To peel or not to peel


By: Judy Davie - The Food Coach

In some instances there's no question that we have to remove the skin before eating. Bananas, avocado, onions, garlic, grapefruit, pineapple, pomegranate, melon, papaya and citrus are all examples of produce with skin that is either inedible or tastes so bad it has to be removed. But what about other fruit and vegetables?

You may prefer to remove the skin from certain produce, but in doing the chances are you will also be removing one of the most nutrient-rich part of the plant.

Antioxidants, Minerals and Vitamins

Powerful plant chemicals called antioxidants, which help our bodies fight disease, are essentially nature's protection from environmental damage. It makes sense therefore that these antioxidants are primarily clustered in and around the plant's first line of defense - it's skin. And it's not just antioxidants that are discarded when you peel off the skin. Valuable vitamins and minerals are also lost when you reach for that potato peeler.

Take potatoes for example, a boiled potato with its skin left on can contain over 175 percent more vitamin C, 115 percent more potassium, 111 percent more folate and 110 percent more magnesium and phosphorus than a peeled one.

An unpeeled raw apple contains up to 332 percent more vitamin K, 142 percent more vitamin A, 115 percent more vitamin C, 20 percent more calcium and up to 19 percent more potassium than a peeled apple.

Don't forget fibre …

Essential for digestive health, feeding healthy bacteria in the gut, and helping to keep you feeling full for longer, 31 percent of the total fibre in a plant food can be found in the skin. It's an important point for anyone struggling to lose or maintain weight who wants to lose some weight.

An apple with skin on as a snack will satisfy you for longer than a peeled apple.

What about pesticides ?

Pesticides are used to reduce crop damage and increase yield and although its use is heavily regulated and the allowed upper limits are much lower than the lowest dose known to potentially cause any harm in humans, it's true that if pesticide residue is to be found on a plant it will be mostly be found on the skin. For some people that may be a good reason to take it off.

Personally, compared to the chemicals in the environment which we inhale daily, I think the risk of consuming a small amount of pesticides does not outweigh the benefit of consuming more nutrients in the skins, and to me, a healthier strategy is to wash the produce and get rid of any residue.

Running the produce under a tap will reduce some pesticide residue but rubbing the fruit while you wash it will get a better result.

Those who are more anxious about consuming pesticides will get a better result by soaking their produce in a solution made with 1 tsp bicarbonate of soda and 2 cups of water for up to 15 minutes.

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