The almighty apple is always named as a great anywhere, anytime snack. Low in calories and high in fiber, you just can't go wrong with apples, say the nutrition experts at RealAge, especially if you want to lose weight.

Get your apple slicer ready -- you'll want to prepare a plate full of apple slices before your meals as you battle the bulge. Eating a bit of high-fiber food -- aha, the apple -- before each meal is a sure weight loss booster. That's what researchers say. In a study of women who ate fruit before meals and women who didn't, the fruit group lost more weight, even when following the same reduced-calorie diet as their non-fruit counterparts. Make sure you choose a fruit high in water content for best results -- like, yes, the apple.

And as you grab for that slicer, leave your peeler tucked away. If you skin your apple, you'll be losing some pretty good stuff, like cancer-fighting compounds called triterpenoids.

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Blanching refers to the technique of plunging a food into boiling water until its color has set or the food has softened. Ten seconds is usually all it takes to brighten color and bring out flavor. To stop the cooking process, the food is transferred to a bowl of ice water.

Why use blanching? Besides perfecting color and flavor, it makes it easier to peel the skin of fruits like tomatoes and peaches. Blanching is also recommended for vegetables you wish to freeze -- blanching inactivates the enzymes that promote spoilage.

For more on blanching -- and a similar process, called parboiling, click here.

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I refuse to serve my kids skinless apples. There's just too much work involved. And there's too much my boys stand to lose if I peel apple after apple. Science backs me up on this one: Some of the most health-protecting antioxidants in fruit are found in the peel, says Susan Percival, Ph.D. and professor of nutrition at the University of Florida.

Before you get your peeler out, take a look at these five fruits with skin that should stay put.

• Apple -- Apple peels have 87 percent more cancer-fighting phytochemicals than the white flesh found inside.

• Cucumber -- Cucumber peels are made of silica, a collagen building block. Eat the skin of one cucumber and you'll get about five milligrams of this good stuff, the exact amount experts suggest eating. Buy organic and you'll avoid the waxy film found on some cucumber skin.
  

• Eggplant -- Eggplant skin contains nasunin, an antioxidant that may prevent brain damage. Potassium and fiber provided too.

• Kiwi -- Chemical compounds found in kiwi skin fight off bugs like staph and E. coli.

• Orange --Don't chomp right into this peel. Just add a little orange zest on salmon and salads and you'll be one step closer to preventing skin cancer.

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The old saying "an apple a day keeps the doctor away" keeps coming around because it's largely true, and although it's a well-known fact that a diet with lots of fruits and veggies is a healthy one experts aren't sure exactly why -- not completely anyway. But new research is shedding some light on just why apples are so wonderful: the magic may lie in the peel.

So it turns out that apples are not only the greatest sources of cancer-fighting phenolics in the American diet today, but the majority of the benefit is found in the peel, as opposed to the inner flesh, of the fruit.

So don't cheat yourself out of the best part next time you have an apple by peeling it. Just scrub it good and bite right in!

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The season of sun and summer fun is almost here, and the season of new peely sunburns is here now. The aisles at the drugstore are filling up with sunscreens of every type, and making sure you get stocked up is as important as ever. It is also important to understand the factors that put you at particular risk for getting a sunburn so you can take necessary measures to protect yourself. As humans we are all at risk of getting burned by the sun if we aren't careful, but special risk factors to consider are:

• Babies and children with fairer and more delicate skin.
  
• Adults with fair skin tones (although remember: everybody can burn!)
• Spending time outdoors during the peak hours of 10am to 4pm
• Using a tanning bed
• Spending time near or on reflective surfaces like sand and water
• Using certain medications that increase your sun sensitivity, like some birth controls and antibiotics

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