * p < 0.05 vs baseline and placebo [2].
Figure 3: Gastrointestinal symptom scores at baseline and after taking Actazin, 600 mg daily, for 28 days (4 weeks). Symptoms scored 0 – 4 with 0 = absent and 4 = very severe, i.e. higher score = more severe symptoms. Symptoms included: abdominal = discomfort, pain, bloating and cramps in the abdomen; rectal = painful movements, rectal burning, rectal bleeding/tearing; stool = incomplete bowel movement, bowel movements too hard/small, straining/squeezing, feeling the need to go but couldn’t. *p<0.001 compared to baseline
WHAT DOCTORS SAY ABOUT ACTAZIN®
Many health professionals recognise the value of naturally-sourced supplements within the context of a modern diet.
“It was clear that Actazin worked…. this treatment is effective at increasing the frequency of bowel motions each week.”
– Dr Richard Gearry, Professor of Medicine (University of Otago) and Gastroenterologist
THE BENEFITS OF ACTAZIN
Taking Actazin® every day as a supplement or functional food may assist digestive health in several ways.
Daily Actazin® may help prevent or relieve constipation by providing the digestive system with the nutrients it needs for regularity. These nutrients include both soluble and insoluble fibre, a proteolytic enzyme called actinidin, polyphenols, organic acids, vitamins and minerals.
Interestingly, kiwifruit fibre has unique hydration properties which affect the dynamics of macronutrient absorption, reducing mixing in the bowel and diffusion.
Kiwifruit fibre has the capacity to swell or ‘gel’ (ie, the volume fibre has in water after passively settling), reaching over three times its volume in the original fruit [3]. Compared to rehydrated dietary fibre preparations, the swelling capacity of freeze-dried kiwifruit fibre is twelve times higher than wheat bran, more than six times higher than apple fibre, and one and a half times higher than psyllium.
Kiwifruit fibre also has high water retention capacity – the amount of water that is bound to insoluble fibre and is not separated from fibre by centrifugation. The water retention capacity of kiwifruit fibre is 12-13 g water/g insoluble fibre, which is about twice that of apple fibre and four times that of wheat bran. The superior water retention and swelling capacity of kiwifruit fibre translates to superior faecal bulking capacity.
Greater swelling capacity than other dried dietary fibres
Greater water retention than other dried dietary fibres
The complex dietary fibre in Actazin®, including kiwifruit pectin, provides a food source to the good bacteria in the gut and may also maximise the benefits of over-the-counter probiotics. In this way, a daily supplement containing Actazin® can support an ongoing healthy balance of gut microflora.
Due to the complexity of the kiwifruit pectin, it is slowly fermented by gut bacteria along the whole length of the colon. This slow fermentation means Actazin consumption doesn’t generate excess gas or the associated side effects (e.g. bloating, wind and pain) like other prebiotics can.
Actazin® contains actinidin, which is a kiwifruit-unique enzyme that helps the upper digestive tract break down certain proteins, including dairy, meat, and plant proteins like those from pea, soy, rice and wheat (e.g. gluten)[4-12].
Actinidin has been found to be effective at enhancing the digestion of normally digestion-resistant proteins, such as pea convicilin and wheat gluten.
• A recent study investigating the effect of actinidin on alternative plant proteins, found that convicilin subunits from pea protein were not digested after 60 mins with pepsin, but were completely digested within a few seconds when actinidin was added [4].
• Actinidin hydrolyses the usually resistant peptide bonds in gluten and is better than other enzymes including papain and bromelain [5,6]. Due to the enhanced digestion, actinidin reduces the amount of immunogenic peptides from gluten reaching the small intestine, which may reduce the risk of gluten-related health disorders [7].
Enhancing protein digestion in the upper GI tract can ease the sensation of an overfull stomach, reduce bloating and improve gastric comfort. Additionally, with increased digestion, the rate at which amino acids are made available for absorption into the bloodstream is also increased. These amino acids can then be utilised more quickly by the body to build and repair muscle, along with other important functions. This may be of particular benefit to the elderly, athletes and active individuals.
One of the reasons people can get bloated is with high protein intake. This is especially true for athletes and other people who consume high protein diets. This is because proteins can take a long time to digest. Actinidin in Actazin can help to relieve bloating and improve gastric comfort through its ability to facilitate protein digestion and increase emptying of the stomach.
Excess fermentation or eating foods that are rapidly fermentable is another cause of bloating. Rapidly fermentable foods include the FODMAPs, which include things like fructose, and the simple prebiotics, FOS, GOS and inulin.
Actazin® may also help to relieve or reduce bloating through its provision of FODMAP-friendly complex dietary fibre. This fibre is slowly fermented by the bacteria in the gut, so doesn’t generate excessive gas along the way.
Improvements in quality of life and constipation symptoms were observed in clinical studies with Actazin. In particular, 600 mg daily doses of Actazin led to significant improvements in abdominal symptoms and physical discomfort scores.
ACTAZIN KIWIFRUIT POWDER
COMMON DIGESTIVE PROBLEMS
Everyone has annoying digestive problems from time to time, but sometimes they don’t go away in a couple of days – or they turn into something more serious. Symptoms of an upset digestive system can include constipation, bloating, indigestion, gas and diarrhoea. Even just a general feeling of ‘unwellness’ can be linked to an unhappy digestive system. There are many factors that can cause/contribute to digestive problems, but often the gut microbiota is involved.
Unbalanced Gut (Dysbiosis)
Gut health begins at birth, or possibly earlier. When we are born, we are exposed to microbes from our mother and the environment. From there, we rapidly develop our own intestinal microflora – literally trillions of microbes. This is called the gut ‘microbiome’ or ‘microbiota’, and it’s the job of these microbes to help digest food and fight off invaders.
