Surprising health benefits of sweet potatoes and it’s nutrients

Potatoes are the third most important food crop in the world after rice and wheat and the leading vegetable crop in the United States. Also, It is widely produced and consumed in East Asia, Oceania, and Sub-Saharan Africa, with the highest production in China which comprises 76.07% of the world’s production. Sweet potato has a high ability to convert solar energy into carbohydrates and store it in the bulky roots that are recognized as one of the energy go-downs of nature. A lot of health benefits of sweet potatoes are listed below.

Sweet potatoes are native to North Carolina. it is also the official vegetable of this state. Sweet potatoes are often put in the same metaphorical bucket as root vegetables like carrots and beets, but they’re actually something called a root tuber. Root tubers, like sweet potatoes and cassava, are bulb-like portions of the root where plants stockpile extra nutrients to stay alive through winter.

. Because they’re essentially nutrient silos, it’s no wonder sweet potatoes are packed with vitamins, minerals, and other beneficial compounds. They’re also completely different than yams. Though you might find them labeled interchangeably in the produce aisle, true yams are blackish-brown on the outside, white or purple on the inside, and less sweet than a sweet potato.

Variety of sweet potatoes

Sweet potatoes can be white, yellow, red, purple, and orange and the orange-fleshed sweet potatoes are sweeter than the other colored varieties. The sweet potatoes you’re probably most familiar with have bright orange flesh, but they come in a wide variety of colors from pink and purple to yellow and white (and in case you’re wondering, yes — white sweet potatoes are different than regular white potatoes). Since part of a plant’s nutrient profile depends on its color, each variety has a slightly different makeup, but all have the potential to benefit your health. Let’s dive more into why.

Most people think of sweet potatoes as a delicious and healthy side dish, but did you know that they offer even more health benefits than other vegetables? In this article, we’ll take a closer look at some of the surprising health benefits of sweet potatoes, including their nutrient content, their role in blood sugar control, and more.

Why Are Sweet Potatoes Good for You?

Who would have thought that the humble sweet potato could be so good for you? This orange-fleshed veggie is packed with nutrients and boasts a host of surprising health benefits.

The benefits of sweet potatoes all map back to their impressive nutritional profile, and including them in a well-rounded diet is a great way to support overall health. Here’s why we think so.

Sweet potatoes are an excellent source of beta-carotene, which the body converts into vitamin A. This vitamin is important for healthy vision, skin, and immune systems. Sweet potatoes are also a good source of fiber, which helps to keep the digestive system running smoothly.

What’s more, sweet potatoes are a low-glycemic food, meaning they don’t cause spikes in blood sugar levels. This makes them a great choice for diabetics or anyone wanting to maintain stable energy levels throughout the day.

Are sweet potatoes high in sugar?

This tuber has naturally occurring sugar, but there’s no added sugar in sweet potatoes. In fact, sweet potatoes can be an excellent addition to a diabetic diet. It’s a common misconception that diabetics must avoid carbohydrates altogether. What matters is the type of carb and portion size consumed throughout the day.

Nutrition Facts

Sweet potatoes are a root vegetable. To take in the amount of vitamin A that is in one sweet potato, you would have to eat 23 cups of broccoli.

Serving Size: 1 medium-size sweet potato 114g cooked, backed in skin without salts.

1. Calories 112
2. Trans fat: 0g
3. Saturated fat: 0g
4. Cholesterol: 0mg
5. Protein: 2g
6. Sugar: 5g
7. Iron: 0.8mg or 3% DV
8. Calcium: 39mg or 3% DV
9. Sodium: 40mg Or 4%
10. Vitamin C: 3mg or 5% DV
11. Total carbohydrates: 26g or 7%
12. Magnesium: 32mg or 8% DV
13. Potassium: 438 mg or 12% DV
14. Dietary fiber:  4g or 15%
15. Vitamin B6: 0.3mg or 15% DV
16. Vitamin A: 18,443 IU or 386% DV

Vitamin B6

For a typical 1 medium-size sweet potato 114g cooked, chopped the amount of Vitamin B6 is 0.07 mg. This corresponds to an RDA percentage of 4%. Out of the other health benefits of sweet potatoes, one is Vitamin B6 which helps to decrease the chemical homocysteine in our bodies.

