10 Health Benefits Of Sweet Potatoes
Sweet potatoes are an incredibly versatile food. They can be eaten at anytime of day. They can be included in a sweet breakfast dish in a replacement for hash browns, they can be a great addition to a lunchtime entree, they can be a great accompaniment to dinner, and they can even be made into desserts. Sweet potatoes are incredibly versatile. They contain a huge number of nutrients that are all necessary for our proper health and development. They’re an especially high source of vitamin A, a nutrient that’s important for the health of our eyes.
Sweet potatoes differ from yams, and are actually commonly confused. The orange-colored, red-skinned potatoes that many people refer to are actually just one of the many varieties of sweet potatoes – however, the two different root vegetables provide a number of the same health benefits.
Today we’re going to talk about some of these benefits. This will help to ensure you that sweet potatoes are certainly something that you want to include in your diet on a regular basis.
Health Benefit Of Sweet Potatoes #1: Improving Skin Health
One of the first things that becomes immediately apparent when looking at the nutritional profile is that sweet potatoes are high in vitamin C. Vitamin C is a nutrient that’s involved in a number of processes in our body, and one of these processes is the synthesis of collagen.
Collagen is the main protein that’s found in our body, and it’s responsible for the health and elasticity of our skin. If we don’t get enough collagen, we will be more prone to signs of aging: wrinkles, liver spots, and similar issues.
While there are other aspects involved in the process of collagen, it’s important to make sure that you get enough vitamin C if you want to ensure its proper production.
Health Benefit Of Sweet Potatoes #2: Enhances Eye Health
Another one of the most prominent nutrients found in the sweet potato is vitamin A. In fact, sweet potatoes contain one of the densest amounts of vitamin A in any fruits or vegetables available on the planet.
Vitamin A is actually the name given to several nutrients that all work together to promote the health of our body in various ways, most especially by retaining the health of our eyes. Getting a healthy amount of vitamin A can prevent the emergence of eye-related problems like macular degeneration and cataracts.
Health Benefit Of Sweet Potatoes #3: Fighting Oxidation
Sweet potatoes are a good source of a number of phytonutrients and antioxidants. Antioxidants are thus named because they help to fight oxidation, a natural process that occurs as we age.
Oxidation can also occur as a result of unhealthy environmental changes, such as pollution, smoking, and living a sedentary lifestyle. Consuming a diet rich in antioxidants can help you prevent the emergence of oxidation and the related issues, like disease and aging.
Health Benefit Of Sweet Potatoes #4: Fighting Inflammation
Another thing that sweet potatoes can be used for is helping people to fight inflammation. They contain a number of nutrients that are all involved in preventing and minimizing excessive inflammation, such as vitamin A and numerous antioxidants.
Inflammation is a natural response that occurs in response to a pathogen, like a virus or bacteria. Unfortunately many people’s immune systems are triggered to cause an inflammatory response when there is nothing wrong. This is one of the reasons that anti-inflammatory foods and supplements are so popular these days.
Health Benefit Of Sweet Potatoes #5: Helps Manage Blood Sugar
One might think that sweet potatoes, considering how sweet they are, might not be the best for your blood sugar levels. Blood sugar spikes are often caused by consuming foods high in sugar, but there’s a catch – it’s generally only refined sugars, that are absorbed very quickly, that cause blood sugar spikes.
Sweet potatoes, on the other hand, contain complex carbohydrates. These are sugars that are slowly digested that can provide a long-lasting source of energy that won’t cause your blood sugar to spike. Furthermore, they provide the body with nutrients that help to regulate insulin resistance.
Health Benefit Of Sweet Potatoes #6: Helps Manage Weight Loss
Another reason that complex carbohydrates are useful is because they can help someone manage their weight. Many people overindulge in sweet foods or refined carbohydrates and find that they don’t fill them up. However, they tend to go back for more and more refined carbs to fill the gap.
Sweet potatoes, by providing complex carbohydrates, can help you stay full for longer. They also contain a lot of fiber, which can help you feel full long after you’ve consumed your meal.
Health Benefit Of Sweet Potatoes #7: Help Manage Blood Pressure
Sweet potatoes aren’t just useful for helping people manage their blood sugar. They can help us manage our blood pressure as well.
They contain a number of nutrients that are highly involved in the maintenance of our cardiovascular system. One of the main nutrients is potassium, an electrolyte that’s required to help maintain our heart beat and prevent strain from being placed on our bloodstream.
Health Benefit Of Sweet Potatoes #8: Helps Manage Stress
Sweet potatoes contain a fair amount of magnesium, which is one of the nutrients most commonly associated with lowering stress levels and promoting relaxation. Magnesium does this in a number of ways.
One of the things that magnesium does is help to lower blood pressure. High blood pressure is one of the most common symptoms of stress. Magnesium deficiency has also been linked to an increase in depressive symptoms and anxiety.
Health Benefit Of Sweet Potatoes #9: Prevent Cancer
One of the most common things that can lead to cancer is oxidation. Oxidation from many different sources, such as smoking, eating fatty foods, and living an unhealthy life can create free radicals. Free radicals, or rogue electrons, can create a chain reaction in the cells of our body that leads to the development of cancerous cells and tumors.
By providing our body with antioxidants, sweet potatoes and other vegetables can be instrumental in helping to prevent cancer. In fact, if we all ate a diet that was rich in fruit and vegetables and didn’t engage in any unhealthy behaviors, cancer would be very unlikely to strike.
Health Benefit Of Sweet Potatoes #10: Helps Enhance Digestion
Another thing that sweet potatoes provide us in abundance is fiber. Fiber is useful for many things, but one of the most important things that it does is helps us to regulate our digestion.
One of the most important ways that fiber helps us maintain our digestion is by keeping us regular. If we become constipated or develop diarrhea, we can have a hard time absorbing nutrients through our intestines. Fiber helps to bulk up or add moisture to our stool, depending on what we need, and this can help us ensure that we get the most out of our digestion.
