Sweet potatoes are often mistaken for the usually deep-fried potatoes that we make our french fries from. To make matters worse, sweet potatoes are often called out to be the white potatoes’ sibling. This association often leads to misconceptions that sweet potatoes have high sodium and fat content. Some say that it is bad for the heart and may render some heart ailments.
Some may recognize what a sweet potato is and some might not know it. The reason for its obscurity in the cuisine scene is that sweet potatoes are not usually used for dishes. It is only now that this tuber beauty emerged. This article aims to give knowledge and awareness about sweet potato tubers. It aims to explain why should it not be feared as you folks do with white potatoes.
Before we delve into the benefits and facts about sweet potatoes, let us see first what is the nutritional content of these tubers. Sweet potatoes surprisingly have a lot of nutrients, essential for bodily functions. Some known vitamins of sweet potatoes are vitamins, A, C, E, K, and so on. It is also high in dietary fibre, which means, sweet potatoes are good for digestion.
Sweet Potatoes are Good for the Level of Sugar in The Blood
Too much sugar in our blood may lead to different sugar-related health risks. Others with a high level of sugar in their blood might contract diabetes, hypertension, and so on and so forth. Sugar is almost everywhere, from the food that we eat and drink, sugar is most likely present. With the rampant presence of sugar in our diet, it is best to get to know how to veer away from it. it is also important to note what food should we eat to prevent the shooting up of our blood sugar levels. Sweet potatoes are one of your many suitable choices out there. Experts and studies have proven again and again how sweet potatoes help in preventing the shooting up of sugar’s presence in your diet.
In addition to the presently concluded fact, sweet potatoes may also increase the body’s sensitivity to insulin. Now, insulin is such an important hormone in our body for it regulates the sugar level in our blood. Without the insulin hormone, the sugar level in our blood will be erratic, often giving off the charts level that might pose dangerous risks to our health. With this, it is important for the blood sugar to be levelled at the most normal level possible and you eating sweet potato tuber might just be your best friend. Another sweet thing about sweet potatoes is that are rich in dietary fibre. Dietary fibre can help in the absorption of sugar if you are the kind of person who wants to prevent blood sugar-related diseases.
Fights Off Free-Radicals
Every day, people are surrounded by free radicals and even their insides may contain free radicals. Free radicals are bad agents in the air, in the food that we eat, and even in our insides. It causes several risk factor-like cancer, heart ailments, and blood sugar-related diseases. Sweet potatoes are known to have antioxidant properties that propel the prevention of free radicals wreaking havoc in our bodies.
For consumers who wish to get the maximum antioxidant potential of the sweet potatoes, choose the ones that are orange-coloured. The orange colour on the surface of the sweet potatoes is a sign that it is rich in antioxidants. If you cannot find any orange-coloured potato in the market nearest you, you can settle for any sweet potato that has a colour in it. As long as a sweet potato has colour in it, it means that it contains a considerate amount of antioxidants.
It May Help you Think Faster and More Creative
Sweet potatoes are naturally loaded with nutrients. Nutrient follows proper brain function. So, it is not guesswork that sweet potatoes may help you think faster, be more creative, and be attentive. Experts have done several tests (animals as their main subject) that prove the efficacy of sweet potatoes in brain performance and function. They also attested to the fact that sweet potatoes prevent brain damage and delay the death of brain cells.
Helps your Immune System
Let us not forget that sweet potato are loaded with vitamin A. Vitamins are known to help out an individual’s immune system. Vitamin A is such a potent vitamin that kills tumours in a recent study. It is also a good companion of the immune system in fighting off infection and diseases (not to mention that it is good for the eyesight). If you have vitamin A deficiency, sweet potato is a good selection if you want to augment it. However, you still need to talk to your doctor about how sweet potatoes play a role in your body. Aside from sweet potatoes, you still need to fill up your dietary essentials. It is optimum to fill your daily nutrient needs before extending your health explorations.
Provides Better Eyesight
We have already established that sweet potatoes are loaded with Vitamin A. Vitamin A is not only good for our immune system. Vitamin A is also good for eyesight. Remember all those days that your mother always wants you to eat carrots so you could have a good vision (literally)? That is true. Carrots have vitamin A and so are sweet potatoes. Sweet potato can cure eye dryness, blurry eyesight and so on and so forth.
The other properties of sweet potatoes like beta-carotene are also good for eyesight as it prevents its damage in the long run. Whether we like it or not, our vision will wane in the future. To try to delay and lessen the effect of ageing in our eyes, a sweet potato a day can help. Other vitamins can also help in preventing eye degeneration. Pair your sweet potatoes with vitamin C containing fruits.
Cuts Back Your Weight
This junction might excite diet junkies out there who want to cut back on their weight and be slimmer. Sweet potatoes are loaded with fibre and nutrients. Fibre-loaded food is a good technique to cut back on weight because it prevents you from being too hungry. When a fibre is digested in our stomach, it satiates us to a point where we feel no hunger for several hours. The sweet potato fibre content goes as high as 25 per cent of your daily dietary fibre intake.
You should not mistake sweet potatoes as the sole champion for cutting down weight. You should pair it with a proper diet and exercise. Eating this alone without association with exercise and discipline, lost its purpose. You can consult further your dietitian or your doctor on how to incorporate sweet potatoes into your diet.