Homocysteine has been linked with degenerative diseases, together with the prevention of coronary heart attacks. Also, these vitamins help the process your body uses to get or make energy from food, so not getting enough B vitamins in your diet can make you lethargic and even depressed.

Sweet Potatoes are a good source of vitamin C

Like citrus, sweet potatoes are a good source of vitamin C, which helps fight infections, heal wounds, and absorb iron. While most people know that vitamin C is important to help ward off cold and flu viruses. Few people are aware that this crucial vitamin plays an important role in bone and tooth formation, digestion, and blood cell formation. A medium sweet potato provides 37 percent of your daily recommended amount of vitamin C.

Surprising Health Benefits of Sweet Potatoes

We all know that sweet potatoes are packed with nutrients and offer a variety of health benefits. Sweet potatoes hold the first rank in nutrition among all vegetables. Studies show that healthy food choices can increase your child’s focus on tests and keep immune systems healthy. This can help your child fight off the flu and colds.

In addition to their nutritional values, SPL has been found as a functional food containing various bioactive compounds that provide a variety of health-promoting benefits. Many studies on functional compounds of SPL indicate that their health benefits are related to high levels of polyphenols, flavonoids, and carotenoids. But did you know that they can also help improve your mood, fight inflammation, and even boost your brain power? Here are just a few of the surprising health benefits of sweet potatoes:

Potatoes Can Improve Your Mood

Sweet potatoes contain high levels of carotenoids, which are known to have mood-boosting properties. In fact, one study found that people who ate foods rich in carotenoids had a significantly lower risk of developing depression. Also, potatoes are full of B vitamins folate and B6 which can help to alleviate premenstrual symptoms and depression. They also help to keep blood sugar levels steady and therefore help to prevent mood swings and sugar cravings.

They Fight Inflammation

Inflammation is the process through which the immune system recognizes and removes harmful and foreign stimuli, while the anti-inflammatory process reverses tissue homeostasis to normality.

Inflammation is a major contributor to many chronic diseases, such as heart disease and arthritis. Various anti-inflammatory compounds have been found in potatoes, including anthocyanins that contribute to reducing inflammatory bowel syndrome and various other chronic diseases related to gut health. Potato contains anti-inflammatory components such as resistant starch, fiber, and anthocyanins. Luckily, sweet potatoes are packed with anti-inflammatory nutrients like vitamin C and beta-carotene. In fact, one study found that people who ate more beta-carotene had a lower risk of developing arthritis.

They Boost Brain Power

Sweet potatoes are also a great source of vitamins and minerals such as vitamin B6, which is essential for cognitive function. That is the main benefit of sweet potatoes because vitamin B6 can be very helpful for our brain power and metabolism.

It benefits the central nervous system and metabolism. Its roles include turning food into energy and helping to create neurotransmitters, let’s say serotonin and dopamine. Vitamin B6 helps the body produce serotonin, a neurotransmitter that plays a role in mood and cognition. When it comes to healthy eating, sweet potatoes are often lauded as a superfood. And for good reason, they’re packed with nutrients that can boost your health in a number of ways.

Potatoes are packed with vitamins and minerals

Potatoes contain a variety of essential vitamins and minerals most notably Sweet potatoes are an excellent source of vitamins A and C, as well as minerals potassium manganese, and iron.

Significantly more than those foods commonly associated with being high in potassium, such as bananas, oranges, and broccoli, research suggests it is also one of the most affordable vegetables all over the world. They also contain fiber, which is beneficial for digestive health. A medium potato provides 27 mg of vitamin C qualifying it as an “excellent source” of vitamin C per FDA guidelines. Potatoes provide one of the most concentrated sources of potassium.

