Does anybody else eat the skin on kiwis?

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jennehughes
jennehughes Posts: 51
in Food and Nutrition
Is it doing me any harm? Nobody seems to eat the skin around here..
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  • skinnylove00
    skinnylove00 Posts: 662 Member
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    i have never heard of that! doesnt the prickly hairy stuff bother you? to each their own i guess! :D
  • TropicalKitty
    TropicalKitty Posts: 2,298 Member
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    I'm intrigued...and no. I don't eat the skin. I've always seen it peeled if it's been pre-cut. Now I'm going to look around and see if i can find anything beneficial in the skin.

    ETA: all I can see from my quick googling is that it is edible, but doesn't taste good. It has some fiber.
  • killagb
    killagb Posts: 3,280 Member
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    Wow...eating the skin of a kiwi seems pretty hardcore...I'm sure it's a lot of fiber anyhow...lol
  • wcasie
    wcasie Posts: 299 Member
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    I don't personally but I know some people who do... they haven't fallen over dead yet! I say if you like it... eat it!
  • MrBrown72
    MrBrown72 Posts: 407 Member
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    You're not supposed to eat the skin?
  • RoosterB
    RoosterB Posts: 214 Member
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    I heard it gives you a hairy back.
  • ashley_jorah
    ashley_jorah Posts: 71 Member
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    Sometimes when I slice a kiwi I don't bother to peel it, so I do eat the peel. It's kinda of a fun texture.
  • livlinde
    livlinde Posts: 39
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    I eat it! :)
  • Shweedog
    Shweedog Posts: 883 Member
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    It is packed full of antioxidants and fiber. The negative- Unless organically grown the skin harbors all of the pesticides used to make it grow and studies link this to several digestive diseases.
  • killagb
    killagb Posts: 3,280 Member
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    Here's some info I found:

    "Kiwi fruit skin is definitely edible, and there's a lot of different theories about eating it.

    In New Zealand, it's very common to eat kiwi raw, with the skin, while in other parts of the world the vast majority of people eat only peeled kiwis.

    Kiwi fruit skin contains high levels of flavonoids, insoluble fiber and antioxidants: these substances all have a beneficial effect on your body's metabolic functions (flavonoids and antioxidants) and on your digestive system and cardiovascular apparatus (insoluble fiber).

    Common sense, however, should be practiced in this respect: while raw kiwi fruit skin contains these beneficial substances, it also tends to contain more than 99,95% of of the pesticides in that particular fruit (if they have been used), which largely outweighs the benefits from flavonoids and antioxidants.

    In addition, some people find the fuzzy feeling of the hairy skin to be annoying, so they remove the hairy layer before eating the skin: this procedure is generally advised since it also removes most solid inedible debris that may have accumulated on the skin (it's very common for any kiwi fruit to carry at least 0,1 grams of sand, earth or dust on its surface). Long term consumption of even microscopic debris has been linked to the chance of developing several digestive diseases such as inflammations, displasia and colon polyps, so it's usually a good idea to remove the hairy layer, even if you enjoy eating kiwis with the skin.

    On the other hand, if you're sure about your kiwi being free from pesticides (for example, if you grew your kiwifruits in your own backyard), then eating the skin is a nice added benefit to the already abundant health effects of kiwis: just remember that if you live in an urban area with lots of traffic, air pollution alone will be enough for your fruits' skin to accumulate harmful quantities of heavy metals, so once again, please use your common sense."
  • jljohnson
    jljohnson Posts: 719 Member
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    I do. In fact, I had 2 kiwis for lunch with the skin. I've heard it contains most or all of the fiber in the fruit, which is the main reason I started eating it that way. The fuzz takes a little adjusting to get used to, but no biggie for me. I just make sure to wash them well, slice, and eat.
  • biddysaurus
    biddysaurus Posts: 160 Member
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    My grandfather ate the skin! He lost his fingers just below the middle joint in a coal mining accident and couldn't cut the skin off...so he just ate it! I never knew why he did until I got older and then I peeled them for him and he liked them much better. ;)

    But if you like the skin, eat it. I seriously doubt it's bad for you...but you might wanna read up some where to be sure.
  • kieseroll
    kieseroll Posts: 2 Member
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    I've never eaten the skin and don't think I dare. As for eating odd parts of fruit, I had a friend in high school who would eat the whole apple, seeds and core included.
  • Ultima_Morpha
    Ultima_Morpha Posts: 895 Member
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    Not doing you any harm and adding extra vitamins, minerals, and fiber.
  • nilla128
    nilla128 Posts: 30 Member
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    My friend does and she eats raw turnip! Both are safe but not very tasty in my opinion.
  • happy_jax
    happy_jax Posts: 289 Member
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    I usually eat the skin if I take the kiwi to work for a snack...I don't mind either way really.

    It certainly won't do you any harm. My granddad used to say it was "good roughage" :laugh:
  • punk_mama
    punk_mama Posts: 93
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    The only thing I would think that wouldn't be good is the pesticides stuck in the "hairy" skin. So wash it up and eat away!!! :happy:
  • nicxox
    nicxox Posts: 175 Member
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    My boyfriend does, I always just thought he was a freak but now I know it's not that unusual!
  • jennehughes
    jennehughes Posts: 51
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    interesting, thanks everyone :)
    regarding the pesticides, that's the same for all fruit and veg isn't it?
    Anyway, I'll carry on enjoying it but will make sure I give them a proper wash :)
  • jennehughes
    jennehughes Posts: 51
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    My boyfriend does, I always just thought he was a freak but now I know it's not that unusual!

    'thought he was a freak' oh great xP

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