Sweet potatoes are sweet, starchy root vegetables that are grown worldwide.
They come in a variety of sizes and colours — including orange, white, and purple — and are rich in vitamins, minerals, antioxidants, and fibre.
PLUS, they provide a number of health benefits and are easy to add to your diet.
Sweet potatoes are a great source of fibre, vitamins, and minerals.
200 grams of baked sweet potato 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 protect your body from free radicals.
Free radicals are unstable molecules that can damage DNA and trigger inflammation.
Free radical damage has been linked to chronic illnesses like cancer, heart disease, and ageing.
Therefore, eating antioxidant-rich foods is good for your health.
https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC3614697/
The fibre and antioxidants in sweet potatoes are advantageous to gut health.
Sweet potatoes contain two types of fibre: soluble and insoluble
Your body cannot digest either type. Therefore, fibre stays within your digestive tract and provides a variety of gut-related health benefits.
Certain types of soluble fibre — known as viscous fibres — absorb water and soften your stool.
On the other hand, non-viscous, insoluble fibres don’t absorb water and add bulk.
Some soluble and insoluble fibres can also be fermented by the bacteria in your colon, creating compounds called short-chain fatty acids that fuel the cells of your intestinal lining and keep them healthy and strong.
Fibre-rich diets containing 20–33 grams per day have been linked to a lower risk of colon cancer and more regular bowel movements.
The antioxidants in sweet potatoes may provide gut benefits as well.
Test-tube studies have found that antioxidants in purple sweet potatoes promote the growth of healthy gut bacteria, including certain Bifidobacterium and Lactobacillus species.
Greater amounts of these types of bacteria within the intestines are associated with better gut health and a lower risk of conditions like irritable bowel syndrome (IBS) and infectious Diarrhea.
Sweet Potatoes provide numerous other health benefits, they support eye health, can boost your immune system and can even enhance brain function.
Adding sweet potato to your regular eating plan is very sound idea...