They can help regulate blood sugar levels

Sweet potatoes contain a type of carbohydrate called resistant starch, which has been shown to help regulate blood sugar levels after meals. This is especially beneficial for people with type 2 diabetes. Despite its name “sweet” it can be beneficial for diabetes according to some studies, because it helps in stabilizing blood sugar levels and lowering insulin resistance.

Regardless of the variety, sweet potato is reported to be beneficial to T2DM patients due to its high dietary fiber content and moderate glycemic index. This is because fiber is associated with the stabilization of blood sugar and the lowering of insulin resistance.

They may improve gut health

The resistant starch in sweet potatoes may also benefit gut health by promoting the growth of healthy bacteria in the gut. Dietary fiber occurs naturally in a variety of grains, legumes, fruits, and vegetables. Dietary fiber can be classified as either soluble or insoluble fiber.

Soluble dietary fiber partially dissolves in water to form a gel-like material. In addition, the growth of certain microbes, mostly lactic acid bacteria, is greatly improved by dietary fiber, which serves as food for the microbes. Thus, in general, increased fiber consumption is linked to reduced prevalence of chronic diseases and promotion of gut health.

Some of the mechanisms involved in the health-promoting effects of dietary fiber include antioxidant properties, carcinogen-binding, production of short-chain fatty acids, reduced caloric density of foods, increased excretion of cholesterol, better management of blood glucose, improved gut health, and reduced risk of coronary heart disease. Additionally, the fiber content of sweet potatoes helps to keep things moving along smoothly in the digestive system.

Cancer

Carotenoids in sweet potatoes might lower your risk for cancer. A red-fleshed sweet potato cultivar grown in the Andean region, for example, has been reported to have higher antioxidant activity and phenolic content than a cultivar of blueberry, a fruit that is widely known to have high levels of antioxidants.

The relatively high anthocyanins and phenolic compounds in PFSP compared with other flesh colors, as stated earlier, possess antioxidant activities, and play a strong role in the prevention of degenerative illnesses such as cancer and cardiovascular diseases.

Purple sweet potatoes are high in another natural compound called anthocyanin which might lower your chances of getting colorectal cancer. Sweet potatoes are high in antioxidants compared to other vegetables. Antioxidants help reduce your risk of chronic diseases such as cancer and cardiovascular disease.

Diabetes

Sweet potatoes contain several constituents that show a potential activity against diabetes. Chromogenic acid reduces the release of glucose into the bloodstream, lowering the glycemic index, thereby benefitting diabetic patients and reducing the risk of type II diabetes.

Compounds in sweet such as fiber and magnesium which is beneficial in reducing insulin resistance and could help control, and stabilize blood sugar. Sweet potatoes are a good source of manganese, which helps maintain normal blood sugar levels and optimal thyroid function. When boiled, sweet potatoes are low on the glycemic index which means they won’t raise your blood sugar as quickly as high-GI foods.

Heart disease

Eating Potassium rich food such as sweet potatoes helps promote a healthy heart. One of the important health benefits of sweet potatoes is that help regulate heartbeat and nerve signals. Like the other electrolytes, potassium performs many essential functions, some of which include relaxing muscle contractions, reducing swelling, and protecting and controlling the activity of the kidneys.

Daily intake of Sweet potatoes provides potassium which helps to control and reduce blood pressure and prevent heart diseases. Research shows that sweet potatoes can lower your LDL “bad” cholesterol, which may lower your odds of heart problems.

Macular degeneration

Orange-fleshed sweet potatoes are rich in β-carotene. A wider range of β-carotene content in cooked orange-fleshed sweet potatoes, 6.7–16.0 mg/100 g fwb, has been reported by different investigators. The sweet potato carotenoids exist in an all-Trans configuration, which exhibits the highest pro-vitamin A activity among the carotenoids.

