Sweet potatoes are sweet, starchy root vegetables grown worldwide. They come in a variety of sizes and colors – including orange, white and purple – and are rich in vitamins, minerals, antioxidants, and fiber. Not to mention, they offer a number of health benefits and are easy to add to your diet. Here are the reasons to eat more sweet potatoes.
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Reasons to Eat more Sweet Potatoes
Highly Nutritious
Sweet potatoes are an excellent source of fiber, vitamins and minerals.
One cup (200 grams) of baked sweet potatoes with skin provides:
- Calories: 180
- Carbs: 41.4 grams
- Protein: 4 grams
- Fat: 0.3 grams
- Fiber: 6.6 grams
- Vitamin A: 769% of the Daily Value (DV)
- Vitamin C: 65% of the DV
- Manganese: 50% of the DV
- Vitamin B6: 29% of the DV
- Potassium: 27% of the DV
- Pantothenic acid: 18% of the DV
- Copper: 16% of the DV
- Niacin: 15% of the DV
In addition, sweet potatoes – especially the orange and purple varieties – are rich in antioxidants that help protect the body from free radicals.
Free radicals are unstable molecules that can damage DNA and cause inflammation.
Free radical damage is linked to chronic diseases like cancer, heart disease, and aging. Therefore, eating foods rich in antioxidants is good for your health.
Antioxidants Aplenty
Not all sweet potatoes are orange. Their skin and insides can be white, yellow, brown, red, pink, and purple. The color range brings different nutrients to the table. Purple sweet potatoes are said to contain super high levels of antioxidants and anti-inflammatory agents. As they pass through your system, they balance out free radicals – chemicals that damage your cells.
Increase Beta-Carotene
Dark orange sweet potatoes contain beta-carotene, an antioxidant believed to have disease-fighting effects. This can include certain cancers as well as eye disease.
Boost gut health
The fiber and antioxidants in sweet potatoes are beneficial for gut health.
Sweet potatoes contain two types of fiber: soluble and insoluble.
Your body cannot digest either type. As a result, fiber stays in your digestive tract and provides many gut-related health benefits.
Certain types of soluble fiber — called viscous fiber — absorb water and soften your stools. Fiber, on the other hand, is non-viscous, insoluble, does not absorb water and adds bulk.
Some soluble and insoluble fiber can also be fermented by bacteria in your colon, producing compounds called short-chain fatty acids that provide energy to the cells lining your intestines. . and keep them healthy.
A high-fiber diet containing 20–33 grams per day is associated with a reduced risk of colon cancer and more regular bowel movements.
The antioxidants in sweet potatoes may also benefit the gut.
Test-tube studies have found that the antioxidants in purple sweet potatoes promote the growth of healthy gut bacteria, including certain species of Bifidobacterium and Lactobacillus.
Greater numbers of these types of bacteria in the gut are associated with better gut health and a reduced risk of conditions like irritable bowel syndrome (IBS) and infectious diarrhea.
May have anti-cancer properties
One of reasons to eat more sweet potatoes is that they provide various antioxidants, which may help protect against certain types of cancer.
Anthocyanins – a group of antioxidants found in purple sweet potatoes – have been found to slow the growth of several types of cancer cells in test-tube studies, including bladder, colon, stomach and breast.
Similarly, mice fed a diet high in purple sweet potatoes showed lower rates of early colon cancer – suggesting that anthocyanins in potatoes may have a protective effect.
Extracts from orange sweet potato and sweet potato skin were also found to have anti-cancer properties in test-tube studies.
However, studies have not yet examined these effects in humans.
Preparing for good health is easy
The way you cook your sweet potatoes can make a big difference in the nutrition you get from the dish. One study measured how much carotenoids, such as beta-carotene, remained in the food afterward. The simplest method, baking in the oven, turned out to be the best method.
Better for blood sugar
White potatoes, the kind you usually eat baked or like french fries, rank high on the glycemic index, a measure of how much a food affects your blood sugar. Lower percentage of sweet potatoes. They also have more fiber – about 5 grams in a 3/4 cup serving – which slows digestion and keeps you feeling full for longer.
Fabulous Fiber
Just like their orange cousins carrots and sweet potatoes, pumpkins are rich in beta carotene. Your body changes this antioxidant into vitamin A. You need vitamin A to see, stave off germs, and for your reproductive system to function as it should. It also keeps your heart, lungs, kidneys, and other organs healthy.
