Find out why it is important to eat fruits and their peels

Many people, when preparing fruits and vegetables, have a habit of peeling them. However, it is often not necessary. There are important nutrients in the pods. Apart from that, discarded fruit and vegetable peels contribute to climate change.

Fruits and vegetables are the main sources of vitamins, minerals, fiber, and many phytochemicals (plant chemicals) as well as antioxidants (cell-protecting substances).

Not eating enough of these nutrient-dense foods is linked to an increased risk of chronic diseases, including cardiovascular disease and type 2 diabetes.

In 2017, the World Health Organization reported that approximately 3.9 million deaths per year worldwide are linked to people who do not eat enough fruits and vegetables.

Eating 400 grams of fruits and vegetables per day, as recommended by the World Health Organization (WHO), is difficult for many people.

So can eating fruits and vegetables and their peels help with this problem by adding essential nutrients to people's diet?

Of course it can contribute. For example, large amounts of vitamins, such as vitamin C and riboflavin and minerals such as iron and zinc are found in the skins of seven root vegetables: beetroot, wild mustard, wild carrot, sweet potato, radish, ginger and white potato.

The United States Department of Agriculture indicates that unpeeled apples contain 15% more vitamin C, 267% more vitamin K, 20% more calcium, 19% more potassium, and 85% more fiber than unpeeled apples. In addition, many pods contain bioactive chemicals, such as flavonoids and polyphenols, which are important for health.

Another reason for not throwing away fruit and vegetable peels is the effect of the peels on the environment. According to the Food and Agriculture Organization of the United Nations, non-edible food, including pods, produces between 8% and 10% of global greenhouse gas emissions. Food rotting in landfills releases methane, the most powerful greenhouse gas.

New Zealand, a country of only 5.1 million people, reports a waste of 13,658 tonnes of vegetable peels and 986 tonnes of fruit peels each year.

Considering the nutrient content of the peels, and the contribution of the peels to food waste, why do people peel fruits and vegetables?

Some fruits and vegetables must be peeled, as the outer parts are inedible, tasteless, difficult to clean, or cause damage, such as bananas, oranges, melons, pineapples, mangoes, avocados, and garlic.

Also, cleaning them can be a necessary part of a recipe, such as when making mashed potatoes. But other skins like potato, beetroot, carrot, kiwi and cucumber, can be eaten, although people peel them.

Drug residue

Some people peel their fruits and vegetables because they fear residues of pesticides used during cultivation.

Residues of the drug occur in small amounts, although this varies by plant species. However, most of these residues can be removed by washing.

In fact, the US Food and Drug Administration recommends that people wash thoroughly in cold water and scrub with a stiff brush to remove pesticides, dirt, and chemicals.

Cooking methods, such as boiling and steaming, can also reduce drug residues.

But not all pesticide residues are removed by washing and cooking. That's why people who fear their exposure to pesticides decide to peel their fruits and vegetables.

In some countries there are lists of the amount of pesticides on fruit and vegetables, such as that provided by the Pesticide Action Network for the United Kingdom. This can help you decide which fruits and vegetables to peel.