Large amounts of beta-carotene and vitamin A, which are in sweet potatoes, can lower your chances of getting this eye disease, which is the most common cause of vision loss. Epidemiological studies indicated the beneficial effects of high-carotene diets in reducing the risks of cancer, age-related macular degeneration, and heart diseases.

Obesity. Purple sweet potatoes may help lower inflammation in your body and keep fat cells from growing, which may help you lose weight.

They’re a good source of vitamins C and A

One cup of baked sweet potato provides nearly half of your daily vitamin C needs. The same portion also supplies 400 % of your recommended daily intake of vitamin A. Vitamin A helps keep your vision good, fight infections, and keep your skin healthy.

A medium sweet potato has over four times the recommended daily amount of vitamin A which plays a vital role in vision, bone development, and immune function. While most people know that vitamin C is important to help ward off cold and flu viruses, few people are aware that this crucial vitamin plays an important role in bone and tooth formation, digestion, and blood cell formation. Both nutrients are vital for supporting immune function, which is especially important during cold and flu season. Vitamin A is also key for maintaining healthy skin, vision, and organ function.

And lots of other nutrients too

A serving of sweet potatoes delivers a third of your need for manganese. They contain potassium and magnesium which helps with blood pressure support in reducing blood pressure and strokes. A mineral that helps produce collagen and promote skin and bone health.

Sweet potato has vitamin A which helps us to have great vision. Sweet potatoes are a low-glycemic food that is high in fiber and can absorb glucose in the bloodstream slowly, preventing blood sugar increase. You’ll also get between 15 and 30% of several energy-supporting B vitamins and minerals, including potassium.

They don’t cause blood sugar spikes

Sweet potatoes are considered a super food for diabetics. They are naturally sweet-tasting but their natural sugars are slowly released into the bloodstream. Some may regard sweet potatoes as too starchy, but their high fiber content makes them a slow-burning starch—meaning they won’t spike blood sugar and insulin levels.

They have been shown to stabilize blood sugar levels by lowering insulin resistance. Helping to ensure a balanced and regular source of energy, without the blood sugar spikes linked to fatigue and weight gain. They contain a high amount of fiber, which also helps to reduce levels of bad LDL cholesterol in the body. One cup of baked sweet potato provides about 6 grams of fiber, which is more than a quarter of the daily recommended minimum.

They may help support weight loss

Being overweight and obese has rapidly become a leading public health concern in many countries. About 12% of the starch in sweet potatoes is resistant starch, a filling, fiber-like substance your body doesn’t digest and absorb.

The Dietary Guidelines Advisory Committee recommended reducing the intake of fried white potatoes, which contribute only 5.5% of total solid fat intake, in order to significantly reduce the solid fat intake of Americans. One study found that replacing just 5.4% of total carbohydrate intake with resistant starch resulted in a 20 to 30% increase in fat burning after a meal. The protein content of potatoes is also low, averaging 1–1.5% of fresh weight depending on the cultivar. Resistant starch also prompts the body to pump out more satiety-inducing hormones.

Sweet Potatoes Contain Important Vitamins

Sweet potatoes are perhaps most well-known for their vitamin A content actually present as beta-carotene, a plant pigment that gives sweet potatoes their orange color and that our bodies convert to vitamin A once we eat them. The orange-flesh sweet potatoes are exceedingly rich in beta-carotene. The purple-flesh varieties are outstanding sources of anthocyanins, especially peonidin and cyanidin. But they’re also a good source of vitamin C and vitamin B6.

In fact, just one medium-sized baked sweet potato gives you more than 100% of the daily value of vitamin A, 25% of the daily value of vitamin C, and 19% of the daily value of vitamin B6 which helps reduce the chemical homocysteine in our bodies. They also contain Vitamin D which is critical for the immune system and overall health at this time of year. That’s a big nutritional bang for your buck!

