Massey University researchers want to find out whether kiwifruit can reduce exercise-induced stress in active women.
Photo: RNZ/ Nick Monro
Lead reseaher, Noha Nasef, said while exercise was part of a healthy lifestyle and could prevent communicable diseases, it could also cause a stress response which had been linked to health complications later in life.
"In women, the exercise-induced stress response is implicated in menstrual dysfunction, infertility and osteoporosis later in life," Dr Nasef said.
Dr Nasef said several supplements were known for their beneficial effects on immunity and exercise-induced stress, such as vitamin C.
But she said little attention has been paid to the benefits of whole foods rich in vitamin C, such as kiwifruit.
"Vitamin C is known to reduce the stress response after exercise and so what we want to determine is whether vitamin C works better when it is eaten as a natural food like kiwifruit," she said.
Dr Nasef said to find out more the research team was looking for study participants and needed 12 healthy active women living in Auckland.