Sweet potatoes are abundant worldwide and are eaten in many parts of the world as a staple food. Not only do they contain food, potassium, vitamins, and other essential nutrients, they are filled with medicinal benefits as well.
1. Good for Your Eyes
Sweet potato is a strong Beta Carotene Source. Your body converts beta-carotene into vitamin A, Studies have shown that vitamin is not only important in the formation of the light absorption pigments but also helps prevent dry eyes, blindness at night and also help lower the risk of eye infections.
2. Relief Stress
Magnesium deficiency was widely associated with an increased risk of depression, stress, and anxiety. Sweet potatoes contain high concentrations of magnesium and are also considered one of the best minerals to encourage relaxation, calmness and improved mood. Manganese can also benefit women suffering from PMS with fewer mood swings and milder cramps.
3. Improve Heart Health
One cup of baked sweet potato in its skin contains 950 mg potassium. In a medium banana, that is more than twice the number. Potassium effectively cleans out extra sodium and fluid from the body, decreasing blood pressure and reducing heart strain. Potassium also helps to control muscle contractions and heart rhythm.
Sweet potatoes are also rich in vitamin B6, a mineral that helps in our bodies to decrease the amount of the chemical homocysteine. High homocysteine levels contribute to heart attacks.
4. Regulate Blood Sugar Level
Besides being sweet tasting, sweet potatoes are low on the glycemic index, meaning they are a very good regulator for blood sugar.
Some may find sweet potatoes too starchy, but their high fiber content makes them a slow-burning starch — This steady release of sugar is what helps in regulating people’s blood sugar levels so it doesn’t go low or high. The sweet potatoes can thus be used in controlling blood sugar levels, especially in people with diabetes. Such control is found with both diabetes types, i.e. type I and type II.
5. Good for Skin and Hair
Sweet potatoes will work to make your skin look healthier from both within and outside your body. The high levels of vitamins A, C, and E, which are all useful in promoting healthy skin and hair. These vitamins found in sweet potatoes help improve the body’s defenses against the harmful UV rays from the sun and promote collagen growth, which keeps the skin soft and supple. . The vitamins also slow down the cycle of cell aging in the skin, allowing you to maintain a youthful look longer. Furthermore, vitamin E is especially useful in the prevention and treatment of alopecia, and in preserving healthy hair.
Want to know more about the food you should eat to have beautiful skin read our article ten superfood for glowing skin.
6. Assist in Weight Loss
Approximately 12 percent of the starch in sweet potatoes is immune to starch, a dense, fiber-like material that the body will not digest and take. One research showed that replacing just 5.4 percent of total carbohydrate intake with resistant starch resulted in an improvement in fat burning after a meal of 20 to 30 percent. The resistant starch also prompts the body to pump out more hormones which induce satiety.
