Benefits Of Sweet Potatoes

Get off the french fries and the home fries and the potato chips etc. and start eating SWEET POTATOES. I just had one (boiled) with extra virgin olive oil and black pepper on it and I enjoyed it.

Here is an email I received from a friend and reader of my BLOG concerning the benefits of sweet potatoes. Feel free to have them 3 or 4 times weekly instead of white potatoes. Use real BUTTER and/or Extra Virgin Olive Oil to add taste and black pepper for added vanadium. /   Dan

Hi Dan

"A friend in Singapore sent me a link about sweet potatoes. She knows I have diabetes. Here's a piece of the info she sent:

Many people think about starchy root vegetables as a food group that could not possibly be helpful for controlling their blood sugar. That's because many people realize that food starches can be converted by our digestive tract into simple sugars. If foods are especially concentrated in starch, there can often be a risk of too much simple sugar release in our digestive tract and too much pressure upon our bloodstream to uptake more sugar. (The result in this situation would be an overly quick elevation of our blood sugar level.) What's fascinating about sweet potatoes is their ability to actually improve blood sugar regulation—even in persons with type 2 diabetes. While sweet potatoes do contain a valuable amount of dietary fiber (just over 3 grams per medium sweet potato) and if boiled or steamed can carry a very reasonable glycemic index (GI) rating of approximately 50, it may not be either of these factors that explains their unusual blood sugar regulating benefits. Recent research has shown that extracts from sweet potatoes can significantly increase blood levels of adiponectin in persons with type 2 diabetes. Adiponectin is a protein hormone produced by our fat cells, and it serves as an important modifier of insulin metabolism. Persons with poorly-regulated insulin metabolism and insulin insensitivity tend to have lower levels of adiponectin, and persons with healthier insulin metabolism tend to have higher levels. While more research on much larger groups of individuals to further evaluate and confirm these blood sugar regulating benefits, this area of health research is an especially exciting one for anyone who loves sweet potatoes.

Here's the link to the whole article: http://www.whfoods.com/genpage.php?tname=foodspice&dbid=64
The website itself (www.whfoods.com) is a veritable gold mine of information on healthy foods.

Separate Link On Benefits of Sweet potatoes

EXCERPT:

Health Benefits of Sweet Potatoes

In some homes in the United States, sweet potatoes are only served at Thanksgiving, even though they are available year-round. Too bad. Sweet potatoes are one of the unsung heroes of a balanced diet. For a reasonable number of calories, you get a load of nutrients.

Sweet potatoes contain carotenoids that appear to help stabilize blood sugar levels and lower insulin resistance, making cells more responsive to insulin. This can ultimately help with your metabolism.

Sweet potatoes are packed with beta-carotene.

Health Benefits
This starchy vegetable has bulk to keep your tummy full for hours. Yet its nutritional profile makes the calories worth it, especially since they are fat-free. Its fiber alone is enough to make a sweet potato worth eating.

If a beta-carotene contest were held, sweet potatoes would tie carrots for first place. That may make them top-notch for fighting chronic diseases like cancer and heart disease, as well as disease related to inflammation, such as asthma and rheumatoid arthritis. Sweet potatoes are also rich in potassium and vitamin C; a small potato provides almost half the daily allowance.

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