LETTERS: Due to their multi-faceted nutrients, fruits like apples are a healthy addition to a balanced diet to reduce the risk of obesity, heart disease, diabetes and even cancer.
Most of the nutrients are concentrated in the peel — there are four times more antioxidants in the peel compared with the flesh.
We have been told that we should consume the peel of apples and other fruits to reap the full benefits of the fruit.
We have also been told to wash apples before consuming them to eliminate ingesting contaminants, including pesticides.
However, a new report by Chinese researchers, published in the American Chemical Society's journal Nano Letters, found that "washing fruit before eating it does not remove various toxic chemicals commonly used in agriculture that includes residues of weed-killing chemicals, insecticides and other farm chemical agents".
Using Artificial Intelligence (AI) technology, the researchers said the "imaging results prove that the pesticides penetrate the peel layer into the pulp layer".
They recommend that fruits be peeled together with some pulp to eliminate the chemical residues.
DR A. SOORIAN
Seremban, Negri Sembilan
The views expressed in this article are the author's own and do not necessarily reflect those of the New Straits Times