Belonging to the Convolvulaceae family, sweet potatoes are root vegetables with a sweet and starchy taste. There are many nutrients present in sweet potatoes like vitamin A, C, B6 plus fibres, minerals like potassium and manganese etc. When compared to regular potatoes, sweet potatoes have low GI or glycemic index and would cause only slow blood sugar increase after consumption. Hence, sweet potatoes would be superb for those with diabetes.
Several health benefits of intake of sweet potatoes are
Strong antioxidant properties:
Our body would get protected against oxidative stress and this would be due to the presence of antioxidants like beta carotene in sweet potatoes.
Good for vision:
It is highly essential that we must have superb eye health. This could be achieved when we consume sweet potatoes having vitamin A in them. It is worthy to note that age related macular degeneration could be avoided by us.
Improved digestion:
The presence of fibres in sweet potatoes would help in digestion. Issues like constipation etc would be avoided. Breakdown of proteins would be possible due to the enzymes in sweet potatoes.
Better diabetes management:
Those with diabetes or high blood sugar levels could eat sweet potatoes without thinking twice. The reason for this is due to the low glycemic index or GI of sweet potatoes.
Lowers inflammation:
They contain anti-inflammatory compounds and these would lower inflammation in us. By this, there are less chances of getting health issues like heart disease, arthritis etc.
Improved heart health:
The blood pressure levels would get regulated by the potassium present in the sweet potatoes. Heart health would become better. This would lower the risk of getting heart disease and stroke etc.
Weight management:
The presence of fibres in sweet potatoes would help us to manage our body weight well. It must be noted that the fibres would make us feel full and we would not eat foods unnecessarily.
Good for skin:
Collagen production would get boososted by eating sweet potatoes rich in vitamins like C and E etc. This would lead to healthier skin. It is superb to note that these vitamins would protect the skin from harmful UV rays and prevent premature ageing.
Immunity booster:
By eating sweet potatoes containing vitamins, minerals and antioxidants etc, our immune system would get strengthened. This would make the body fight infections and diseases well. In other words, we could be free from infections and diseases etc.
