Fruit and Vegetable Peels That You Can Eat For Great Health Benefits

Fruits and vegetables have long been recommended as a vital part of a healthy diet, as their nutrients bring a wide range of benefits to your body. But you may be surprised to hear that even what always ends up in your trash can provide incredible value. Peels often come with the same combination of vitamins and minerals that you get from the attractive parts; more than that, many are edible as well. If you want to make the most of your natural food, it is important to learn an aspect that is often overlooked.

Here are a few fruits and vegetables with healthy peels that you can consume:

• Potatoes

Despite being some of the most appreciated vegetables out there mainly due to their taste, these actually come with plenty of health benefits when cooked right. Besides being rich in vitamin C, which is an excellent antioxidant, potatoes contain vitamin B6, potassium, magnesium, phosphorus, fiber and zinc.

While their flesh is a good source for all of these, by throwing their peel away you are wasting an important part of their total nutritional value. Not only will the skin bring its own benefits, but it will help the potato itself preserve more of the nutrients when cooked. One of the healthiest ways to consume this vegetable is baked and unpeeled.

• Kiwi

This nutrient-heavy fruit can boast with its content of fiber, vitamins C, E and K, potassium, copper, folate and manganese. What you may not know is that the peel itself can significantly increase its nutritional value; the boost in fiber, vitamins and minerals to reaches impressive values, where you get almost twice the benefit for a single fruit. The peel can be cleaned by rubbing under water and is perfectly edible.

• Citrus fruits

While their overall health benefits are widely appreciated, few look beyond the pulp of these fruits. The peels themselves come with excellent antioxidant properties and various other benefits that help lower cholesterol levels and control your level of blood sugar.

Obviously, the peels are way too bitter to consume as they are, but you can easily make teas and extracts that allow you to make use of their nutrients.

• Cucumbers

While this vegetable is eaten with its peel on at times, it is not uncommon to see it thrown away. As a whole, the cucumber is very rich in nutrients since it contains fiber, potassium, flavonoids, triterpenes and lignans, forming a combination that can protect against a wide range of diseases. However, you may be interested to find out that a large part of its value is found in its peel. Keeping it on should not pose any difficulty, as the impact on the taste is minimal, while the difference in benefits is impressive.

• Carrots

An excellent source of beta-carotene, the wide range of health aspects that this vegetable improves is impressive: the eyes, mouth and heart are just a few of those worth mentioning.

Yet an important compound named polyacetylene, found right under the peel, is often wasted. Seeing how it has powerful anticancer, anti-inflammatory and antibacterial properties, consuming it is by far the best choice.

These peels can all provide excellent nutritional value, helping you make complete use of what a healthy natural food can bring.