Peel & its appeal!
By Corinna Mainberger MA R.Nut.Cert.R.I.P.H.H.ND
http://healingbodyandmind.wordpress.com
With a long standing tradition in Christmas baking, the slightly bitter zest of oranges and lemons is used to add flavour to many cakes, bakes and other recipes. Not only is it tasty but it’s good for you too! These peels work in synergy with the vitamin C, which is naturally less represented in our diet in the winter. Peel, dried fruit, such as prunes and raisins, and the vitamin C make a powerful team!
So what does this mean for our health?
Peels are highly protective for the skin, gums, arteries, veins and circulation and are especially supportive for the immune system. Also, due to their slightly bitter flavour they have a further positive effect on the liver, which in times of over-indulgence can be very useful.
Let me share with you this snippet from my clinical practise, working with cancer patients, whom I advise alongside chemo or radio therapy.
One patient, undergoing chemo therapy, had started to eat the peel of lemons. She always used freshly squeezed lemon juice in a hot water tonic in the morning, but now, much to my astonishment, she had actually embarked on eating the bitter peel (or pill) itself.. I was aware that certain nutritional supplements, designed especially for more serious conditions, contain the extracts of lemons, limes and mandarins. These precious ingredients are so-called ‘flavonoids’, which are nutrients made by the plant and are found in the peel, pith, pips, seed and leaves. So this patient, without understanding this newest research, had intuitively gravitated to the correct ‘food medicine’.
Tip: Stay away from peel which is preserved in white sugar or glucose syrup. These both have a very negative effect on the immune system by ‘disabling’ it for several hours after consumption