Fruits and vegetables should always be at the top of the list when making healthy choices for what to eat. While eating fruits and veggies is great in and of itself, most people are probably missing out on the most nutritious part: the peels. We all get scared off from the peels, thinking they are dirty or covered in pesticides. A good washing can help with those issues though.
Here are some prime examples of fruits and veggies that you should not be peeling if you’re looking for the healthiest way to eat them:
Citrus
The inside of an orange is tasty and full of vitamin C, though its peel has double the vitamin C. The peel also has more calcium, potassium, magnesium, vitamin B6, and riboflavin, plus anti-inflammatory and anti-cancer flavonoids. People tend to stay away from the peels of citrus fruits because they are bitter tasting, but there are ways to eat them besides just taking a bite. Citrus peels are often grated into sauces, dressings, or even right onto salads.
Eggplant
Eggplant contains the potent antioxidant nasunin, which may prevent the development of cancer. Its nasunin is what gives eggplant its purple hue. Nasunin may also have anti-aging properties as well. Unfortunately, when we peel an eggplant, we’re not getting the highly nutritious nausunin. Eggplant peels contain tons of chlorogenic acid as well, which has anti-inflammatory and antioxidant properties.
Carrots
There’s not much difference between a carrot peel and carrot meat. Most people peel carrots because they look dirty, but they should stop doing that. The peel is especially rich in polyacetylenes, which may work as both an anti-inflammatory and anti-baceterial. And if that wasn’t enough, carrot peels also have a lot higher concentration of phytonutrients. So, instead of peeling carrots, just make sure you scrub them well before eating them.
Mangos
Mango skin has properties comparable to resveratrol, a polyphenol that hinders fat cell production and burns fat. Mango meat has no such thing, unfortunately. What’s more, mango peels also contain larger quantities of other polyphenols, omega-3, carotenoids, and polyunsaturated fatty acids that the fruit’s insides. Eat the skin raw or cook it. Both ways are delicious.
