For a quick and healthy snack, you can't go wrong grabbing one of this season's freshest apples. But put the peeler away.

Because if you pitch the skin, you're ditching some pretty great things -- like cancer-fighting compounds called triterpenoids. What are those, you ask?

Gotta Get Your Triters
Triterpenoids are powerful compounds that have shown strong anticancer potential against breast, liver, and colon cancer. And Red Delicious apples have triters in their peels. The peels also possess most of the apple's fiber and cell-protective quercetin. So grab one, wash it well, and eat it whole. Here's some more amazing apple news.

How Do You Like Them Apples?
We already love apples for their low-calorie, high-fiber, healthy snack appeal. But there are a million more reasons to munch on them. Here are just a few:

• Better breathing. Find out how many apples you should eat weekly to boost your lung function.
• Weight loss. Trying to lose a few pounds? Eat an apple at this time of day.
• Healthier colon. See why apple pectin protects it twice over.

Recipe Corner
Make this savory and healthy Curried Waldorf Salad from EatingWell. And find more apple recipes at EatingWell.com.

Triterpenoids isolated from apple peels have potent antiproliferative activity and may be partially responsible for apple's anticancer activity. He, X., Liu, R.H., Journal of Agricultural and Food Chemistry 2007 May 30;55(11):4366-4370.