A Bad Vegetable Habit You Should Break

A Bad Vegetable Habit You Should Break

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When it comes to our health, you know eating can be a big part of it. But there are some habits you’ll find hard to break.
After all, a habit wasn’t formed overnight. It takes weeks and months to build a habit- it just becomes something you do. Take brushing your teeth for example. You probably wake up and at some point in the morning, you just brush your teeth. You don’t even think about it. You’ve been doing it for so long, it’s just what you do.

The same for washing and peeling your vegetables. You buy groceries and then you come home, unload them, and stick them into the sink so you can rinse them off and peel them. It’s just what you do.

But scientists have discovered that peeling your vegetables is not all it’s cracked up to be. You see, peeling vegetables is a habit you probably picked up from your mom or dad when they were making food growing up.

And your mom and dad probably started peeling veggies because of reports of chemicals on peels.

Most people argue that peeling is healthier because we avoid harmful chemicals you typically find in the skins of fruits and vegetables. Many farms use artificial — and normally dangerous — substances in their growing process. These chemicals linger on the skin and are then ingested. Additional research says that these ingredients are not destroyed in traditional cooking processes. The fear of unintentionally taking in chemicals began the practice of taking off the peels.
Nutritionists counter, however, that good washing or rinsing is enough to rid the food of chemicals. Registered dietitian Mary Jane Detroyer says, “many people think they have to scrub their vegetables with soap and water to remove any of the chemicals, but if you just run them over with water, you’ll get rid of the dirt.”

But peels are a great source of nutrients. They provide fiber, vitamin C, manganese, zinc, selenium, and calcium to name a few. And with certain vegetables like carrots and potatoes, there is a missed opportunity to get some dirt introduced into your diet. By no means are we suggesting taking a spoon and going out to the garden to get a heaping glass of dirt. But some dirt on your vegetables can give you minerals like iron and magnesium- micro-nutrients which help with multiple synthesis through the body.

You can get the benefits of unpeeled fruits and vegetables without the worry of pesticides and chemicals by shopping organically or even using growing food yourself so you know what you’re taking in.