*2.3. Interventions*

Chewable orange-flavored vitamin C tablets were provided by Tishcon Corp., Westbury, NY, USA. Analysis of the tablets indicated that they contained 52 mg of vitamin C per tablet. Participants in the vitamin C tablet arm of the study were asked to consume one tablet per day.

Gold kiwifruit (*Actinidia chinensis* var. *Hort. 16A*) were provided by Zespri International Ltd., Mount Maunganui, New Zealand, and were stored at ≤4 °C. The vitamin C content of the kiwifruit was monitored by HPLC with electrochemical detection [12] and indicated that the kiwifruit flesh contained 116 ± 10 mg vitamin C per 100 g (mean ± SD, *n* = 5); this value did not change during cold storage of the fruit. Participants in the kiwifruit arm were asked to consume half a fresh kiwifruit daily, not including the skin. Therefore, the actual amount of vitamin C consumed was estimated to be ~53 mg per half a kiwifruit.
