The 'golden' nutrition from sweet potatoes

Sweet potatoes are not only highly nutritious but also have medicinal uses.

Scientific studies show that sweet potatoes not only have high nutritional value but also have disease-preventing and curative properties, and are one of the best immune-boosting foods for the body.

Sweet potatoes (scientific name: Ipomoea batatas) are related to potatoes in the taxonomic system, both originating from South America.

Sweet potatoes contain a unique protein with antioxidant properties:

Sweet potatoes contain a unique protein with significant antioxidant properties.

Studies show that these proteins have about one-third the antioxidant activity of glutathione – one of the body's key products that plays a role in creating antioxidants in the body.

Although further research is needed, these proteins have helped explain the medicinal properties of sweet potatoes.

Besides providing essential nutrients and minerals to the human body, sweet potatoes also have very effective benefits for beauty, weight loss, stress reduction, and mood improvement.

Sweet potatoes are a valuable source of nutrients.

The food ranking system shows that sweet potatoes are a traditional, nutrient-rich food. Sweet potatoes are an excellent source of vitamin A (in the form of beta-carotene), a significant source of vitamin C and manganese. They also contain copper, dietary fiber, high amounts of vitamin B6, potassium, and iron.

Dubbed a "superfood," sweet potatoes are renowned for their exceptionally high nutrient content. Not only do they contain vitamins A, C, and B, along with fiber, but they also offer numerous beneficial minerals such as calcium, iron, and potassium.

Rich in antioxidants

With significant amounts of vitamin A (in the form of beta-carotene) and vitamin C, sweet potatoes are an anti-inflammatory food that can help prevent and treat diseases. Both beta-carotene and vitamin C have great antioxidant potential, effectively helping the body eliminate free radicals.

Thanks to its anti-inflammatory nutrients, sweet potatoes may be helpful in reducing the likelihood of developing inflammatory diseases such as asthma, arthritis, and rheumatoid arthritis. Free radicals are chemicals that damage cells and cell membranes and are associated with the development of conditions such as atherosclerosis, diabetes, heart disease, and colon cancer. This may explain why both beta-carotene and vitamin C are effective in preventing free radicals.

Additionally, sweet potatoes are a source of vitamin B6, which is essential for converting homocysteine, a product of the methylation process that creates important amino acids in cells, into harmless molecules. High homocysteine ​​levels have been linked to an increased risk of heart attack and stroke.

There are many different types of sweet potatoes, such as white sweet potatoes, purple sweet potatoes, red sweet potatoes, etc. Yellow and red sweet potatoes contain more micronutrients than white sweet potatoes.

The active compounds in white sweet potatoes may help treat diabetes.

All varieties produce tubers that are sweet to varying degrees. Despite their sweetness, sweet potatoes are actually a good food for people with diabetes; studies show they support blood sugar stabilization and reduce insulin resistance.

White sweet potatoes typically grow in hilly areas. The extract of Caiapo from white sweet potato tubers can effectively control blood sugar and cholesterol levels in type 2 diabetes. This substance has been developed in Japan into a dietary supplement for diabetes patients.

Research at the University of Vienna (Austria) investigated the mechanism of action and effectiveness of Caiapo from sweet potatoes in experiments on people with type 2 diabetes, using the same dosage for 12 weeks.

The results showed that treatment with Caiapo extracted from sweet potatoes reduced hemoglobin A-1c (HbA1c), an indicator of excess blood sugar. Blood sugar levels in the group using Caiapo from sweet potatoes were also significantly lower.

In addition, blood cholesterol levels also decreased. These results demonstrate that Caiapo, extracted from sweet potatoes, is a very effective substance for controlling type 2 diabetes without causing any side effects for patients.