Sweet Potatoes Provide Essential Minerals

Minerals are just as essential as vitamins, and that same medium-sized sweet potato provides 25% of the daily value of manganese, 20% of the daily value of copper, and 12% of the daily value of potassium. Getting enough manganese is important for promoting bone health, producing sex hormones, and regulating blood sugar, copper helps our bodies with a variety of functions such as making red blood cells, and potassium is essential for regulating fluid balance, contracting muscles, and maintaining healthy nerve function.

Sweet Potatoes Have Complex Carbs

Any discussion of food and diabetes management should begin with the American Diabetes Association’s recommendation, which is to count the grams of carbohydrates you eat in a day.

Despite the popularity of ultra-low-carb diets, our bodies need adequate amounts of carbohydrates to survive because they’re our number one source of energy. But, while they’re all broken down into glucose in the end, not all carbs are created equal when it comes to their effect on blood sugar. Some carbs may have a bad rep, but these taters are made of complex carbohydrates which are released at a steady pace for a constant source of vitality.

Sweet potatoes have something called complex carbohydrates, which means they take longer for your body to break down, leading to less of a spike in blood sugar and more sustained energy.

Sweet potatoes are made of complex carbohydrates (energy) that are released at a steady pace for a constant source of vitality. That’s compared to simple carbohydrates, like the sugar used to make things like candy, pastries, and sugary drinks, which are digested very quickly and provide a quick but short-lived energy burst. There are two types of carbs simple and bad carbs.

Simple carbs

Simple carbs contain sugar and no more additional nutrients such as sucrose, glucose-fructose, maltose, and lactose. Milk products of milk all types of fruits, vegetables, sugar soda, and candy are examples of simple carbs.

Complex carbs

Complex carbs may contain sugar and additional nutrients such as starch, fiber, etc. Sweet potatoes contain these nutrients too. They must be broken down via digestion before the human body can use them as glucose sources. Bread, cereals, sweet potatoes, beans, tables, and whole grains are examples of complex carbs.

Sweet Potatoes Are Good for Gut Health

There are a lot of benefits of sweet potato gut health one of them. As we know sweet potatoes contain fiber content. Sweet potatoes contain two types of fiber one is soluble and other is the insoluble fiber. But our body can’t digest either type.

That is the reason fiber remains within our digestive tract and provides a variety of gut health benefits. The study demonstrated that puree from sweet potatoes may have prebiotic potential by increasing the population of Bifidobacterium spp and stimulating the production of short-chain fatty acids, especially butyric acid, a well-known compound favorable to gut health.

Sweet potatoes are also a good source of fiber, which has been linked to a variety of benefits, from promoting heart health to lowering the risk of diabetes and certain types of cancer. Despite those impressive benefits, a staggering 9 out of 10 of us aren’t getting enough.

That’s pretty shocking stuff. Some of the mechanisms involved in the health-promoting effects of dietary fiber include antioxidant properties, carcinogen-binding, production of short-chain fatty acids, reduced caloric density of foods, increased excretion of cholesterol, better management of blood glucose, improved gut health, and reduced risk of coronary heart disease.

Sweet Potatoes Could Help Protect Your Vision

Sweet potatoes are high in beta-carotene and are great for your vision. Also, sweet potato has vitamin A which helps us to have great vision.

Orange sweet potatoes are one of the best whole food sources of beta-carotene you can find. Sweet potatoes have a lot of Vitamin A, so they might have the power of supervision for us! Beta-carotene, that plant pigment our bodies convert to vitamin A, helps prevent dry eyes and keep you seeing well in the dark. Vitamin A, in combination with other antioxidant vitamins, also appears to play a role in decreasing the risk of vision loss.

The carotenoids in sweet potatoes absorb damaging blue and ultraviolet light that can damage the macula of the eye. Along with other carotenoids, it also acts as an antioxidant to protect eye cells from free radical damage and inflammation. Beta-carotene is fat-soluble, so it’s best absorbed when eaten with fat, like butter, olive oil, or avocado — great news since all go well with sweet potatoes.

