Can You Eat Banana Peel?

Banana peel is also called banana skin. A banana peel is made of different components including carbohydrates (about 60%), fiber (about 30%), water, and small proportions of fat and protein.

The natural sugar, fructose, which makes the banana taste sweet is not in not contained in its skin.

Can you eat a banana peel? Yes, a banana peel is edible. If correctly prepared, banana skin can be eaten. However, the skin is often quite thick and made of tough fiber. Particularly, green banana peel is bitter and sticky. Therefore, many people do not like the taste making it less popular for eating.

Some of the minerals that you may find in banana skin include potassium and manganese. The skin contains about 78 milligrams of potassium.

What are the risks of eating banana peels?

For those who insist on consuming banana skin, the following are some of the risks to have in mind:

1. Since banana cultivation is pesticide-intensive, the skin bears the highest concentration of residues.
2. Banana skin could cause digestive discomfort for people who consume a lot at the beginning because it has a lot of fiber (30%).
3. If not cleaned or prepared properly, the banana skin could contain dirt leading to diarrhea.

But even with these risks, banana peels are scientifically proven to have several health benefits.

Benefits of Banana Peel

Some of the benefits of Banana Peels listed by Debra Rose in Healthline include:

1. Some advocates of banana peels suggest that rubbing the peel on the skin could reduce wrinkles, minimize puffiness around the eyes, and eliminate acne scars.
2. Researchers also report banana skin to contain antioxidants and numerous bioactive compounds with multiple anti-inflammatory properties.
3. As demonstrated in a 2015 study, banana skin has antibacterial activity against A. actinomycetemcomitans and P. gingivalis – two main bacteria that cause periodontitis and gingivitis.
4. Beneficial for organic gardeners. Those who practice organic gardening can turn banana peels into useful compost.

No studies have shown that banana peels are effective teeth whiteners.

There are several ways to eat banana peels for those who insist on doing so. Here are some of the tricks to use:

• Use the banana skin to make tea
• Cook the banana skin with other ingredients such as candy or sugar
• Use the peel as an ingredient in Chutney
• Blend banana skins into a favorite fruit smoothie.