The nutritional content and potential health advantages of sweet potatoes are examined in this article. Together with some health dangers, it also offers some advice on how to include sweet potatoes in your diet.
They are abundant in vitamins, minerals, antioxidants, and fiber and come in a range of sizes and hues, such as orange, white, and purple.
Not to mention, they are simple to incorporate into your diet and offer a host of health advantages.
These are a few unexpected advantages of sweet potatoes for your health.
Improving insulin sensitivity in diabetes
Researchers discovered that an extract from white-skinned sweet potatoes enhanced insulin sensitivity in individuals with type 2 diabetes in a 2008 study.
Previously, in 2000, white-skinned sweet potatoes or troglitazone, an insulin sensitizer, were fed to lab rats for eight weeks. Those who ate the sweet potato showed improvements in their insulin resistance levels.
To validate these advantages, more research on humans is required.
Sweet potatoes' fiber content is very significant. Research suggests that individuals with higher fiber intake may be less likely to acquire type 2 diabetes (Trusted Source).
Approximately half a cup, or 124 grams (g) of mashed sweet potatoes, contains roughly 2.5 g of fiber.
Packed with Nutrients
Sweet potatoes are a fantastic source of vitamins, minerals, and fiber.
Baked sweet potatoes with skin, weighed at one cup (200 g) yield the following benefits :
- Calories: 180
- Carbs: 41 g
- Protein: 4 g
- Fat: 0.3 g
- Fiber: 6.6 g
- Vitamin A: 213% of the Daily Value (DV)
- Vitamin C: 44% of the DV
- Manganese: 43% of the DV
- Copper: 36% of the DV
- Pantothenic acid: 35% of the DV
- Vitamin B6: 34% of the DV
- Potassium: 20% of the DV
- Niacin: 19% of the DV
Unstable chemicals known as free radicals have the ability to damage DNA and cause inflammation.
Chronic diseases such as cancer, heart disease, and aging have all been related to damage caused by free radicals. Eating foods high in antioxidants is therefore beneficial to your health
Preserving blood pressure at a healthy level
To maintain a healthy circulatory system, the American Heart Association (AHA) advises consumers to eat more meals high in potassium and less foods with a lot of added salt.
A 124 g portion of mashed sweet potatoes has 259 mg of potassium, or about 5% of an adult's daily needs. According to current recommendations, people should get 4,700 mg of potassium daily.
May have anti-cancer qualities
A variety of antioxidants found in sweet potatoes may help prevent some malignancies.
In vitro experiments have demonstrated that anthocyanins, a class of antioxidants present in purple sweet potatoes, can inhibit the growth of specific cancer cell types, including as bladder, colon, stomach, and breast cancers.
In a similar vein, rats given diets high in purple sweet potatoes had reduced incidence of colon cancer in its early stages, indicating that the potato's anthocyanins may offer some protection.
Studies on animals and in test tubes have also revealed the anti-cancer qualities of sweet potato peel extracts. Studies on humans have not yet examined these impacts, though.