Peeling vegetables can be the most boring part of any meal as you spend more time preparing. And when you finish it, you get a lot of unusable skins that usually end up in the trash. But according to health experts, what we throw away is actually one of the healthiest parts of our foods.

Why shouldn’t we be peeling our vegetables? There are several reasons to be leaving the skin on. For example, It can help people resist diseases. And it can also prevent cancer and aging. But the most important reason is that you are preventing your body from having the nutrient when you peel it off. The skins of food like potatoes, carrots and cucumbers are all good for health.

The food skin has a lot of fiber and it’s insoluble fiber(不可溶性纤维), especially when the skin is colorful. Most of the time, most of the vegetable’s nutrients are in the skin. One example is cucumbers, with dark green skin that contains most of its antioxidants(抗氧化剂), as well as most of its vitamin K. The skin of vegetables contains antioxidants that fight against free radicals. Free radicals are groups of atoms that can cause damage to the body when produced too much, such as heart disease.

One common fear that causes people to peel their vegetables is the amount of pesticide residue(农药残留) that can be found on the skin. But that can be taken care of with a good wash. Many people think they have to wash 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.