Eating their peels could help lift your mood, make you look younger and even combat cancer
Oranges
Save your fingernails and eat the whole fruit, peel and all. According to a 2004 study in the Journal of Agriculture and Food Chemistry, powerful antioxidants called super flavonoids found in orange and tangerine peels can reduce levels of bad LDL cholesterol, without lowering the good HDL levels.
Antioxidants mop up damaging free radicals, which are produced by our bodies and are linked to disease.
Ones obtained from the peel were 20 times more powerful than those from the juice. “The same goes for all citrus fruits,” says nutritionist Anita Bean. “Although we throw away the peel because of the bitter taste, the pith contains high levels of pectin, a component of dietary fibre known for its jam-setting qualities, which helps lower cholesterol.”
How to eat it: Add grated orange peel and zest to salads, cauliflower cheese or baked salmon.
Apples
Peeling the skin off an apple means throwing away the fibre. “Almost half the vitamin C lies within one mm of the skin’s surface so you’re losing that too,” Bean says. “And most of the fragrance cells are in the skin, so you can have a tasteless fruit if you peel it.”
Red apple skins are particularly rich in anthocyanins, which are antioxidants that may protect against several types of cancer, in particular prostate cancer. Yellow apple skins contain carotenoids like betacarotene, which help maintain healthy eyes, combat cancers and protect against heart disease. And green apple skins are rich in lutein, which can help reduce the risk of cataracts and birth defects and also protect against cancers.
How to eat it: Dip slices in heart-healthy peanut butter. The protein- carbohydrate mix forms a perfect postworkout snack.
Potatoes
You’ll double your intake of nutrients by eating the skin. Just one fist-sized potato skin provides half your RDA of soluble fibre, potassium, phosphorous, iron, zinc and vitamin C. Potatoes contain more vitamin C than oranges, so are perfect for anyone looking to ward off colds and boost their immune system.
How to eat it: Roast unpeeled potato wedges in a drizzle of olive oil.
Bananas
The uses for banana skins extend beyond slapstick pranks. A Taiwanese research team from Chung Shan Medical University discovered that banana peel extract can ease depression because it’s rich in the mood-balancing hormone serotonin. It also protects your retinas because it contains lutein, an antioxidant from the carotenoid family, which protects eye cells from exposure to ultraviolet light, a cause of cataracts.
How to eat it: The research team advises boiling the peel for 10 minutes and drinking the cooled water or putting it through a fruit juicer and drinking the juice. In brown skins, the bitter, starchy carbohydrates have turned to sugar, making it sweeter. You can also add other fruit juices to make it more palatable without losing any of the nutritional benefits.
Garlic
Garlic skin is recognised for having powerful antioxidant properties. Peeling garlic removes phenylpropanoid antioxidants found in the velvety membrane which help fight the ageing process and protect the heart.
How to eat it: Slice a whole garlic head in half lengthwise or even roast whole. Drizzle with olive oil, then add to your baking tray when cooking a roast dinner or oven-baked Mediterranean vegetables.
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