Sunday, August 9, 2009

Health benefit of sweet potatoes


The nutritive value of the sweet potato is high. It is a good source of sugars, carbohydrates, calcium, iron, and other minerals and vitamins.
Latest research proved that eating regular sweet potatoes surprising benefits for your health. Sweet potatoes are excellent dessert.
Sweet potatoes contain unique storage proteins that have been observed to have significant antioxidant capacities.

These proteins had about one-third the antioxidant activity of glutathione-one of the body's most impressive internally produced antioxidants. Although future studies are needed in this area, count on these root proteins to help explain sweet potatoes' healing properties.
Sweet potatoes also qualified as an excellent source of provitamin A - of beta-carotene, a very good source of vitamin C and manganese, and a good source of copper, dietary fiber, potassium and iron. In addition, sweet potatoes are a good source of vitamin B6.

As beta-carotene and vitamin C are very powerful antioxidants and work in the body to kill free radicals. Free radicals are chemicals that damage cells and cell membranes and are associated with the development of conditions like atherosclerosis, diabetic, heart disease, and colon cancer.
Since these nutrients are also anti-inflammatory, they benefit in reducing the severity of conditions where inflammation plays a role, such as asthma, osteoarthritis, and rheumatoid arthritis.

Minerals content of sweet potatoes is rather low. But some varieties contain significantly level of calcium, iron and potassium.

Saying in short words sweet potatoes are for sure great benefit for your health.