Sweet Potatoes are a great source for vitamins

Many people are unaware of the benefits sweet potatoes have in providing vitamins and minerals to the body. Among them are copper, manganese, iron, vitamin E, vitamin B6 and potassium. Sweet potatoes are also a wonderful source of dietary fiber and with most people in the western culture not getting enough dietary fiber this could become a positive staple for many to add to their diet. Many of these nutrients are anti-inflammatory so they can aid in reducing conditions such as allergies, asthma and arthritis.

The two main vitamins in sweet potatoes are vitamin A and vitamin C. Sweet potatoes also provides the body with beta carotene which can be converted into vitamin A. Both vitamin C and beta carotene are well known antioxidants that provide a tremendous amount of support in the battle against free radicals. Numerous people are aware of the high amount of beta carotene in broccoli, well sweet potatoes have 23 times the amount of beta carotene as broccoli.

Sweet potatoes are in the tuber family, which besides potatoes(mostly white), many people have all but taken these nutrient dense roots and tubers out of their diet. Some roots and tubers contain some essential nutrients that are extremely beneficial in immune system support as well as cell and organ function. These nutrients are classified as glyconutrients. “Glyco” is the Greek word for sugar. Over 200 sugars exist in nature and science has determined that there are eight that are considered essential, just as vitamins, minerals, fatty acids, and amino acids are essential.

Thursday, April 17th, 2008 at 10:42 amand is filed under Glyconutrients, Diet, immune system booster, asthma, auto-immune. You can follow any responses to this entry through the RSS 2.0 feed. You can leave a response, or trackback from your own site.

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