Every year million upon millions of tons of perfectly healthy fruit and vegetables are sent to rubbish dumps worldwide, simply because they are “ugly”. Scarred, blemished, misshapen fruit are tossed out because retailers want to present the perfect samples to their customers.
There’s nothing wrong with them, no danger to health – in fact there’s growing evidence that ugly fruit may even be healthier.
There’s lots of research to do, but in an unofficial experiment in Virginia USA, orchardist Eliza Greenman, tested scabbed and unscabbed apples and found the less perfect, scarred apples had a 2 to 5 percent higher sugar content than her unblemished crop. They may also be more nutritious with higher levels of antioxidants. When interviewed Greenman said, “I believe stress can help create a super fruit.”
She may have a point. There are on-going studies around the world that are showing indications that stressed fruit and vegetables can contain healthier, antioxidant phenolic compounds called phenylpropanoids. For example, in Japan a study of Japanese knotweed, a plant treasured by the Chinese and Japanese for its medicinal qualities, found that when infected with common fungi, its resveratrol content increased. Resveratrol as we all know, is well-known for its antioxidant properties. So the point is: These antioxidants protect both plants, and could also benefit us – so should we choose to eat the ugly fruit?
Should we stop buying “perfect” fruit and veg?
All fruit and veg is, of course, good for you. The question is, are you discarding blemished fruit and potentially something that’s even better for you?
Anyone who has been a backyard gardener certainly knows just how good it is to enjoy home grown fruit and vegetable – no matter how misshapen they are. In fact, there’s a lot of fun in discovery some weird looking veggies in your patch.
Can’t face that ugly fruit?
Some people, kids in particular, may take exception to finding an ugly apple in their lunchbox. After all, getting them to eat good looking greens can be hard enough, right? If this is the case there is a way to top up the magic they may be missing with a whole food, natural vitamin, like Added Mojo.
Added Mojo is an easy to swallow 1-A Day wholefood multivitamin that provides 100% of your 12 recommended daily vitamins and 6 minerals from 10+ servings of fruit and vegetables. It contains no synthetic ingredients, flavourings or fillers.
Added Mojo vitamins and minerals are extracted from 7 fruit, 12 vegetables and Chlorella. The fruit and vegetables are selected from organic growers and tested for their nutritional content. Only the most nutritious produce is used. The vitamins and minerals are cold extracted and dried at low temperatures to maintain the integrity of their nutrients and health giving phytonutrients.
Shop Added Mojo on our secure online store.