14 Fruits and Vegetables You Shouldn’t Peel—And 9 You Should
Put down the peeler and embrace the fiber in many of these fruits and vegetables.
Here’s why you should eat the peel
The skin or peel of fruits and vegetables are generally higher in antioxidants, fiber, vitamins, and minerals than the flesh, according to Malina Malkani, MS, RDN, CDN, creator of the Wholitarian Lifestyle. Unpeeled fruits and vegetables may have up to 33 percent more fiber than those without the peel. And antioxidant levels in the skins of fruits could be up to 328 times higher than those found in the flesh, Malkani says.
Still, Alyssa Pike, RD, the manager of nutrition communications for the International Food Information Council Foundation, says the amount of nutrients in each peel differs by the type of fruit or vegetable. And the only skins Hillary Cecere, MS, RDN, a registered dietitian for Eat Clean Bro, doesn’t recommend eating are the ones that are too tough or not tasty to eat. With that in mind, if your goal is also to increase the health-promoting nutrients in your diet, experts say it’s best to eat the following fruits and vegetables without peeling them. (And make sure you peel the rest!)
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