Top 7 Fruits You Shouldn’t Peel
Eating fresh fruits everyday is vital to your health, that’s no secret. They are excellent sources of important nutrients for your physical and mental wellness.
Because of this fact, fruits are always included in your daily diet. But sometimes, you missed on how to eat these fruits the right way.
Mostly, you peel fruits as a traditional way of preparing them, and these skins end up in the compost or in trash cans. You know what you did? You just stripped away a layer of the fruit which has great nutrient value.
To understand better, here are some facts why you need to consume the following fruits without peeling the skin off.
Apples
Apples’ skins are enriched with antioxidants and phytonutrients. They help in preventing degenerative disorders like Alzheimer’s disease, regulate blood sugar, improve lung functions, promote cardiovascular health and prevent cancer.
Their skins have more fiber content than their inner part. The skin has four times more vitamin K in their skin than in their flesh.
Their outer coverings are also home to ursolic acid, a compound important in controlling obesity.
Kiwis
Most like them peeled, but their skins are also edible. By eating kiwi fruits with their covering, you will benefit from the high fiber content and vitamin C.
In fact, their skins have more antioxidants than the insides. So, wash only the brown exterior with cold water and eat.
Citrus (Oranges, Lemons, Grapefruits, Limes)
It cannot be denied that their skins are loaded with powerful antioxidants, vitamin C, riboflavin, vitamin B6, calcium, magnesium and potassium.
But then it is unlikely to eat citrus fruits, especially oranges, whole. Their peels taste bitter and are difficult to digest.
So there are ways to include citrus peels in your diet, but not torturing yourself with the bitter taste. You can grate the peels and add to your salad, or make citrus teas, prepare extracts, or cook to make a marmalade.
Mangoes
They are tropical fruits with pulps packed with antioxidants – polyphenols, carotenoids, omega 3,6 and polyunsaturated fatty acids which help fight cancer, diabetes and heart diseases.
Mangoes skins also have properties which help burn fat. If you don’t like the taste of their pulps, you can blend them together with their inner part, except the seed of course.
Bananas
Here’s why you should eat banana peels even when they taste so bitter and not so easy to chew. Their skins have a sizable bump of nutrition – antioxidants, potassium, fiber, lutein (which is good for your eyes), and tryptophan which stimulates serotonin-a neurotransmitter in the brain that affects mood and ease depression.
Suggested ways are you put their peels with the rest of the banana in a blender and make a smoothie, or boil peels for several minutes until they’re dry, and fry; or you can bake them in the oven for 20 minutes or more, and make tea from it.
Plums
Plums are delicious fruits, and they taste just fine when you eat with their skin on. Their skin contains cholorogenic acid and vitamin c — excellent for relieving constipation and other common digestive problems.
Watermelon
Watermelon rinds contain citrulline, an anitoxidant which converts to arginine. Arginine is an amino acid important to your immune and circulatory systems.
Eating their rinds,of course, may not sound so mouth-watering, but you can blend them with the rest of the watermelon. You may also pickle or sautee them.