If you've been diligently slicing off kiwi skin before enjoying the juicy green parts, it turns out you might be missing a trick. The whole kiwi fruit, including its fuzzy skin, is completely edible and tossing it away means you're also discarding some valuable health benefits. Some people are just learning that they could improve their gut's health and even maintain a youthful appearance by simply eating the skin of the kiwi fruit rather than discarding it.
This nugget of advice has gone viral on TikTok, although not everyone is keen to switch up their fruit-eating habits. Dr Joseph Salhab, who's gained a following as the Stomach Doc online, shared a video featuring actress Jenna Ortega, known for her role in Netflix's hit series 'Wednesday', casually eating a kiwi with the skin on. Ortega's original video was captioned: "Today I realized you can eat kiwi with the skin on".
Taking the baton, Dr Salhab informed viewers: "If you eat a kiwi with the skin on you actually get 50% more fibre and some more vitamins and nutrients. But, you'll want to wash it really well and get some of those little hairs off." In his own TikTok post, the gastroenterologist Dr Salhab pointed out that while the hairs on the kiwi skin can create an odd texture, this issue can be mitigated by thoroughly washing the fruit.
He recommended opting for kiwis that are "nice and soft" as they are "easier to eat". He conceded that eating the entire fruit like Jenna might seem "a little weird", so he offered ano.
