{"id":925507,"date":"2026-10-12T14:36:11","date_gmt":"2026-10-12T14:36:11","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/925507\/"},"modified":"2026-10-12T14:36:11","modified_gmt":"2026-10-12T14:36:11","slug":"eating-apples-with-or-without-the-skin-experts-explain-the-difference","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/925507\/","title":{"rendered":"Eating apples with or without the skin: Experts explain the difference"},"content":{"rendered":"

Apples are a nutrient-packed snack choice, but if you\u2019re peeling yours before eating them, you\u2019re losing out<\/a> on most of the nutrients. However, some people peel their apples out of concern for pesticide exposure<\/a> because chemicals accumulate on the apple\u2019s skin rather than the inner flesh.<\/p>\n

So, who\u2019s correct? If you\u2019re still second guessing what to do with your apples, here\u2019s what you need to know.<\/p>\n

Are the peel\u2019s nutritional benefits worth it?<\/p>\n

Apple peels are rich in bioactive substances that have antioxidant and anti-inflammatory<\/a> properties and they offer at least 2 grams of dietary fibre. \u201cUnpeeled apples are more likely to carry pesticide residues, but as a dietitian, I’d much rather you eat the peels than skip them over pesticide worries,\u201d says Mackenzie Burgess, a registered dietitian nutritionist and recipe developer at Cheerful Choices.<\/p>\n

Yes, the peel contains more residue than the rest of the apple, but evidence shows that the amount of pesticides left on an apple (peel and all) are low enough that they\u2019re safe to consume. In one study<\/a>, both peeled and unpeeled apples never exceeded the acceptable daily intake (ADI) value of pesticide residue. In fact, they ranged between just 0.04% and 2.10% of the ADI. So, you could technically eat 47 apples in one day and still be within the acceptable range of daily pesticide exposure.<\/p>\n

So if you\u2019re going to opt for an apple, it\u2019s absolutely worth it to eat the peel, according to Burgess. \u201cI recommend keeping the peel on, since that’s where you’ll get an extra boost of fiber and polyphenols, which are plant compounds with antioxidant benefits,\u201d she says.<\/p>\n

\"apples<\/p>\n

Getty Images<\/p>\n

What should you do if you\u2019re worried about pesticides?<\/p>\n

Many apples are treated with pesticides, but there are two main ways that you can cut back on your pesticide exposure without missing out on the peel and its nutrients.<\/p>\n

1. Wash your apples<\/p>\n

\u201cA good rinse under running water helps wash away surface residues, dirt, and microbes. If you are especially concerned and want to go a step further, research found<\/a> that soaking apples in a baking soda solution for 12 to 15 minutes, then rinsing, removed more surface residue than water alone,\u201d Burgess says.<\/p>\n

That said, washing your apples won\u2019t fully remove all pesticide residue. \u201cEven those studies recognise the fact that there are some pesticides that actually get embedded or penetrate deeper into the peel, and washing is not gonna do much to reduce those.\u201d<\/p>\n

2. Buy organic apples<\/p>\n

\u201cIf cutting back on pesticide exposure is a priority for you, organic apples are a great option, since organic crops generally have fewer detectable synthetic pesticide residues,\u201d Burgess says. \u201cWhen it comes to nutrition, though, there’s no consistent evidence that organic apples are meaningfully more nutritious than conventional ones. The best apple is the one you can afford, enjoy, and eat regularly.\u201d<\/p>\n

The bottom line<\/p>\n

Experts say eating an apple\u2014peel and all\u2014is generally the way to go. You have options if you\u2019re worried about pesticide exposure from apple peels but still want the beneficial nutrients that the peels offer. You can wash the apples or buy organic apples to lower your exposure.<\/p>\n

More health food stories:<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"Apples are a nutrient-packed snack choice, but if you\u2019re peeling yours before eating them, you\u2019re losing out on…\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":925508,"comment_status":"","ping_status":"","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[36],"tags":[64,63,3769,493131,430,137,310278,429,532,493130,366213],"class_list":["post-925507","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","category-nutrition","tag-au","tag-australia","tag-content-type-how-to-service","tag-contentid-e52f93b7-7c73-4184-9037-c913ba3dd5bd","tag-displaytype-standard-article","tag-health","tag-issyndicated-true","tag-locale-gb","tag-nutrition","tag-shorttitle-eating-apples-with-or-without-the-skin-experts-explain-the-difference","tag-sponsored-false"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/925507","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/2"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=925507"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/925507\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/925508"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=925507"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=925507"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=925507"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}