Does the peel of apples and potatoes really have "all the vitamins"?

Question

I do not like to eat the peels of anything. Often when people see me peel my apple or leave the skin of my baked potato on my plate they tell me, "Oh, you really ought to eat that, it is where all the vitamins and minerals are." Does anyone out there know if this has actually been determined by chemical analysis, or is it just popular opinion?

My question was asked eight years ago, but is starting to get new answers recently. I have not changed my mind about the peels. I do not take supplements, I am 70 now and my health is fine, so it cannot be causing me any nutritional lack. I have formed the opinion that peels are fine for some people, but not good for everyone, and that is is merely popular opinion that they are the best part.

Answer 1

An apple is a very nutritional fruit which contains protein,carbohydrates,fats, ashes, fibers,and a long lists of vitamins and minerals . Its peel contain more nutrients than its flesh. The peels of apples, in particular, are high in phenolics.The total phenolic and flavonoid contents were highest in the peels.The peels has more vitamin C and had significantly higher total antioxidant activities than the flesh. Apple peels were also shown to more effectively inhibit the growth of HepG(2) human liver cancer cells and may assist in the prevention of chronic diseases.No wonder why it is said that "An apple a day,keeps the doctor away!"
Potato skins also have nutrients. In fact, potato skins contain fiber, potassium, iron, calcium, zinc, phosphorus and B vitamins. That's why it's best to eat potatoes with their skins!

Answer 2

You should eat the peel or skins or certain fruits and vegetables, certainly apples and potatoes. Obviously not citrus fruit skins. Try cutting a raw potato in half across the middle. Look carefully at the edge near the skin and you'll see a faint ring all around it. This is where the vitamin C lies so peeling it off or not eating it means you don't get the benefit of it. Skin contains roughage also which helps digestion. If you must peel fruit and vegetables do it as thinly as possible, preferably with a proper peeler rather than a knife. many fruits and vegetables travel many miles to get to the market, often from other countries so the amount of nutrient in them diminishes daily. A six day old apple will still be firm, crunchy, sweet and tasty but the amount of useful vitamin and mineral content is only about 20% of a fresh one, Discarding the skin gets rid of most of this so throw it away and you may as well throw the apple with it.

Answer 3

Generally speaking it's a good idea to keep the skins on your fruits and vegetables--but not because they're a great source of vitamins and minerals. Quite the contrary.

In potatoes, for instance, the skin, which is a dark corky layer called the "periderm," consists mostly of dead cells filled with a waxy, largely vitaminless substance whose chief function is to protect the potato's insides.

However, skin does keep vitamins from being boiled off during cooking. A baked potato with skin intact has almost all its original vitamin C, whereas a potato that has been peeled and boiled retains only 50-80 percent. (There's even less if the potatoes have been mashed up and left to sit around for a while.)

Things get a little simpler when we turn to other fruits and vegetables. Skin is a good source of dietary fiber.

One medium apple with peel, for instance, contains about 3.3 grams of fiber, while a peeled apple contains only 1.5 grams. Although there are no official daily fiber requirements, authorities say most people get only 10-20 grams per day, even though they could use 20-35.

Answer 4

It has actually been determined, not by chemical anaylysis but through understanding the seed, bud and fruit process of plants, apples and potatoes being just two of them. Think of an apple tree, for instance, and the 4 season process of growth. You have the apple blossom which is the beginning of the fruit. So much goes into that blossom and when it matures into a bud, then a fruit, what has been there all along is that skin. Between the stem of the blossom and bud (witnessed by those fuzzy whiskers at the bottom dimple of the apple) grow fruit held in and protected by the strong, rich, vitamin dense skin. So, the multitude of the vitamins lie around that fruit, most reachable by eating the skin as well as the fleshy part. My Dad and my Mom's Mom, my wonderful Grandma always said that you should and could eat the WHOLE apple, core and all! That's just not gonna happen, though I have done it on one occasion or more! Good question, I'm eating my Granny Smith apple right now and finished half of a Red Delicious last night before bed. Apples are my favorite food (!!) believe it or not.

Answer 5

Generally speaking it's a good idea to keep the skins on your fruits and vegetables--but not because they're a great source of vitamins and minerals. Quite the contrary.

In potatoes, for instance, the skin, which is a dark corky layer called the "periderm," consists mostly of dead cells filled with a waxy, largely vitaminless substance whose chief function is to protect the potato's insides.

However, skin does keep vitamins from being boiled off during cooking. A baked potato with skin intact has almost all its original vitamin C, whereas a potato that has been peeled and boiled retains only 50-80 percent. (There's even less if the potatoes have been mashed up and left to sit around for a while.)

So, just leave the potato skins on while cooking and peel them afterward, right? Not so fast.

Potato skins contain toxic compounds called glycoalkaloids that can cause headaches, nausea, and diarrhea if eaten in sufficiently large amounts. Researchers Nell Mondy and Barry Gosselin of Cornell say boiling potatoes in their skins can cause the toxins to migrate into the vegetables' flesh.

Frying the skins eliminates water and concentrates the poison. Seventeen English schoolboys reportedly were hospitalized in 1979 after eating bad spuds.

So what's a mother to do? Beats me--maybe you should just give up and feed the kids Snickers bars.

