People around the world are eating banana peels, because they know something we don’t.
While we peel and pass on the banana’s shell, others take advantage of their nutritional benefits.
How? That edible exterior is actually very good for you to eat by its self.
You can either blend it into smoothies or fry, bake, or boil them for at least 10 minutes. Heating them up breaks down the skin’s fiber and loosens up that tough texture, making the peel easier to chew and digest.
What makes them so nutritious? Well, that sweet flesh contains significant percentages of your daily recommended intake of various nutrients, including:
- 12% of your daily fiber, which helps with digestion and may help lower your risk of diabetes
- 17% of your vitamin C, which is important for your immune system as well as growth and development
- 20% of your vitamin B-6, which aids the body’s ability to convert food into energy
- 12% of your potassium, which helps in development of cells, tissues, and organs throughout the body
- 8% of your magnesium, which is important for the body’s energy productions and regulating glucose and blood pressure levels
Eating the peel is not only a boon for your health, but for the environment, too. In 2013, bananas were America’s most popular fresh fruit. The average American ate 11.4 pounds of bananas over the course of that year. That equates to over 12 billion pounds for the whole US that would pile into landfills as organic waste, rather than being consumed for nutritional value.
Photo credit: Rainer Fuhrmann/Shutterstock.com; DUSAN ZIDAR/Shutterstock.com