However not all of the microorganisms living in our gut are friendly. Some of the bacteria strains living in our gut, such as some Enterobacteriaceae, can cause inflammation and damage to the intestines if they get out of control.
At any given time, there’s a constant battle between good and bad bacteria in the gut. The disruption of the delicate microbiome balance – by poor nutrition, stress, antibiotic use, age and other factors – compromises our digestive system’s ability to perform vital functions, which can lead to serious health problems.
Constipation
Typically, people have bowel movements anywhere from three times a week to three times a day. Anything less than three times a week is usually defined as constipation. Some people experience constipation only occasionally, while for others it’s an ongoing problem.
The most common cause of constipation is not getting enough fluid and fibre, generally through not eating enough fruit, vegetables and whole grains. Consuming too much fat, sugar, protein, dairy, alcohol or caffeine can also add to constipation.
Other causes of constipation include:
• not getting enough physical activity
• travel or other change in routine
• prolonged periods of immobility
• taking certain medicines – especially some pain-killers – or using laxatives too often
• pregnancy
• depression
• hormonal problems, such as an underactive thyroid gland
STEPS TO DIGESTIVE HEALTH
There’s a huge weight of research that shows gut health is central to overall wellbeing. And gut health demands the right balance of intestinal microflora.
How people can maintain the balance:
• Eat fresh – ensure the bulk of one’s diet is natural and not refined, processed foods
• Keep regular by consuming plenty of fibre and fluids
• Eat or take prebiotics – feed the beneficial gut bacteria with high fibre foods and non-digestible carbohydrates
• Eat or take probiotics – boost the levels of beneficial bacteria by taking a probiotic supplement and/or eating fermented foods, such as kimchi, miso, sauerkraut and yoghurt
• Eat slowly and chew thoroughly to help the body digest food and absorb nutrients better
References:
[2] Lewis, E.D., Graham, E., McKeen, S., Li, Z., Henning, S.M., Jopson, N., Gu, J., Rosendale, D., Evans, M. Actazin® green kiwifruit powder consumption at 600 mg per day for 28 days improves stool form and relieves occasional constipation in healthy individuals: a randomized controlled trial. Publication pending.
[3] Sims,IM, Monro,JA: Fibre: composition, structures, and functional properties. Adv Food Nutr Res 68:81-99, 2013
[4] Kaur, L., Mao, B., Bailly, J., Oladeji, O., Blatchford, P., & McNabb, W. C. (2022). Actinidin in Green and SunGold Kiwifruit Improves Digestion of Alternative Proteins—An In Vitro Investigation. Foods, 11(18), 2739
[5] Jayawardana, I. A., Boland, M. J., Higgs, K., Zou, M., Loo, T., Mcnabb, W. C., & Montoya, C. A. (2021). The kiwifruit enzyme actinidin enhances the hydrolysis of gluten proteins during simulated gastrointestinal digestion. Food Chemistry, 341, 128239.
[6] Jayawardana, I. A., Boland, M. J., Loo, T. S., McNabb, W. C., & Montoya, C. A. (2022). Rapid proteolysis of gluten-derived immunogenic peptides in bread by actinidin in a combined in vivo and in vitro oro-gastrointestinal digestion model. Food & Function, 13(10), 5654-5666.
[7] Jayawardana, I. A., Boland, M. J., Loo, T. S., McNabb, W. C., & Montoya, C. A. (2022). Actinidin reduces gluten-derived immunogenic peptides reaching the small intestine in an in vitro semi-dynamic gastrointestinal tract digestion model. Food Research International, 159, 111560.
[8] Kaur, L., Rutherfurd, S. M., Moughan, P. J., Drummond, L., & Boland, M. J. (2010). Actinidin enhances gastric protein digestion as assessed using an in vitro gastric digestion model. Journal of agricultural and food chemistry, 58(8), 5068-5073.
[9] Rutherfurd, S. M., Montoya, C. A., Zou, M. L., Moughan, P. J., Drummond, L. N., & Boland, M. J. (2011). Effect of actinidin from kiwifruit (Actinidia deliciosa cv. Hayward) on the digestion of food proteins determined in the growing rat. Food Chemistry, 129(4), 1681-1689.
[10] Montoya, C. A., Rutherfurd, S. M., Olson, T. D., Purba, A. S., Drummond, L. N., Boland, M. J., & Moughan, P. J. (2014). Actinidin from kiwifruit (Actinidia deliciosa cv. Hayward) increases the digestion and rate of gastric emptying of meat proteins in the growing pig. British Journal of Nutrition, 111(6), 957-967. [11] Montoya, C. A., Hindmarsh, J. P., Gonzalez, L., Boland, M. J., Moughan, P. J., & Rutherfurd, S. M. (2014). Dietary actinidin from kiwifruit (Actinidia deliciosa cv. Hayward) increases gastric digestion and the gastric emptying rate of several dietary proteins in growing rats. The Journal of nutrition, 144(4), 440-446.
[12] Wallace, A., Eady, S., Drummond, L., Hedderley, D., Ansell, J., & Gearry, R. (2017). A pilot randomized cross-over trial to examine the effect of kiwifruit on satiety and measures of gastric comfort in healthy adult males. Nutrients, 9(7), 639.
[13] Park, S., Church, D. D., Starck, C., Schutzler, S. E., Azhar, G., Kim, I. Y., ... & Wolfe, R. R. (2021). The impact of Hayward green kiwifruit on dietary protein digestion and protein metabolism. European Journal of Nutrition, 60(2), 1141-1148.
