Skip to main content

What Is the Nutritional Benefits of Sweet Potatoes?

sweet potato nutrition

Sweet potato is a good source of carbohydrates, protein, vitamins, minerals and essential nutrients. It is one of the most nutritious vegetable that can be cooked and is rich in beta-carotene, iron, potassium and fiber. The main benefits of this vegetable are that it is low in calories, cholesterol and has good vitamin and mineral content. However, there are many myths associated with sweet potatoes that needs to be busted. Here are some of them:

Potatoes have less than one percent fiber. While truth about sweet potato nutrition is that they have a high fiber content and only ten to twenty times the fiber of rice or flour. Sweet potatoes are rich in potassium and are the only true low-calorie vegetables. In addition to its low calorie content, purple sweet potatoes are a good source of potassium and magnesium, vitamins A, C, E and K.

According to sweet potato nutrition facts, it is recommended to eat at least six small to medium-sized baked sweet potatoes daily. In addition to having a low-calorie, heart healthy food, it is also good for you health. It contains plenty of vitamins, minerals, dietary fibers, proteins and complex carbohydrates. It is also a good source of vitamins A, D, E and K, fatty acids, phosphorus, potassium and magnesium.

As sweet potatoes contain potassium, they help in regulating blood pressure, insulin levels and cholesterol levels. They increase your energy level as it helps in rapid metabolic processes. They also improve the digestion process. Moreover, they decrease the risk of heart diseases and cancers. Sweet potatoes contain flavonoids and polyphenols, which are antioxidants, are important for human health as it prevents cancer and helps in cell growth.

One of the major nutrition facts about sweet potatoes is that it has high-glycemic index. Due to its high-glycemic index, it causes a rapid spike in blood glucose level, thereby increasing the risk of diabetes. Therefore, diabetic patients should avoid sweet potato. As for non-diabetic individuals, it has a low glycemic index. However, due to certain pesticides used for growing them, some research reveals that some trace amounts of glycemic index may still exist in these fruits.

According to sweet potato nutrition facts, studies have shown that this vegetable has a lot of antioxidants. Antioxidants prevent DNA damage and free radical formation. They also play an important role in the maintenance of cellular membranes and DNA repair. Based on several studies, baked sweet potatoes have more antioxidants than any other vegetable.

Moreover, sweet potato is considered a very good source of vitamin A, vitamin B-complex and vitamin C. Based on studies, almost 90 percent of the sweet potato contains vitamin A. This vitamin is essential for healthy eyes and vision. The vitamin B-complex and vitamin C are also considered as excellent sources of nutrients that maintain eye health. However, these vitamins must be consumed in moderate to large doses to achieve the maximum benefit. Sweet potato is also a good source of iron.

These days, sweet potatoes offer so many health benefits to us. It is not only delicious but also helps in maintaining a healthy body weight. It is high in fiber, minerals and vitamins which are very helpful in maintaining a healthy skin and hair. So, if you want to enjoy these health benefits to the fullest then add baked sweet potatoes to your diet. You will surely love its wonderful flavor and health benefits.

When compared with white rice, sweet potatoes offer almost the same amount of dietary fiber per serving. However, it is much healthier than white rice. Studies have revealed that consuming sweet potatoes offer more iron than any other vegetables. As a matter of fact, sweet potato has three times the amount of iron found in whole grains. Therefore, this vegetable can provide you with all the mineral and dietary fiber you need daily.

Although sweet potatoes have antioxidant content, it does not contain significant amounts of Vitamin C and iron. In fact, studies have revealed that dietary fiber from sweet potatoes helps in reducing the risk of developing cancer. So, if you want to reduce the risk of developing cancer and heart disease, then include this vegetable in your diet on a regular basis. According to the research, the purple-fleshed sweet potatoes are rich in antioxidant content and also contain a high level of dietary fiber. Therefore, this vegetable offers great nutritional benefits to your daily meals.

Also, sweet potatoes may help in improving eyesight. Recent studies have revealed that the potassium found in sweet potatoes may help in improving eyesight. Specifically, the potassium may help in improving nighttime vision and visual clarity as well as in reducing the risk of age-related eye problems such as vision loss and eye fatigue. In addition, the potassium also helps in improving night vision and improving visual clarity. Therefore, if you want to improve your vision, then consider including this vegetable in your diet on a regular basis.

