Is Eating Banana Peels The Next Big Health Fad? No.

First, we were told that we've been peeling bananas incorrectly and should follow the lead of monkeys and peel from the bottom end. Now, according to today.com, we're hearing that we should take our banana consumption one step further and eat the whole fruit — peel and all, just like monkeys.

Eating banana peels can apparently lower cholesterol and cure insomnia and depression. The peels are also allegedly chock-full of heart and eye benefits.

Today contacted several banana and nutrition experts, all of whom said that the concept is just monkey business. Pardon the puns, but we've gone a little bananas here.

"Just because a nutrient is in there doesn't mean you can use it," Cornell professor of nutrition and psychology David Levtisky told Today.

Dan Koeppel is the author of Banana: The Fate of the Fruit That Changed the World, so you can trust that he knows a thing or two about the fruit. This is what he said: "I've studied bananas for close to 15 years and traveled to every continent where bananas are grown, and I have never seen anyone eat a peel."

Are the potassium-filled fruits not enough for people? Are we so health-crazed that we'll try and eat the bitter, chewy, less-than-appealing peels? We, at Food Republic, are definitely not.