Nutritional Benefits of Sweet Potato

This morning I had some steamed sweet potatoes for breakfast and I have decided to share with you all its nutritional benefits.  Many people are more familiar with potato as it is more common around us in the form of French fries and mashed potatoes.  I think less would be acquainted with their close cousin, the sweet potatoes.  Sweet potatoes are just like potatoes but they are in a longer root like shape and usually are orange and dark purple in colours.  More uniquely is that it has a sweet taste to it as compared to potatoes which are tasteless.

Little do we know that sweet potato is a very nutritious kind of food.  It contains a variety of vitamins including B6, C, D and E.  Vitamin B6 are vital in the process of reducing homocyteine in our body which contributes to degenerative disease.  It also helps to prevent the hardening of blood vessels which may leads to heart attack. Vitamin C contributes to our general health and is the best cure against flu and cold.  It also gives us strong bones and teeth, good digestion and cell formation, accelerate wound healing and vital ingredient in collagen for our skin elasticity.  Vitamin D helps boost our immune system with beneficial effect on our bone, heart, nerves, skin, teeth and thyroid gland.  While vitamin E contributes towards a beautiful hair and skin plus our overall health and longevity.

Besides vitamins, sweet potato has many minerals that are good for our health.  Is has iron which is good for red and white cell production, helps in protein metabolism and is vital for a proper immune function in our body.  It also contains magnesium which is an anti stress agent that helps us to relax. It also gives us healthy arteries, blood, bone, heart muscle and regulate our nerve function.  Potassium in sweet potato aid in the lowering of our blood pressure by getting excess sodium out of our body.  It is a good electrolyte which helps regulate our heart beat, brain and nervous signals.  It can also relax our muscle after strenuous activities, helps reduces swelling and protects our kidneys.  Sweet potato contains manganese which is an important component in carbohydrate metabolisms.  It also support sa healthy blood sugar level and helps stabilize our appetite.  Manganese also acts as a co-factor in enzyme for efficient generation of energy and antioxidant utilization in our body. 

Sweet potatoes are rich in fiber which is good in cleaning our digestive tracts.  Its starchy nature helps us to feel full and can prevent us from indulging in more food that makes us overeat and become fat as a result.  Its carbohydrate or natural sugar is oxidized slowly thus preventing sugar surge in our blood stream thus its energy can be used in a more controlled manner in our body.  Another nutritional value of sweet potato is its carotenoid pigment which contains vitamin A and is good for our eye sight.  It is a great anti-oxidant, good for fighting cancer and aging.  Its beta carotene protects our skin from sun damage and helps in repairing skin from the sun's UV.

Sweet potato can be eaten plain after steaming it or it can be cooked as a dessert with rock sugar and the green pandan leave boiled in water which is very popular among the Asian or even fried as sweet potato chips.