10 Foods You Should Eat But Don’t

We all know that eating a variety of foods is the key to a healthy balanced diet. But I’ll be the first to admit that I get stuck in my ways sometimes.

Once you start buying from the list of superfoods and avoid all the foods that don’t help with weight loss, you have a tendency to only stick to those items since you know they’re great.

Some people find comfort in eating the same foods since it becomes sort of routine, or just like me you might find yourself in a rut. But we all need a little diversity in our diets don’t you think?

And with so many different cultures in the world, it would be impossible to think that we all enjoyed eating the same things. We all have different taste buds, different likes and dislikes, and there are so many flavors to be enjoyed.

So instead of sticking to my rut, I set out to discover new foods with just as many health benefits as the superfoods I’ve been eating. And what I found was even better.

I’ll give you fair warning right now that some of these foods are outside of the box. Whether they’re taboo, taken for granted, or just a little misunderstood, you probably won’t find these foods on many menus in your hometown (and if you do, kudos!). But you’re definitely going to want to get to know them.

These foods may take some time to get used to, but it’s worth making the effort for the hidden vitamins and nutrients you’ll find contained within them.

Keep reading to learn more about these 9 foods we should be eating, but don’t.

Don’t Throw That Away!

You’re going to feel just as foolish as I did when I learned about all the good food I’ve wasted and unknowingly sent to the trash.

While we’re in a rush to get food on the table, it’s typical for us to discard fruit skins and cores, strange leaves on veggies, and even cooking water. But we’ve been making a BIG mistake here.

Fruit and veggie skins are loaded with vitamins, nutrients, and healthy beneficial properties like fiber and antioxidants…and you should never toss them out.

One thing to keep in mind is whenever you’re planning on eating the skins of your fruits and veggies, always remember to buy organic wherever possible.

The skins have the highest concentration of pesticides and you don’t want to be ingesting any of those. Make sure you also wash your produce thoroughly.

So which skins should you be eating?

1. Kiwi Skins

For such tiny fruit, kiwis pack a major punch in the vitamin C game. In fact, kiwis contain more immune boosting vitamin C than oranges and contain 100% of your recommended daily value!

But for most of us, adding that kiwi to our tropical salad usually means we need to peel the skin off first.

Boy is that a mistake.

Not only can kiwi skins ward off staphylococcus and E-coli, those nasty bugs that cause food poisoning, but studies have found that kiwi skins are “high in flavonoids that are rich in antioxidants and have anti-allergy, anti-cancer and anti-inflammatory properties”.

Marilyn Glenville, former president of the Food and Health Forum at the Royal Society of ­Medicine, toldThe Daily Mail that kiwi skin “contains three times the anti­oxidants of the pulp”.

Why is this news about antioxidants so great?

You see, all of the cells in our bodies need oxygen, but oxygen exposure also causes oxidation, which is when our body’s chemicals become altered. These altered chemicals are known as free radicals. Too much sun, alcohol, pollution, cigarette smoke, and many other things, all create free radicals inside us.

These free radicals start damaging parts of our cells and even start messing with our DNA. Free radicals are thought to contribute to the development of diseases like diabetes, cancer, and heart disease.

Stopping free radicals is important, to say the least. That’s where antioxidants come in. “Antioxidantsare natural substances that may stop or limit the damage caused by free radicals”. The antioxidants sort of confine the free radicals so they can’t start off on their path of destruction. They can even protect and reverse the damage caused by free radicals to some extent.

See why getting enough of these guys is critical?

Just slice the kiwi fruit like you normally would, except leave the skin on. Rub a bit of the fuzziness off and you won’t even notice the skin.