To Peel or Not to Peel

INDEPENDENCE DAY, 1975, found me atop a mountain in southern California with my two young sons. We were eating lunch. My wife had included some sweet and juicy navel oranges that really made a hit after the long hike to the summit. As I sat peeling the orange, I noticed some very friendly chipmunks interestedly watching me. I decided to throw them pieces of the peel. After taking a few nibbles they carried the remainder away to a probable storehouse to be eaten later. Since this solved a garbage problem for me, I threw the rest in their direction, and before we began our descent no evidence remained of the delightful feast we had enjoyed!

Some may wonder why I didn't eat the peelings myself—after all, don't they contain valuable nutrients needed by my body? Somehow I've never been able to get them down, that is, unless they have been prepared in a more tasty fashion. However, this did get me to thinking about the "packaging" of the bountiful variety of fruits that God has provided for our enjoyment and nutrition.

In Genesis 1:29 we read that God has given us "every tree bearing fruit which yields seed: they shall be yours for food" (N.E.B.).* I find it hard to believe that the fruit that came forth from the Creator's hand was drastically different from that available to us to day. I have to assume also that my digestive system and nutrient requirements are similar to Adam's. Therefore I am not conscience stricken when I cast aside a peach pit (I do sometimes eat the skins), a banana peel, or refuse of some type from the fruit I enjoy so frequently.

With respect to fruit eating, there are three kinds of people in the world. There are those who peel everything and those who feel you should eat it all (within reason)—peelings, seeds, and whatever. Between these two extremes exists a sizable majority (including myself) who eat some fruit with peelings and some without.

I might add at this point that some chronic "peelers" can enjoy a dried peach, pear, et cetera, without realizing that the "skins" are included! On the other hand, I have never personally seen a "nonpeeler" crunch down a banana skin, the fibrous covering of a pineapple, or the spiny armor of the smelly, yet delightful, tropical durian.

Now, why all this sudden interest in peelers and nonpeelers? Well, it seems that some peel-eaters feel superior to those who do not because of their fruit-eating habits. They would never think of peeling an apple, for instance, be cause they believe valuable nutrients would be lost that make them "healthier" individuals. But even "peelers" don't always follow the practice. Ever see one peeling the skins off cherries, blackberries, or strawberries?

As far as an apple is concerned, the facts do reveal that one eaten unpeeled does provide a few more nutrients than one that is peeled beforehand. A freshly harvested, peeled apple has slightly fewer calories and carbohydrate and half as much fat, vitamin A, and vitamin C. The last three nutrients are found primarily in the skin or under lying cells. In addition, the unpeeled apple has twice as much magnesium and five times as much aluminum. However, for the other major vitamins (thiamin, riboflavin, and niacin) and minerals (calcium, iron, potassium, phosphorus, and sodium) as well as protein, the amounts are essentially the same. Of course, any toxic chemicals left on the fruit during cultivation or processing would not be present in the peeled apple.

Wide Variety Provided

My understanding of God's provision for man's diet is that He planned for us to eat a wide variety of foods. This means that if I happen to peel an apple, the nutrients that might be lacking because they are found in the skins would probably be included in the other fruits I eat. We should also consider all the fresh vegetables, too—they contain most of the same kinds of nutrients as fruits.

Let's take another look at that orange I ate. Not many people eat orange rinds, but if they realized the nutrients they were missing they might change their minds. If you drink only the juice of an orange and throw away the rest you get about the same amount of fat, phosphorus, and potassium. For the rest of the nutrients you fare rather poorly: slightly less thiamin (vitamin Bi); only half as much protein, carbohydrate, vitamin A, and niacin; a third as much sodium, riboflavin (vitamin 82), and vitamin C; less than a fourth of the iron; and a whopping one fifteenth as much calcium. But don't worry, your teeth aren't going to fall out—the green leafy vegetables will make up for the loss.

But you've overlooked the fiber, I can hear someone say. Yes, but fruit is only one source of fiber, and if I am eating an adequate diet of unrefined foods I get plenty to stay regular and healthy. And the variety is appealing to the appetite.

A Word to the Peelers

Those who peel their fruit probably remove the outer covering of many of the fruits they eat because they feel the material is difficult to digest, not worth much nutritionally, or for a variety of other reasons. Yet, quite frankly, the arguments for removing the peelings before eating certainly don't warrant it in most cases. If you are trying to avoid the "poisons" a good washing with a detergent should help.

God provided an abundant variety of fruits for the nutritional needs of many of His creatures. What humans don't eat, other creatures may.

The skin of the fruit is packaging that may or may not be eaten, and the part that we call fruit often has other functions. These include nourishment for the seed that will sprout into a new plant and provisions that the seed it contains will be carried by animals to a new area to yield future generations there. And even if this wasn't required, God loves to demonstrate His affection for His creatures through the endless variety of shapes, colors, fragrances, and tastes of the fruit given for our sustenance and health.

Each fruit provides for the human diet its own special blend of vitamins and minerals and it seems that we will find an even more bountiful supply of this luscious commodity in the earth made new.

"Happy are those who wash their robes clean! They will have the right to the tree of life" "which yields twelve crops of fruit, one for each month of the year" (Rev. 22:14, 2, N.E.B.).