Cancer is a disease that humanity has not yet fully conquered. However, many people believe that certain foods in daily life have anti-cancer properties, and consciously consuming more of them can significantly reduce the risk of developing cancer. