You Might Be Eating Apples and Potatoes Wrong: How to Maximize Their Health Benefits

Many people may be missing out on the full health benefits of fruits and vegetables because of how they prepare them, according to Professor Tim Spector, an epidemiologist and founder of Zoe Health. He highlights that simple habits, like peeling certain foods, can significantly reduce the absorption of vital nutrients.

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Whole foods are filling, nutritious, and tasty, and I have a little trick to make them even better for your health.

Spector's key advice focuses on the importance of consuming whole foods, particularly their skins. He explains that the skins are rich in polyphenols, which are plant defense chemicals beneficial to human health. These compounds support the gut microbiome, strengthen immunity, and contribute to overall well-being. For instance, an apple's skin contains nearly 30 times more of these beneficial chemicals than its flesh.

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The first is polyphenols because most of these defense chemicals that plants produce are really good for us, and they are in the skin. What they do is help our microbes to flourish, which strengthens our immunity and helps us in all sorts of ways.

He specifically recommends eating apples, potatoes, and kiwis unpeeled. Kiwi skin, for example, provides 50% more fiber than eating the fruit without it. For potatoes, keeping the skin on can increase fiber content fivefold. Spector also suggests that leftover vegetable peels, like potato skins, can be transformed into healthy chips with a bit of olive oil and salt, offering another way to utilize these nutrient-rich parts.

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An apple is something most people bite into, and some peel it, but they would lose large amounts of nutrients. There are nearly 30 times more of these defense chemicals in the skin than in the flesh.