- Make It Yourself Lavender Heart-Shaped Bath Bombs!
- 20 Things You Never Knew About “Down There”
- 12 Best Foods For Those Suffering From Arthritis Pain
- 12 Personal Hygiene Mistakes Almost Everyone Makes (Mom Never Told You About #4!)
- 15 Medicinal Plants And Herbs From The Cherokee People
- 12 Mind-Blowing Benefits Of Drinking Coconut Water During Pregnancy
- 12 Outstanding Winter Foods That Won’t Fatten You Up Like A Christmas Turkey
Top 15 Reasons To Think Orange! (Everyone Wants More Of #13)
Photo credit: bigstock.com
Sweet potatoes, despite their name, really have no relationship to potatoes. They’re not even close! Technically, potatoes are tubers, while sweet potatoes are roots.
But we aren’t here to split potatoes — we are here to talk turkey (or sweet potatoes in this case). Yes, everyone loves them, but in all honesty, when was the last time you saw them on a menu? Or were served them at a friend’s house? For that matter, when was the last time you made them?
The sad fact about sweet potatoes is that these incredibly tasty vegetables are usually only served over the winter holidays, and then they vanish from our diets.
Sweet potatoes, especially the deeper-colored ones, are super rich sources of carotenes as well as excellent sources of vitamins and minerals. In fact, once you discover just how much sweet potatoes have to offer us in the way of health benefits, we bet you start adding them to your diet regularly, not just every now and then.
Keep reading! We have 15 good reasons why you should be thinking orange (or purple if you prefer your sweet potatoes in that color) and eating these several times each week.
1. Superior Fiber Power
When it comes to fiber, sweet potatoes have twice as much fiber as any other type of potato, hands down. With about seven grams of fiber per serving, this gives these sweet veggies a type of slow burn quality to them. This means that their overall caloric energy is used more slowly by the body and much more efficiently than a low-fiber alternative carbohydrate, such as bread.
2. High In Antioxidants
If you want to slow the signs of aging and fight common problems such as gout, arthritis, and asthma, then you will want to eat more sweet potatoes. These roots are super high in antioxidants, which fight free radicals from damaging our DNA and causing inflammation.
3. Super Source Of Potassium
Potassium is a vital electrolyte that helps to regulate the heartbeat and send nerve signals throughout the body. Potassium performs many essential functions, including protecting and controlling the activity of the kidneys, relaxing muscle contractions, and reducing swelling. Potassium is also vital for the control of blood pressure. Potassium binds with salt and removes it from the body, which will lower blood pressure. Find out main signs of potassium deficiency.
4. Help For Diabetics
Although their name might imply that these vegetables contain a lot of sugar, the truth is that they are very low on the glycemic index. The fiber in sweet potatoes is a very good blood sugar regulator, which will lower insulin resistance and stabilize blood sugar levels.
5. Vitamin D
Sweet potatoes are one of the few plant sources containing vitamin D. This vitamin is absolutely critical for a healthy immune system. Unlike any other vitamin, this one acts as both a vitamin and a hormone. It can play an important role in our energy levels and our moods; build healthy bones, heart tissue, nerves, skin , teeth; as well as supporting a healthy thyroid gland. Our bodies do make vitamin D from sunshine, but during the winter months it can be difficult in many areas to get enough sunshine. Add sweet potatoes to your diet, and you never need worry about not getting enough of this extremely important vitamin again.
Continue to Page 2
