Between 30 and 40% of the US food supply goes in the trash – is literally thrown away – every year, according to the Department of Agriculture (USDA). Parts of the food we consider waste are not only edible but also nutritious. From rinds to stems to rinds and more, what we sometimes think of as leftovers is actually as nutrient dense, if not more so, than the parts we usually eat. If Earth Day has the environment in mind, using them will both benefit you and help reduce the amount of methane – one of the most harmful greenhouse gases – released into the air by food rotting in landfills.
Here’s what you need to know.
Eat the peels
“It’s quite astonishing to me that people peel things away” PK Newby, nutrition scientist and founder of Food Matters Media, tells Yahoo Life. She says the peels of many fruits and vegetables – including carrots, apples, potatoes, eggplant and sweet potatoes – are perfectly edible and are “where you get so much nutritional value.”
Newby notes that many peels are rich in fiber, vitamins and minerals. This is also where vegetables and fruits, including nuts, store their protective phytochemicals, which are part of a plant’s immune system and provide similar effects to humans who eat them, according to the University of California, Los Angeles (UCLA). Phytochemicals help prevent cell damage, which means they even protect against the development of cancer.
As a general rule, “whatever the plant does for itself, it will do for you” when you eat it, says Newby. For example, “eggplant is a great vegetable that is higher in fiber and its rich purple color is full of something called nasunin, which is a powerful plant chemical, and you’ll only get it in the skin “, she explains. Nasunin has anti-cancer properties, helps prevent damage to brain cells and slows the signs of aging. “Plants have beautiful, bright colors, partly to attract or repel pests or different species, so the same benefit accrues to the person eating them.”
Likewise, the peel of an apple is the most nutrient-rich part of the fruit. A unpeeled apple contains higher amounts of vitamins A, C and K than those of a peeled apple, and is also higher in calcium and potassium, according to the USDA. The statistics are similar for a unpeeled potatowhich contains more vitamin C, potassium, folate, magnesium and phosphate than a peeled it is, according to the USDA.
If you’re worried about pesticides, don’t worry too much, Newby says. “The health benefits of peels outweigh the risks of pesticides,” she says. Although it is important to eliminate pesticides from the environment to prevent contamination of water, soil and animals, the risk to human health from pesticides outside of produce is relatively minimal, according to the Environmental Protection Agency (EPA). Most pesticide residues – which are tightly regulated – will be eliminated…