Sweet Potatoes May Improve Brain Function

Antioxidants are thought to help prevent age-related declines in brain function. As antioxidants are known to reduce the risk of inflammation and the risk of neurodegenerative conditions like Alzheimer’s and dementia, sweet potatoes have several different kinds, including carotenoids and anthocyanins. Especially purple sweet potatoes can improve brain functionality because anthocyanins exist in purple sweet potatoes which prevent inflammation and free radicals damage.

Carotenoids like those found in orange sweet potatoes have been shown to slow cognitive decline (so they can keep you sharper, longer), while the anthocyanins in purple sweet potatoes have been found (in animal studies) to improve memory and learning.

They’re packed with beta carotene

Thought carrots had been the sole primary supply of this nutrient? In some studies, sweet potatoes have been shown to be a better source of bioavailable beta-carotene than green leafy vegetables. Orange-Fleshed candy potatoes OFSP include extensive portions of carotene, a precursor for diet A.

The quantification of complete carotenoids and β-carotene of uncooked cloth and candy potato chips had been carried out as described through Rodriguez-Amaya. Biofortified orange-fleshed candy potato is being grown and promoted as a food-based approach to tackle the trouble of VAD in SSA. In the equal line, β-carotene bioaccessibility was once considerably decreased for porridge than chapatis.

Sweet potatoes contain a wealth of orange-hued carotenoid pigments. It used to be additionally observed that puree-based merchandise registered low β-carotene bioaccessibility in contrast to flour-based products.

For all the products, the learn about determined no impact of sweet potato genotype of β-carotene bioaccessibility. OFSP is prosperous in beta-carotene, a precursor for Vitamin A. Orange candy potatoes are additionally stuffed with beta-carotene, a substance that’s used by way of the physique to make extra nutrition A. Among the carotenoids, β-carotene is the most essential provitamin A carotenoid. Vitamin A is vitally vital for quite a number of one-of-a-kind reasons, from helping eye fitness and strengthening the lining of your intestine to assisting your immune device so it’s higher at war off illnesses.

They’re a great source of fiber

If you’re looking to boost the happiness of your gut, sweet potatoes are a great food to eat more of. Sweet potatoes are also good for diabetics because they contain a good deal of fiber, particularly when the skins are left on a nutrient that bulks up food, keeping you full longer. They’re a rich source of both soluble and insoluble fiber and have a low glycemic index. Both of these are needed to promote digestion and healthy toilet habits.

They’re full of antioxidants

Sweet potatoes are high in antioxidants compared to other vegetables. Sweet potatoes, especially purple ones, contain lots of antioxidants which are used by our bodies to help remove free radicals. Yet beta-carotene only begins to tell the story of sweet potato antioxidants. The darker, purple-fleshed sweet potato is packed with antioxidants. A lot of them are found in the skin, so try cooking your sweet potatoes without peeling them first.

Bottom line

Many people call sweet potatoes yams, but yams and sweet potatoes are completely different foods. Many people call sweet potatoes yams, but yams and sweet potatoes are completely different foods. Sweet potatoes are a good source of nutrients, enhancing dietary protein, amino acid intake, and growth performance. There are a lot of health benefits of sweet potatoes and these are considered a superfood such as stabilizing blood sugar levels by lowering insulin resistance.

They contain a high amount of fiber which helps us to reduce the level of bad cholesterol. Sweet potatoes are a great source of antioxidant, beta-carotene, and complex carbs, Contains vitamins such as Vitamin A, and B . Sweet potato is one of the most important food crops worldwide and provide a dietary source of nutrients and various bioactive compounds. Furthermore, these major nutrients play a role in reducing the risks associated with certain diseases.

References

dietandfitnesstoday.com

medicalnewstoday.com

kandrafoods.com

narayanahealth.org

www.health.com