No single food or drink alone can treat or prevent hemorrhoids!
However, certain foods may contribute to the healing process and also help prevent the symptoms from coming back. One example is kiwifruit.
Eating kiwi fruit — as part of a healthy diet and lifestyle — may help ease hemorrhoid symptoms and lower the risk of recurrence. This is mainly because kiwis are rich in dietary fibre.
This article explains in detail how kiwis may help with hemorrhoids.
Understanding Hemorrhoids
According to the National Institute of Diabetes and Digestive and Kidney Diseases; hemorrhoids are swollen and inflamed veins around the anus or inside the lower rectum. They are also called piles.
Hemorrhoids are a very common ailment. Nearly three out of four adults will have hemorrhoids from time to time, notes the Mayo Clinic.
The exact cause is unknown. However, piles are thought to develop due to increased pressure in the blood vessels in and around the anus. Things that can increase the pressure in the area include:
- straining during bowel movements
- sitting for long periods of time on the toilet
- chronic diarrhea and constipation
- being pregnant
- lifting heavy weights
The symptoms of hemorrhoids include pain, itching, and rectal bleeding.
Hemorrhoids can be either internal or external. Internal hemorrhoids occur inside the anus or rectum while external hemorrhoids develop outside the anus.
Hemorrhoids often go away on their own with certain lifestyle changes, which usually include diet changes.
How Does Kiwi Fruit Help Treat and Prevent Hemorrhoids?
Firstly, it is important to note that kiwifruit is not classified as a medical treatment for hemorrhoids. But, the fruit may help you combat this condition by providing your body with a high amount of dietary fibre and a variety of flavonoids.
In this section, we explain how these substances help manage hemorrhoids. This will explain why kiwis are potentially good for piles, also called hemorrhoids.
How Does Fiber in Kiwi Fruit Help Hemorrhoids?
Constipation is regarded as one of the leading causes of hemorrhoids because constipated individuals are more likely to strain when trying to pass a stool. Straining increases the pressure in the anal canal thus causing the veins in the region to swell, which refers to hemorrhoids.
Dietary fibre has the ability to relieve and prevent constipation by adding bulk to stools and softening them. Hence, people who are susceptible to hemorrhoids are often advised to eat a high-fibre diet, along with adequate fluid intake.
The National Institute of Diabetes and Digestive and Kidney Diseases confirms that eating foods high in dietary fibre helps treat and prevent hemorrhoids as it helps make stools softer and easier to pass.
Kiwi fruit is one of the best fruit sources of dietary fibre. According to the U.S Department of Agriculture: one kiwi (around 70 gr) contains about 2 gr of fibre. What’s more, fibre may improve internal bleeding hemorrhoids, according to a randomized control trial.
If you want to learn how exactly kiwi fruit can help with constipation, you can read our article titled “Kiwifruit: A potential natural remedy for constipation“.
How Might Flavonoids in Kiwifruit Help Hemorrhoids?
Science tells us that kiwifruit contains a variety of flavonoids in varying amounts. This is good news given the fact that flavonoids have been found to help improve certain hemorrhoid symptoms with their anti-inflammatory effects.
For instance; a study from 2018 reported that a mixture of flavonoids that include diosmin, rutin, and quercetin may improve hemorrhoid-related bleeding. Also, a more recent study concluded that flavonoids can help manage the bleeding and irritation caused by hemorrhoids.
Many studies also show that diosmin supplements may help treat internal and external hemorrhoids. You should know that diosmin is widely derived from another flavonoid called hesperidin, and hesperidin is found in kiwifruit.
To sum up; eating flavonoid-rich kiwifruit may help improve hemorrhoid symptoms, especially when eaten as a part of a healthy diet.
Is Kiwi Skin Good for Hemorrhoids?
The short answer is yes, eating kiwi skin might be beneficial against piles. Before explaining how, we may need to clarify that the skin of kiwi is perfectly edible as long as it is free from pesticides.
As for how it may help with hemorrhoids, kiwi skin has a high concentration of flavonoids. Furthermore, the skin contains insoluble fibre.
As explained above, these two nutritional components can help with hemorrhoid symptoms in different mechanisms.
How Many Kiwis Per Day Help Treat and Prevent Hemorrhoids?
Scientific studies that have examined the effects of kiwi fruit on constipation found that eating 2 to 3 kiwis a day may help treat and prevent constipation, which is one of the leading causes of hemorrhoids.
What Other Foods Can Help With Hemorrhoids?
It bears repeating no single food or drink alone can treat or prevent hemorrhoids. However, a well-planned diet that consists of nutritious foods may help combat hemorrhoids.
According to the National Health Service; eating foods high in fibre and drinking plenty of fluid – mostly water ( but avoiding or cutting down on caffeine and alcohol) can reduce the risk of hemorrhoids returning, or even developing in the first place.
Click the links below if you are interested in learning how other foods indicated below may help with hemorrhoids.
Key Points
- Kiwifruit contains a substantial amount of fibre and water, both of which can help prevent constipation. Thus, the fruit can help ease hemorrhoid symptoms.
- According to studies, flavonoids in kiwis may help with hemorrhoid symptoms such as bleeding.
- Hemorrhoids are common in pregnancy due to the increased pressure on the rectal veins. Health experts suggest that eating kiwis in pregnancy is totally safe unless the mother is allergic to kiwis.
- Another way kiwifruit may help with hemorrhoids is by helping to lose weight. A study found that eating kiwis may help lose weight.
- If you are going to increase your fibre intake, such as adding more kiwis to your diet, do it gradually so that your body adapts itself to the increase.
- If you have persistent or severe symptoms of hemorrhoids, check with your doctor.
Tarkan is an experienced health writer ( currently more than 600 articles ) and also the founder of this website namely www.neededforhealth.com. His expertise in health stems from in-depth medical research and knowledge which he obtained over the course of many years.
Tarkan enjoys sharing factual knowledge on health, psychology and nutrition. He always aims to deliver evidence-based recommendations, provide links to related scientific studies.
