As Thanksgiving approaches, Holly Gilligan, registered dietitian in the fitness sciences program at the University of Rochester Medical Center (USA) and Judy Simon, clinical dietitian at the University of Washington Medical Center in Seattle, are raising awareness readers of New York Times on the benefits of sweet potatoes.
Thanksgiving is celebrated in the United States on the fourth Thursday of November to thank God for the harvest and all the good things that may have happened during the year. The origin of this federal holiday dates back to 1621, when the Pilgrims (British settlers) were harvesting their first harvest. It turns out that sweet potatoes are often a part of the Thanksgiving menu. “Sweet potatoes are one of the healthiest foods on your Thanksgiving table. They’re packed with nutrients that keep your body healthy, your blood sugar stable, and they may even reduce your risk of cancerr”, souligne Holly Gilligan.
Although in France we do not celebrate Thanksgiving, you can nevertheless concoct seasonal menus with sweet potatoes. The latter will go just as well with certain menus during Christmas Eve.
A good source of potassium
Like the potato, the sweet potato has long been associated with a poor peasant dish. It looks like a potato but is not one. It grows little in France, because it needs a tropical climate. However, our hot season is too short for it to flourish. This tuber comes from South America, where it has been cultivated for centuries. In France, it is consumed in autumn and winter, from October to March (even if it remains available all year round). It is its richness in antioxidants that makes sweet potatoes an ally of the body.
For starters, sweet potatoes are a good source of potassium, an electrolyte that you lose through sweat when you exercise. “The body needs potassium, which carries a charge, to send electrical signals between nerves, explains Holly Gilligan. Potassium helps keep your nerves working, your heart beating, and your muscles contracting. A medium-cooked sweet potato contains about 350 milligrams of potassium, or about 12 percent of the recommended daily amount for an average adult.
Potassium also helps maintain healthy blood pressure. “ The body is constantly trying to keep potassium in balance with another electrolyte: sodium. says Dave Bridges, a biochemist and associate professor of nutritional sciences at the University of Michigan. Sodium causes the body to retain fluid, which increases the volume of our blood. If there’s too much sodium, blood pressure can become unhealthy high, he explains. Potassium stimulates the kidneys to excrete sodium and also causes blood vessels to relax.
9 grams of sugar, but also lots of fiber
Sweet potatoes owe their particular flavor to the naturally present sugars; a medium-sized sweet potato contains about nine grams. “ As a reminder, this is about a quarter of what you find in a regular soda said Dr. Bridges.
But unlike sugary drinks, sweet potatoes are relatively high in dietary fiber (about four grams per potato). “Fiber requires a lot of work for the body to digest, which slows down the breakdown of sugar“, explains Judy Simon. Blood sugar skyrockets when you consume soda, but when you eat a sweet potato, it gradually increases. Foods high in fiber are known to slow the passage of sugar into the bloodstream, so they are good for blood sugar levels and therefore particularly for diabetics.
A concentrate of vitamins
A medium-sized sweet potato contains more than 100 percent of the recommended daily amount of vitamin A, primarily in the form of beta-carotene, which gives the vegetable its bright orange color. Additionally, a medium-sized sweet potato contains about 20% of the recommended daily amount of vitamin C. Both of these vitamins are powerful antioxidants that can neutralize free radicals, unstable oxygen molecules that can damage cells and the body. DNA. It is thanks to the antioxidants in sweet potatoes that it is considered an anti-cancer vegetable.
“Vitamin A is also an important building block of light-detecting proteins in the retina, making sweet potato good for vision” said Dr. Bridges.
Source: www.topsante.com
