Many people think about sweet potatoes as being nothing more than plain old potatoes that can tweak our taste buds with some extra flavour. Yet cutting-edge research on sweet potatoes indicates that they have so many unique nutritional benefits to offer.
Sweet potatoes are readily available, excellent and inexpensive staple to have on hand. It’s been said that their easiness to grow and wealth of nutrients were an important factor in keeping Americans sustained through tough times, from colonial days through the Revolutionary War, Civil War and Great Depression.
Depending upon the variety, of which there are about 400, the skin and flesh of the sweet potato may be almost white, cream, yellow, orange, pink, or deep purple, although white/cream and yellow-orange flesh are most common. Also, the sweetness, flavour, texture and nutrients of its varieties are different.
Commonly called sweet potato, in Nigeria it is called ba-fadamee in Hausa, ediam-umani in Ibibio, ji-bekee or nduku in Ibo, and anamo or odukun in Yoruba.
According to the USDA’s national nutrient database, sweet potato is packed with fibre, several mineral and vitamins such as Vitamin B6, Vitamin C, potassium, iron, magnesium, calcium, Iron and Vitamin D, among others.
For the variety of sweet potatoes that are orange in colour, carotenoids are present. Carotenoid, a type of antioxidant, is the precursor to vitamin A in the body. Vitamin A is essential for healthy eyes, a boosted immunity, ward off cancer, and protects against the effects of ageing.
Several recent studies have shown the superior ability of sweet potatoes to raise blood levels of vitamin A. This benefit may be particularly true for children.
In numerous studies from Africa, sweet potatoes were found to contain between 100 and 1,600 microgrammes (RAE) of vitamin A in every 3.5 ounces—enough, on average, to meet 35 per cent of all vitamin A needs, and in many cases enough to meet over 90 per cent of vitamin A needs from this single food alone.
Studies at Harvard University of more than 124,000 people showed a 32 per cent reduction in risk of lung cancer in people who consumed a variety of carotenoid-rich foods as part of their regular diet.
In fact, the type of natural sugar in sweet potato, Mrs. Simisola Adebola, a nutritionist also stated is beneficial to individuals with type 2 diabetes.
According to her, the natural sugar in sweet potato is slowly released into the blood stream thereby helping to ensure a balanced and regular source of energy without spiking up the blood sugar. As such, its consumption can help to improve blood sugar regulation especially in patients with type 2 diabetes.
Fortunately, she added that the soluble fibre in sweet potatoes such as pectin also increases satiety, ensure a decrease in food intake as well as reduce blood sugar spikes by slowing down the digestion of sugars and starches.
Adebola also said that sweet potato is enriched with vitamin B6 which helps reduce the chemical homocysteine in the body that causes heart attacks.
In addition, she declared, “consuming sweet potatoes helps strengthen the eyesight, boost immune system, regulate heartbeat and nerve signals and reduces swelling. It also helps in controlling the activities of the kidneys, production of red and white blood cells, metabolises protein as well as helps resist stress.”
The vitamin A in sweet potatoes, which is consumed as beta-carotene is also essential during pregnancy and lactation for hormone synthesis. According to Harvard Medical School’s Health Publications, for women of childbearing age, consuming more iron from plant sources appears to promote fertility.
Also, consuming foods rich in beta-carotene may reduce the risk of developing certain types of cancer, offer protection against asthma and heart disease and delay ageing and body degeneration.
However, some nutritional benefits from sweet potatoes may be easier to achieve when it is boiled or steamed. Also, several studies that compared boiling to roasting have shown better blood sugar effects with boiling.
Meanwhile, a recent study by Japanese researchers published in Journal of Agriculture, Food and Chemistry indicates that sweet potatoes may provide the next novel drugs for cancer and diabetes.
They found that extract of the leaves and tubers of white sweet potatoes successfully suppressed the growth of human cancer cells.
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