Eating healthy takes a little bit of extra work. This may entail you making your every meal and following all cooking procedures spelt out by food manufacturers. When it comes to fruits and vegetables however, a lot of us believe we are taking in a lot of nutrients just by eating them. A lot of the nutrients of a number of fruits and vegetables are contained in the edible skin that covers them.
The sometimes very colourful skin peels that cover some fruits and vegetables alike usually contain a very high amount of concentrate minerals, antioxidants and vitamins. Although, this doesn’t mean that all of the nutrients in fruits are located in their skin as food experts have pointed to the fact that when a tomato is peeled, most of the beneficial lycopene still remains. Some fruits however have some unique nutrients in their skin which is usually independent of the fruit or vegetable itself.
Check out the six fruits and vegetables with some amazing skin attributes.
Garden Egg
Also known as Eggplant, the skin of the garden egg has high levels of the antioxidant nasunin in its skin. Not much research has been done on this compound but a research published in the U.S. National Library of Medicine and National Institutes of Health suggests that it could play a significant role in the maintenance of healthy brain tissues. More so, nasunin belongs to a family of antioxidants known as flavonoids which when consumed in high quantities can help to stop you from adding weight over time.
Carrots
Carrots contain a high level of polyacetylenes. They are thought to have antifungal, antibacterial, and anti-inflammatory effects. This chemical is also of significant interest as researchers are actively studying its ability to kill human cancer cells. Polyacetylenes are mostly concentrated below the skin of carrots so it’s best you scrub off only a thin peel of the skin or you leave them on as you eat. More so, some species of carrots have more benefits than others. Purple carrots have been known to have high levels of anthocyanins, an antioxidant compound which gives them their exceptional colour.
Apples
Peeling off the skin of an apple fruit will not reduce the amount of vitamin C available to you but you will lose out on another important nutrient – pectin. Pectin helps to slow digestion, which reduces your cravings for snacks to a minimum. Pectin is also a soluble fiber which plays a significant role in regulating and lowering low density lipoprotein or “bad” cholesterol and blood sugar.
Peeling off the skin of an apple fruit will not reduce the amount of vitamin C available to you but you will lose out on another important nutrient – pectin. Pectin helps to slow digestion, which reduces your cravings for snacks to a minimum. Pectin is also a soluble fiber which plays a significant role in regulating and lowering low density lipoprotein or “bad” cholesterol and blood sugar.
Potatoes
The skin of potatoes have some of the highest levels of iron, fiber and folate in comparison with potato flesh. Pigmented purple potatoes even have more beneficial uses than regular ones especially it’s skin. Researchers at the University of Maine estimate that the skin of these potatoes may contain as much as 10 times the antioxidants present in the flesh.
Grapes
Grapes require a lot of pesticides during their growth process if they are to survive but that is not to say you should completely peel off the skin. The skins of red grapes contain resveratrol, a phytochemical which is highly beneficial to the brain and heart. Research also shows that it can slow down the growth of cancer in cellular and animal studies.
Cucumbers
When a cucumber is peeled, minerals and vitamins including magnesium, phosphorous, calcium, potassium, vitamin A, and vitamin K consumed from the fruit are lower as opposed to when the full, unpeeled fruit is eaten. Moreover, almost all of the fiber from the cucumber fruit comes from the skin as most of the insides of the fruit is water
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