Traditional remedies using sweet potatoes

Treating colds and fevers during hot weather:Hot weather easily causes fever due to colds and difficulty sweating. For healthy individuals, cooking white sweet potatoes with mustard greens and eating them instead of rice can help induce sweating, lower fever, and relieve cold symptoms. Other remedies can also be used:

Take a handful of dried white sweet potatoes, one turmeric root, and half a small cup of vinegar, boil them together, and drink the decoction hot.

16g of dried white sweet potato, 16g of ginger, decocted and drunk or cooked into porridge.

Fresh white sweet potatoes are boiled until cooked, then used for steaming, and the hot potatoes are eaten along with the hot potato broth to induce sweating.

1 sweet potato (400g), 200g rice, 1/2 bowl of mung beans, 4 water chestnuts, 1 radish, 3 cloves of garlic, 150g chicken meat, 70g shrimp, seasonings. Mash or finely chop all ingredients and cook until tender. Add the mung beans and water chestnuts later and continue cooking until tender.

Sweet potatoes have long been used in folk medicine to prevent and treat diseases; in some places, they are called "Southern Ginseng".

Treating constipation:Eat boiled sweet potatoes plain or with honey or sesame seeds; eat them with whole pickled eggplant or sliced ​​eggplant, mashed together with the sweet potatoes. Other ways:

Drink the water used to boil the potatoes (the potatoes must be thoroughly washed).

Cook sweet potato porridge with fresh or dried sweet potatoes, sesame seeds, and a few osmanthus flowers.

Use the juice extracted from boiling fresh or dried mashed potatoes; if you have hemorrhoids, drink this distilled liquid every morning for a month.

Insufficient milk supply:250g of fresh, tender sweet potato leaves, 200g of thinly sliced ​​pork. Stir-fry until tender, then add seasonings.

Mastitis:Peel and mash white sweet potatoes and apply them to the breasts; this can be combined with mashed garlic for application.

Treating cassava poisoning:Peel and mash sweet potatoes, add water, and squeeze out the juice. Drink every half hour.

Jaundice:Make a thick porridge by mixing potatoes with rice or cornstarch.

Boil:Take 40g of sweet potato tubers, 40g of dandelion leaves, and sugar or molasses, mash them together, wrap in cloth, and apply to boils. To draw out pus from ruptured boils, take 50g of young sweet potato leaves, 12g of mung beans, add a little salt, mash them together, wrap in cloth, and apply.

Eating sweet potatoes the right way

Sweet potatoes that are stored for too long become sweet and delicious, but they are not good for you.

Many people prefer sweet potatoes that have been stored for a while because they are sweeter than freshly harvested ones. This is because the water content in sweet potatoes decreases due to evaporation, increasing the sugar concentration. During storage, water participates in the hydrolysis of starch in the sweet potato, breaking down starch into sugar, thus significantly increasing the sugar content.

However, consuming too much sugar is also not good for your health, so you shouldn't intentionally store sweet potatoes for a long time before eating them. Furthermore, while not as dangerous as sprouted potatoes, it's still not recommended to eat them because sprouts contain toxins that can cause vomiting and stomach pain.

Sweet potatoes are good for your health, but you need to know how to eat them properly.

The best time to eat is at lunchtime.

Eating potatoes is very good for your health, but you should choose the right time to eat them for each individual. The elderly and those with poor digestion should avoid eating them in the evening as it can easily lead to acid reflux, indigestion, and insomnia.

If eaten for breakfast, it should be accompanied by whole milk or yogurt, and adding some nuts and green vegetables will make for a complete and nutritious breakfast that provides the body with the necessary nutrients.

The ideal time to enjoy sweet potatoes is at lunchtime. This is because of the high calcium content in this "super-nutritious" root vegetable.

The best time to eat sweet potatoes is at lunchtime, because after eating, it takes 4-5 hours for the calcium in sweet potatoes to be absorbed into the body. Afternoon sunlight can promote this calcium absorption. When sweet potatoes are eaten at lunchtime, the calcium can be fully absorbed before dinner, so it will not affect the absorption of calcium from other foods eaten at dinner.

According to Zing.vn