Labels:

Popular posts from this blog

How to Interpret a Stress Strain Curve

In materials and metallurgy, a stress-strain curve in a material provides the mathematical relationship between strain and stress. It's obtained by slowly applying load to an instrument, taking readings of the deformation and calculating the stress. This process is called load cell application. The key to interpreting a stress-strain diagram is to know what the curve means and what it depicts. A stress-strain curve can have many different shapes, but it always follows a decreasing slope or U-shape. The most widely used shapes are the L-shaped curve (also called the isotonic curve) and the curved line. It's very important that you learn and understand these two important shapes. The stress-strain curve shows the relationship between the applied force and the deformed point. This can be thought of as the yield curve or strain yield curve of the particular material being tested. The yield curve is a measure of the energy change due to porosity, where the energy change is graphed a...
Read more

What Allergies Look Like and Symptoms of Allergies

Symptoms of allergies generally include: Swelling of the eyes, face, ears. Dizziness. Sneezing. Runningny nose. Watery, red and itchy eyes. Allergic reactions to allergens are caused by an allergic reaction to the allergen. Common allergies include dust, pollen, cat, dog, food, latex and many other environmental irritants. Food allergy reactions may include eczema, hives, vomiting and swelling of the face, lips and tongue. Skin rash may also occur. These can range from mild to severe. The symptoms of allergies may be evident after several days or several weeks. In some cases, people who suffer with allergies may not have any known risk factors for allergies before they develop them. However, it is very important to have a complete medical history, including medical history of siblings. The immunological factors responsible for allergies and their development are also important to be considered along with other factors such as age, sex, family medical history and environmental condition...
Read more

Choosing Facial Eczema Cream and Ointments

Facial Eczema (PE) is an inflammatory disease that causes low production of skin, irritation and sometimes burning and even death. Facial Eczema is most commonly caused by a toxin (sporansmines) produced by the Sporales moulding on pasture in warm, damp conditions. The toxins are airborne and can become airborne in dust particles and settled in the lower respiratory tract when breathing air, and they become even more airborne when a person coughs or sneezes. The toxins can also be swallowed when a sufferer eats food with a crusty taste resembling mold or slimy cheese. The toxins then enter the bloodstream when the sufferer inhales them via the mucous membranes of the mouth and nose and travel to different parts of their body. This allergic reaction triggers the release of histamines (also known as lignins) which cause the skin to become inflamed and dry. Normally there are normally some immune cells that protect the face from irritants such as pollens, but under certain conditions the ...
Read more

How To Reduce Your Exposure To Allergic Reactions To Ragweed

Ragweed is probably one of the worst known environmental allergens which doctors to see, and it is estimated that up to 10 percent of Americans have it. "It's everywhere - on our clothes, the foods we eat, our cars, even our hands," says Mary E. Zuber, MD, a dermatologist in Scarsville, Utah. "We know that ragweed has the potential to cause problems for people who suffer from asthma or allergic rhinitis." What's more, the extent of the problem is probably under-recognized, since many patients do not realize they're prone to ragweed until it is too late. Unfortunately, the extent of the problem may also be under-treated, because doctors are less likely to look for skin rashes, itchy nose, sneezing, watery eyes, coughing, and chest congestion - all classic signs of ragweed allergy in humans. Even in areas where ragweed allergy is not common, the plant can still be a big problem, especially during ragweed season (also called autumn leaf fever) when it launc...
Read more

How to Manage Stress

Stress they and your kids will suffer; it's a sad fact that stress them will lead to lack of sleep. Lack of sleep can be a serious threat to your mental health. There is an old saying "A tired mind is a productive mind." So make time to relax, take a deep breath, put your feet up or on the couch, take a shower, listen to music, meditate, whatever helps you relax and calm the anxiety and depression. Try to be positive and optimistic and if you can, try to avoid stressful situations when possible. You want to break the cycle of anxiety and depression. And the easiest way to do that is to avoid the stress and anxiety. When we are confronted with a stressful situation, what do we do? We try to fight the stress, either by taking a nap or in other ways. When we have a choice, we turn to the television or computer or both. When the choice is between working and being with our children, we choose the TV or the computer. When the choice is between going to work and being with our ...
Read more