Laurel on Health Food

Women’s Health posted a fun slideshow of five fruits that have potent nutrition in the peels. Many people only like the soft or juicy insides of fruit, but the skins or peels are packed with a significant amount of antioxidants that help us fight disease. Next time you reach for one of these fruits, remember that the skin is too valuable to remove.

Apple - A study from Cornell University found that the skin of apples can have up to 87% more phytochemicals (cancer-fighters) than the inner white flesh. Personally, I don’t mind the skin on apples, but it helps if you buy organic. If you don’t like it, try eating apple slices with almond or peanut butter. You can also cut up small chunks to toss into a fruit salad. You’ll notice the skin less when it’s mixed with other fruits.

Cucumber - The peel of cucumbers has silica which helps you keep healthy hair and nails and keeps your skin plump and free of wrinkles. I’m sure you’ve heard of collagen for skin. Well, guess what it’s made of? Silica! Most experts agree that you need a minimum of five milligrams (mg) of silica every day. You can get that amount from one cucumber. Grab for organic or English hothouse varieties that don’t have the nasty coating of preservative wax on the skin.

Eggplant - The dark purple skin of an eggplant has about 300 mg of the antioxidant nasunin which research shows may prevent damage to your brain cells. The skin also has over 200 mg of potassium, 13 mg of magnesium, and 3 g of fiber. Women’s Health suggests enjoying eggplant with the skin in Eggplant Parmesan. You’ll never notice it! Make sure you use the eggplant as soon as you buy it because the skin gets bitter with age.

Kiwi - This fuzzy fruit’s skin has chemical compounds that help your body avoid infection from staph and E. coli bugs. If the fuzzy feeling bothers you (I know it bothers me) try slicing up a whole kiwi and putting it right into a blender to make a smoothie. Mix with other fruits, yogurt, juice, and ice and you’ll never know. There’s also a gold variety of kiwis that have less fur than others.

Oranges (and Lemons, Limes) - The peels of oranges, lemons, and limes are packed with a hydrocarbon called d-limonene. Eating it can reduce your risk of skin cancer by 30%. Most of us wouldn’t eat the skin of citrus fruits so try zesting the skins to add citrus flavor to your cooking. Lemon, lime, and orange zests are good in salads, meats, desserts, or on top of other fruit (it prevents browning).

This entry was posted on Wednesday, June 4th, 2008 at 12:04 pm and is filed under Antioxidants, Fruits, Health, Skin. You can follow any responses to this entry through the RSS 2.0 feed.

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