Many fruit and vegetable peels have nutritional benefits.
Getty Images/Aleksandr Zubkov
- Many people peel their fruits and vegetables, but this is often not necessary.
- In fact, there are important nutrients in the peel.
- Another reason not to rule out peels is their effect on the environment.
The defect of many people when preparing fruits and vegetables is to peel them. But often, it is not necessary. There are important nutrients in the peel. And what’s more, discarded fruit and vegetable peelings contribute to climate change.
Fruits and vegetables are rich sources of vitamins, minerals, fiber, and many phytochemicals (plant chemicals), including antioxidants (substances that protect cells from damage). Not getting enough of these nutrient-dense foods is linked to an increased risk of chronic diseasesincluding cardiovascular disease and type 2 diabetes. In 2017, the World Health Organization (WHO) reported that around 3.9 million deaths a year worldwide are attributed to people not eating enough fruits and vegetables .
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Eat 400g of fruits and vegetables a day, as recommended by the WHO, is difficult to achieve for many people. So could eating fruit and vegetable peels help with this problem by adding important nutrients to people’s diets?
They can certainly contribute. For example, nutritionally important amounts of vitamins, such as vitamin C and riboflavin, and minerals such as iron and zinc, are found in the peel of seven tubers: beetroot, country mustard, wild carrot, sweet potato, radish, ginger and white potato.
And the US Department of Agriculture shows that unpeeled apples contain 15% more vitamin C, 267% more vitamin K, 20% more calcium, 19% more potassium, and 85% more fiber than their peeled counterparts. Additionally, many peels are rich in biologically active phytochemicals, such as flavonoids and polyphenols, which have antioxidant and antimicrobial properties.
Another reason not to rule out peels is their effect on the environment. According to the UN Food and Agriculture OrganizationUneaten food, including the peel, generates 8-10% of the world’s greenhouse gas emissions. (Food rotting in landfills releases methane, the most potent greenhouse gas.) Only New Zealand reports an annual waste of 13,658 tons of vegetable peels and 986 tons of fruit peels – a country with a population of just 5.1 million people.
Given the nutrient content of the peel and its contribution to food waste, why do people peel fruits and vegetables? Some need to be peeled as the outer parts are inedible, do not taste good, are difficult to clean or cause damage, such as banana, orange, melon, pineapple, mango, avocado, onion and garlic. Also, peeling can be a necessary part of the recipe, for example, when making mashed potatoes. But many peels, like potato, beetroot, carrot, kiwi, and cucumber, are edible, but people peel them anyway.
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pesticide residue
Some people peel fruits and vegetables because they are concerned about pesticides on the surface. Pesticide residues are certainly retained on or just below the surface, although this varies by plant species. But most of this residue can be removed by washing. In fact, the US Food and Drug Administration recommends that people wash produce well in cold water and scrub with a stiff brush to remove pesticides, dirt, and chemicals.
Cooking techniques, such as boiling and steaming, can also reduce pesticide residues. But not all pesticide residues are removed by washing and cooking. And people who are concerned about their exposure to pesticides may still want to peel. Pesticide content lists for fruits and vegetables are available in some countries, for example, the Pesticide Action Network produce one for the UK. This can help you decide which fruits and vegetables to peel and which skins to eat.
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If you want to learn more about fruit and vegetable peels and what to do with them, there are plenty of tips online including help on how to use peels to compostingto feed a wormseither incorporation into recipes. With a little research and creativity, you can help reduce waste and increase your fruit and vegetable intake. Are you sure it’s worth a try? And you will be helping to meet one of the UN sustainable development goals: halve food waste by 2030.
Kirsty HunterProfessor of Nutrition, Nottingham Trent University
This article is republished from The conversation under a Creative Commons license. Read the Original article.
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