Should we eat vegetables and fruits with peels or without them ?

Confused , should you eat an apple after peeling it off or with peels

Let's find out .

Note :- There are many vegetables and fruits which have their peels inedible for humans we are not talking about them like Onion skin and Banana skin ,There peels are not edible for humans ,so we are not talking about those ones .

But we are talking about those fruites and vegetables which have their peels as edibles but it is just our choice whether to eat them with peels or without peels like Apple , cucumber etc.

So long answer short :- Yes , you should eat the fruits and vegetables with their peels but after proper cleansing and washing although even if you eat them without their peels then you have just lost a lots of benifits

Long answer and physiological aspect :-

First of all let me tell you that :-

1:-Peels Are Packed With Nutrients.

In fact, a raw apple with skin contains up to 332% more vitamin K, 142% more vitamin A, 115% more vitamin C, 20% more calcium and up to 19% more potassium than a peeled apple

Yes the above data is established from various researches , so by removing peels you are losing a lot of nutrients , really a lot...

So by removing peels , you just discarded a lot of nutrients , in short you discarded a lot of your money that you spend to buy that healthy food

Counter reasoning :- Those people who are of view that peels of fruits and vegetables are exposed for a large amount of time to outer pollution and environement and usually has a lot of bacterial colonies over them and very harmful chemicals, which can harm you , well that is so true but that's why science is also in favour of first proper washing them and then consuming them .If proper washing is done then there is no problem in consuming such fruits and vegetables as there is a 2nd line of defense(HCl, Mucus trapping, Immune components) within our GIT which is designed to fight off with the invaders  , so there is a very less chance that you will face any problem due to eating them.

Note :- People who have very sensitive to allergies and chemicals should eat fruits and vegetables with their Peels off , to prevent an unwanted immune response to allergens on the Peels but if you not super sensitive to allergens then it is quite good to eat the fruits and vegetables as it is just by washing them in lukewarm water .

2:- Peels are full of Roughage .

So this is the biggest reason , that why you should consume the fruits and vegetables with their Peels

Let's learn first , what is Roughage ? 🧐

So in very simple language , Very complex carbohydrates which cannot be digested by our body are collectively known as "Roughage" an example of Roughage is "Cellulose"

The other name for for Roughage is "Fibres" and "Bulk" , that's why you have often listened that peels of vegetables has lot of fibres in it and you should consume a lot of fibres as it is good for your digestive system

And Peels contains a lot of fibres , really a lot , as you might be knowing that plant cell wall is made up of mostly Cellulose and hemicellulose also contributes to the plant cell wall and usually the plant cells in the Peels have a lot of Cellulose content because they serve a protective function so they have a lot of Cellulose and hence a lot of fibres in them .

But why ? Is it so important , even if we cannot digest them , I mean think we cannot digest them neither they are absorbed then why are they so much important and good ?

Let's find answer to this :- There is no doubt that we cannot digest Cellulose in our GIT as we don't have enzymes to digest them , so that means they just pass through stomach and small intestine as it is , with almost no damage to their structure , finally They reach to the large intestine and this is the organ where an interesting thing happen , fibres are partially digested in your large intestine .

Yes , literally Yes , those fibres which crosses the stomach and small intestine as it is, are partially degraded in large intestine , but why ?? Think a little bit , that what is so special in the large intestine which is not present in small intestine and stomach

Think a little , try to remind GIT physiology

And the answer is bacterial biome in large intestine , we don't just have a lot of bacteria in large intestine we have a full biome (Biome is even bigger than a ecosystem) and that bacterial Biome has a lot of bacteria colony which partially digest Cellulose and other fibres and result in formation of a bulk of mass of partially degraded fibres in large intestine

as well as the bacteria also recieves the nutrition by digesting it , so one benefit is that bacterial Biome in your large intestine is very happy especially if you are a vegeterian as the bacterial Biome of a vegetarian demands a lot of fibres for a healthy Biome maintainance as you should not forget that

These bacteria synthesis a lot of vit B complexes for us and aids in digestion part also and also help in killing the harmful pathogens

So that is just one part of it lets explore the second benefit of Roughage apart from a healthy bacterial Biome maintainance

So the partially degraded bulk that is formed in large intestine actually absorbs some water from the large intestine luminal space and get converted into a big bulk with in the large intestine and that larger bulk in large intestine and further parts of GIT make it easier for the muscles to expel out the faeces more easily and thus preventing the constipation as forcing the faeces by taking a support of large bulk makes the passage lot more easier.

Note :- I have not gone into a great detail of fibres , just for an overview there are two types of fibres water soluble and the insoluble ones and each one has its own mechanism in maintaining a good digestive system the above I described is of Insolubles ones as the Insoluble fibres content is way more in our food so is their contribution

That's why a full bowl of 🥗 salad with Peels while eating food is great source of nutrients as well as for easing the digestion process . That's why foods low in fibres often causes constipation and imbalances in bacterial biomes.

So that was all from my sides

Stay healthy ⚕️ and keep learning

Signing off ...

Bhavesh Saini