How do you complete the Thanksgiving menu without a plate of sweet potatoes? These orange vegetables not only taste good, they are also packed with lots of nutrients and provide many health benefits. So next Thanksgiving, when you have all your loved ones surrounding you at the table, add these six facts as you serve the sweet potatoes to everyone:
1. Packed to the brim with nutrition
Just one cup (about seven ounces) of sweet potatoes can hit a good 65% of your daily minimum amount of vitamin C, while a similar amount can give you seven hundred times your daily recommended amount of vitamin A. Isn’t that right? just wonderful? Sweet potatoes are also a great source of potassium, calcium, beta-carotene, and folic acid. For those of you unfamiliar with it, Beata-Carotene is an antioxidant that converts directly into vitamin A for your body to use. Sweet potatoes are ranked the number one most nutritious vegetable by the Center for Science in the Public Interest.
two. Take care of your glycemic index for you
If you have diabetes or are just careful with your blood sugar, you will definitely avoid any foods with a high glycemic index. The glycemic index shows you the effect a food has on your blood sugar levels. In this regard, sweet potatoes are clear winners, with a glycemic index of just 17, while their “tastier” cousin, the white sweet potato, boasts an index of 29.
3. Ready and easy to access all the nutrition.
There are many foods with high nutritional value, but accessing those nutrients can be complicated and, in many cases, quite difficult. With potatoes, all you have to remember is to have them along with their skin. Most of its revered nutritional and healing potential lies just under its skin. There is also a common mistake made by almost everyone who tends to follow a self-regulated diet, that avoiding anything that consists of fat has a detrimental effect on accessing the health benefits of sweet potatoes. Beta-Carotene spreads more effectively around the body if consumed along with a small amount of fat. Studies have shown that to get the best out of potatoes and not hurt their glycemic index, it’s best to boil or steam them rather than roast or cook them.
Four. a friend of your skin
If you have sensitive or brittle skin, then you should look no further than sweet potatoes for a skin superfood: their high beta-carotene and vitamin A content make them the ideal food for healthier skin. Beta-Carotene even reduces skin aging by fighting its cause, free radicals. It should be to your interest that most high-priced, labeled miracle skin cure products consist primarily of retinol and retinoic acid, which are derived from vitamin A by the way.
5. Yoga – sweet potatoes
Are you facing muscle aches and cramps? Have you been instructed to do yoga? Don’t bother, just eat sweet potatoes! The high potassium content that potatoes provide means that they can directly help reduce muscle cramps and pain. When you are stressed, your body tends to absorb more and more potassium, and in that sense, sweet potatoes can also help you in your times of stress and tension.
6. You can grow in your own garden.
Here’s the best news regarding potatoes: You can actually grow them in your own garden. No more going to the grocery store and shelling out your hard-earned money for your health benefits. Sweet potatoes are not very fussy about the weather, needing only about 100 frost-free days to fully grow. They also require much less water and fertilizer than other plants and vegetables.