Peel Appeal

Last summer, my husband purchased this magazine (Fuel, by Men's Health)  it is about $9- and you can download PDF versions of the magazine if the actual magazine is not available for purchase anymore.  Though technically marketed towards men (and carnivores- there is a very unpleasant picture of a decapitated Pigs Head, as well as various other animal parts on display the magazine itself is quite full of useful information.  For example, the article below is about the peels of fruit.  Apparently many fruit and vegetable peels that we just toss away, are good for vitamins and nutrients.




Garlic skin-  full of antioxidants which help fight aging and protect your heart

Apple Skin (I didnt realize that people *didnt* eat the skin) - but it cntains      triterpenoids which help combat Liver, Breast and Colon Cancer

Banana Peels (Never tried it, but apparently that's how the primates eat them) - Full of Lutein and Serotonin.  Which not only lifts your mood, but keeps the old bi-focal fairy at bay.  [ according to the magazine, you can blend it into your smoothie if eating a banana peel on is just too much for you to handle]

Potatoes - The skin of one potato provides half of your recommended daily allowance of Fiber, Potassium, Iron, Zinc and Vitamin C - just ONE potato.

Orange Peels-  Contain D-limoene  which not only lowers cholesterol but also reduces the effects of UV Light damage by 70%!  (the article suggests zesting the orange peel and adding into a salad or putting it on top of your baked salmon)

Kiwi Peel (if you can get past the fuzz)  - its skin contains 3x more antioxidants than the fruit inside.  The magazine suggests pulverizing this one in a smoothie too if the fuzz is too much for your mouth or look for "Gold" Kiwi fruit which has 50% less fur.

After reading this little tidbit, I went off on a quest to find out what other fruit skin benefits are out there, and here are some of my other findings:


Cucumber - The peel of a cucumber is made of silica, a building block of  wrinkle-preventing collagen.


Eggplant Skin-  Contains Potassium which helps reduce muscle cramps and also contains an antioxidant known as nasunin which has been shown to protect against brain damage

Passion Fruit Peel -  apparently according to a recent study has a bronchiodilater effect that helps relieve spasms in asthma patients





I'm seeing a whole lot of Kiwi/Apple/Banana/Eggplant/Orange smoothies in my future :)