Benefits of sweet potatoes Benefits of eating sweet potatoes

　　nutritional value

　　Sweet potato, also known as sweet potato, sweet potato, potato, etc. Sweet potatoes contain a variety of nutrients that the human body needs. Each 500 grams of sweet potatoes can produce approximately 635 kcal of heat energy, containing 11.5 grams of protein, 14.5 grams of sugar, 1 gram of fat, 100 mg of phosphorus, 90 mg of calcium, 2 grams of iron, 0.5 mg of carotene, and vitamins B1, B2, C, niacin, and linoleic acid. Among them, the contents of vitamin B1 and B2 are 6 times and 3 times higher than that of rice respectively. In particular, sweet potatoes are rich in lysine, while rice and flour lack lysine. But many people haven't realized it yet. Will eating sweet potatoes make people gain weight? According to scientific research, eating sweet potatoes will not make people gain weight. On the contrary, sweet potatoes are an ideal weight loss food. Its caloric content is very low, much lower than ordinary rice, so you don’t have to worry about gaining weight after eating it, but it can help lose weight. Sweet potatoes also contain a substance similar to estrogen, which is helpful in protecting the human body. skin , it has a certain effect in delaying aging.

　　Therefore, many foreign female Treat sweet potatoes as a beauty food. Sweet potatoes are crispy and sweet when eaten raw and can be used as a substitute for fruit ； The cooked food is sweet and soft, which is sweet in your mouth and in your heart. It can be used as both a staple food and a vegetable. There are many ways to eat it, including steaming, boiling, pan-frying, and deep-frying. With skillful cooking, it can also become a delicacy on the table.

　　Health benefits of sweet potatoes:

　　1. Sweet potatoes have anti-cancer effects

　　The most anti-cancer nutrients in the diet are beta-carotene (vitamin A precursor), vitamin C and folic acid, and sweet potatoes are rich in all three. One small sweet potato (about 2 pounds) provides twice the daily amount of vitamin A, one-third of the daily amount of vitamin C, and about 50 micrograms of folic acid. ； It contains more dietary fiber than a bowl of oatmeal. [Gourmet China]

　　The antioxidant effects of β-carotene and vitamin C help resist oxidative stress damage to the genetic material deoxyribonucleic acid (DNA) and play a certain anti-cancer effect.

　　Eating sweet potatoes regularly can help maintain normal folic acid levels in the human body. Low folic acid levels in the body will increase cancer risk. The high content of dietary fiber in sweet potatoes can promote gastrointestinal motility and prevent constipate and colorectal cancer.

　　2. Sweet potatoes are good for your heart

　　Sweet potatoes are rich in potassium, beta-carotene, folic acid, vitamin C and vitamin B6, all of which help prevent cardiovascular disease. disease . Potassium helps maintain fluid and electrolyte balance in the body's cells, maintaining normal blood pressure and heart function.

　　Beta-carotene and vitamin C can resist lipid oxidation and prevent atherosclerosis. Supplementing folic acid and vitamin B6 can help reduce blood homocysteine ​​levels, which can damage arteries and is an independent risk factor for cardiovascular disease.

　　3. Sweet potatoes prevent emphysema

　　An animal experiment at the University of Kansas found that smoking rats had lower levels of vitamin A and were more likely to develop emphysema.； Smoking rats that ate foods rich in vitamin A had a significantly reduced incidence of emphysema. Why some long-term smokers live to be over 90 years old without developing emphysema may be related to the fact that their daily diet is rich in vitamin A. Researchers recommend that those who smoke or passive smoke should eat some vitamin A-rich foods such as sweet potatoes every day to prevent emphysema.

　　4. Sweet potatoes have anti-diabetic effects

　　Japanese researchers found that insulin levels in the blood of diabetic and obese rats decreased by 26% and 60% respectively after eating white sweet potatoes for 4 weeks and 6 weeks.； And found that sweet potatoes can effectively inhibit the oral administration of diabetic and obese rats. Grape Post-sugar rise in blood sugar levels； Eating sweet potatoes also reduced triglyceride and free fatty acid levels in diabetic rats.

　　Research suggests that white-skinned sweet potatoes have certain anti-diabetic effects. from the University of Vienna, Austria clinical Studies have found that patients with type 2 diabetes improved their insulin sensitivity and helped control blood sugar after taking white-skinned sweet potato extract.

　　Sweet potato has been regarded by nutritionists as a nutritionally balanced food with both medicinal and food uses. Its calories are only one-third of those produced by rice of the same weight, and it contains almost no fat and cholesterol. Eating sweet potatoes regularly is beneficial to the human body healthy , and has certain weight loss effects. But don’t eat too much sweet potatoes at one time to avoid abdominal discomfort symptoms such as heartburn, acid reflux or bloating.