Health Benefits of Sweet Potatoes!
Sweet potatoes plant is dicotyledonous in nature. The part which is mainly eaten are the roots of the plant. The roots are starchy vegetable and has a thin skin on the outer part which is tightly attached to the flesh on the inside.
The flesh of sweet potatoes is a starchy, has sweet taste and the color ranges from off white to beige, pale yellow to orange, pink, red and purple.
The botanical name of the plant is Ipomoea batatas L. Lam. It belongs to Solanales family of plants.
The plant is native to the tropical areas in America. It is mainly grown in the tropical and sub-tropical countries and is extremely popular in Asian and African countries as well. Some people also consume the leaves of sweet potato plant as green leafy vegetable.
China is the largest producer of sweet potatoes.
The worldwide production of sweet potatoes was 105 million tonnes in 2016. China produced 67% of the total global production!
Nutrients in Sweet Potatoes
To begin with Sweet Potatoes are an excellent source of Vitamin A and Starch. Here are the main nutrient count i.e. carbohydrate, protein and fats content of 200g of baked sweet potatoes.
Let’s have a look at a table showing sweet potato as an excellent to good source of certain nutrients present in it.
As shown in the table, it is rich in beta carotene i.e. vitamin A, a very good dietary source of vitamin C, manganese, copper, pantothenic acids and vitamin B6, while a good source of biotin, fiber, potassium, vitamin B3, B1, B2 and phosphorus.
Purple sweet potatoes contains a group of potential antioxidant called anthocyanins. The anthocyanins present in purple fleshed sweet potato are cyanidins and peonidins.
While orange fleshed contain more vitamin A (again a powerful antioxidant).
Lesser nutrients are present in the ones with flesh colour white or pale yellow.
Health Benefits
1. Powerful Anti-Oxidant Properties
Anti-oxidants have role to play in various disorders/diseases. They scavenge the dangerous free radicals that attack the DNA of cells and thus affect working of various organs.
For example Antioxidants helps in maintaining the health of blood vessels and avoid blockages the blood arteries providing blood to your heart and brain and thus may prevent heart disease and stroke.
They also may play a role in avoiding risk of cancer.
Vitamin A help in maintaining skin health and vision. Vitamin C has a positive role to play against cancer, help in absorption of iron in your body, thus help maintain iron stores in the body, assist maintain haemoglobin.
They are anti-aging in nature as well.
2. Potent Anti-Inflammatory Activity
It contains some nutrients which show anti-inflammatory properties such as anthocyanins etc. Thus again they may be helpful to avoid inflammation related diseases for example heart disease etc. Its extract has been shown to reduce inflammation in brain and nerve tissues.
3. Wound Healing
Some components present in sweet potatoes have an influence on ‘fibrinogen’ which helps in blood clotting and thus may assist in healing of wounds and may prevent excess blood loss.
How to Eat Sweet Potatoes?
· Sweet Potatoes can be baked, steamed, boiled. The tough flesh become soft post which. The thin skin then can be removed.
· You can also partially steamed it and then add their slices to a stir fry!
· Remove the skin, mash it properly and use it as a spread, as a base or main ingredient in dips along with other ingredients, which suit your taste or just add a pinch of salt and half a teaspoon olive oil or any other.
· Steamed and mashed or ground sweet potatoes can make very healthy baby food.
· It can be eaten just after baking or steaming and slicing.
· Remember to add little oil to it so that vitamin A in it can be absorbed well in your body (as it is a fat soluble vitamin).
Please Note
For any blood tests or various health checkups in Mumbai, please visit www.healthdekho.com
References
· https://www.uaex.edu/publications/PDF/FSA-6135.pdf
http://www.whfoods.com/genpage.php?tname=foodspice&dbid=64