Personally I think Mondy and Gosselin may be exaggerating the dangers a bit. If the potato hasn't sprouted or turned green inside, two definite danger signs, I'd advise leaving the skins on.

Things get a little simpler when we turn to other fruits and vegetables. Skin is a good source of dietary fiber, something most Americans could use a lot more of.

One medium apple with peel, for instance, contains about 3.3 grams of fiber, while a peeled apple contains only 1.5 grams. Although there are no official daily fiber requirements, authorities say most people get only 10-20 grams per day, even though they could use 20-35.

There are several types of dietary fiber. The one abundant in apples, and to some extent in all fruits and vegetables, is called pectin. It's water soluble, and water-soluble fiber has been shown to reduce blood cholesterol levels.

What happens apparently is that each particle of fiber grabs an armful of bile salts on its way through the intestine (a process called "binding") and carries it out of the body during excretion.

The body then has to make new bile salts and evidently uses cholesterol as the raw material, thus keeping the blood cholesterol level down.

It has not been conclusively shown that an apple a day keeps the heart specialist away, which is to say they haven't proved that eating apples and other pectin-rich fruits and vegetables reduces heart disease. It's also true that if you eat too much water-soluble fiber it'll bind with (and subsequently carry away) micronutrients your body needs.

But since most people could stand to double their dietary fiber intake, it's probably a good idea to leave your apples and other fruits and vegetables (except taters) unpeeled ... unless of course the whole idea just grosses you out of existence.

Nutritionists would rather have you peel your veggies and at least get the benefit of the complex carbohydrates and starches than not peel and consequently not eat them at all.

Answer 6

The closer to the outer edge of the fruit or vegetable, the more vitamin packed the food is. There are also vitamins and minerals in the inner areas, just not as many. The fruits gain a lot from the sun and air - the peel soaking it in, just like our skin soaks in vitamin D from the sunshine (which is why it is healthy to take a 10 minute walk outside for lunch!) Peel as thinly as possible, because the closer to the peeling, the more vitamins in most items. Citrus is a bit different, and here is a quote from the second site listed below.
"Type of citrus fruit (species and variety): Early maturing varieties have higher levels that late maturing types. Early Hamlin and Navel fruits have more vitamin C than the late maturing Valencia. Tangerines tend to have lower levels of vitamin C than oranges due to its lower acid levels. Studies have found that the peel had the highest levels of vitamin C followed by the pulp then the juice. Only 26% of vitamin C of a citrus fruit can be found in the juice. The peel had 53% and the pulp and rag had 21%. "
Best wishes for healthy eating!

Answer 7

One medium apple with peel, for instance, contains about 3.3 grams of fiber, while a peeled apple contains only 1.5 grams. Although there are no official daily fiber requirements, authorities say most people get only 10-20 grams per day, even though they could use 20-35.
In potatoes, for instance, the skin, which is a dark corky layer called the "periderm," consists mostly of dead cells filled with a waxy, largely vitaminless substance whose chief function is to protect the potato's insides.

However, skin does keep vitamins from being boiled off during cooking. A baked potato with skin intact has almost all its original vitamin C, whereas a potato that has been peeled and boiled retains only 50-80 percent. (There's even less if the potatoes have been mashed up and left to sit around for a while.)

Answer 8

However, skin does keep vitamins from being boiled off during cooking. A baked potato with skin intact has almost all its original vitamin C, whereas a potato that has been peeled and boiled retains only 50-80 percent. (There's even less if the potatoes have been mashed up and left to sit around for a while.)

Answer 9

There have been many studies on this subject and yes, most of the nutrients are in the skins/ peels. Maybe not ALL of them, but a lot more than on the "insides." But the nutritional value of apple peels has to be weighed against the negatives of residue of pesticides left on the skins. Thorough washing can take care of this.

But, if you don't like to eat the peels, maybe you can prepare the foods differently. Instead of baked potatoes, maybe boil them with the skins on. Apples can be baked whole in the oven, maybe even the microwave (although I've never tried it this way). Either way will soften the skins and give them a different texture and feel, if that's what you object to.

An even better way of preparing and preserving all the nutrients that are in the skins is to steam them. Put them in a steamer basket (inexpensive and available at many different stores), then put an inch or so of water in a pot, put the lid on and bring the water to a boil. Reduce the heat once the water simmers, to avoid the water boiling away too quickly.

I find the easiest way to steam anything is to put my steamer basket in my BIG wok. The basket has room to spread out all the way, and that allows the food to spread out and steam very quickly. If you like your veggies salted, you can sprinkle salt on top of them before you steam them.

Answer 10

OK well on potatoes yes the Peel holds also of the vitamins and same with the apple and i use a be the same way as u....... so i started trying 2 eat a little of the peel at a time and now it is a habit...... so bite the bullet or the skin i guess

Answer 11

Yes, there are vitamins in both.
The hitch is, though, that some find the peel or skin difficult to digest, so that would work against your gaining from eating the peel. Likewise, enjoyment is an important part of health and nutrition (for optimal digestion!) but it is also true that we can learn to love different ways of eating that we first start because we think of it as being the healthier choice.
Glad to hear you are eating fruit!
(For best nutrition (and taste!), eat organic. It's less of a strain on your system, too, cause you don't have to deal with the toxins through your liver. And you can feel good about treating the environment well (rivers, lakes, streams, earth, air) not to mention the health of the people that work the fields and orchards.)