I mean, that's reason to wash it, but I don't think there's a medical argument for peeling. Could be wrong though, but I've never heard of this being a problem ever.

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[–] arrow74@lemmy.zip 6 points 1 year ago

Oh boy do I have bad news for you.

Basically everything in your environment is covered in human poop.

If you bring a carrot into your home it has way less poop on it than your toothbrush.

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[–] HappyFrog@lemmy.blahaj.zone 5 points 1 year ago

Don't get me wrong, I don't think I'll be sick if I eat the outer layer, I'm just grossed out by the thought.

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[–] Routhinator@startrek.website 2 points 1 year ago (1 child)

Medical argument against it actually, as you remove most of the healthy stuff.

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[–] Mouselemming@sh.itjust.works 2 points 1 year ago

Some, but not most. There's significant nutrition in the phloem (layer under the skin) which is not removed by peeling. And even the center has nutritional value. It is best to peel them just before using rather than let them sit around once peeled, since the peel protects them.

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[–] shneancy@lemmy.world 8 points 1 year ago

honestly i don't mind a bit of dirt with a touch of poop. if i myself pluck a carrot out of the ground - i'll just wash it a bit and proceed to chomp

what i do mind is the number of hands and various containers the carrot goes through before it gets bought by me at a store. theoretically, nobody has to touch a carrot for it to appear in the store (harvested mechanically, transported in large quantities, thrown out of a box onto the store display), sure, but i'm not counting on that, nor am i counting on the fact they wash their hands properly

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[–] Routhinator@startrek.website 1 point 1 year ago

In root vegetables, 80% of the vitamins are in the skin, and the flesh is nearly pure carbs. You're throwing away most of the good stuff.

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[–] Mouselemming@sh.itjust.works 1 point 1 year ago* (last edited 1 year ago)

I peel carrots because to me the peel tastes like dirt. As for that whole poop discussion, I'm pretty sure that guano in the soil is not the worst contaminant on the skin of the carrot. E. coli on vegetables for instance usually comes from the hands of someone who handled it. And many carrots have pesticides on them.

I grant you that the skin probably also contains lots of vitamins, although there's still plenty in the interior. And giving the carrot a really good scrub would get the skin clean.

But I've never been able to scrub away the dirt flavor to my satisfaction. So I peel them with a carrot peeler. The existence of which indicates it's a common enough behavior not to merit an interrobang.

Though I do love an interrobang, so thanks.

Editing to add: https://www.nutritionletter.tufts.edu/general-nutrition/does-peeling-carrots-remove-nutrients/

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