Can you eat fig skin? What are its benefits and effects?
The fig is a flowering plant, and the part that is eaten is actually the flower, which is sweet and aromatic. So can fig skin be eaten too? What are its benefits and effects? It is understood that fig skin can be eaten, and the skin also contains a large amount of nutrients, with excellent nourishing effects.
What benefits and effects does fig skin have?
1. Delays aging
The outer skin of the fig turns purplish-red after ripening, mainly because a certain amount of anthocyanins is present in fig skin. This substance is called the seventh nutrient and is a powerful antioxidant. After eating it, it can help clear free radicals in the body, ease cell aging, and has the best beautifying and skin-nourishing effect on the skin.
2. Prevents and relieves constipation
Fig skin contains a relatively large amount of cellulose, including crude fiber, hemicellulose, and a small amount of dietary fiber. These types of cellulose are difficult to digest in the body and also have a water-absorbing and swelling effect. They have a strong stimulating effect on the stomach and intestines, can stimulate intestinal peristalsis, promote bowel movements, and can prevent and relieve constipation.
3. Improves flavor
We all know that after ripening, figs taste sweet and contain rich sugars, and when eaten they can even feel cloyingly sweet. Fig skin contains abundant plant acids, so eating it with the skin can improve the mouthfeel of figs, reduce their sweetness, and make the taste better.
Precautions for eating fig skin
1. Figs belong to the syconium type, and during the near-ripening period they need to be sprayed with pesticides regularly to ensure fig quality. Therefore, when eating figs with the skin, they need to be washed thoroughly to avoid ingesting too much pesticide.
2. Figs with the skin should not be eaten in large amounts. Fig skin has too high a dietary fiber content, and eating too many with the skin can instead affect the digestive function of the stomach and intestines.
3. Some people have poorer physical constitutions and weak resistance to external substances. Even if these people do not have an allergic constitution, allergic symptoms may still appear. Therefore, when these people eat figs, it is recommended to peel them.
How to choose figs?
The skin of unripe figs cannot be eaten, because the skin of unripe figs secretes a milky white juice that is somewhat irritating and may cause sores at the corners of the mouth. So when eating figs, we should try to choose those with cracks around the stem end. These are relatively more ripe and taste better.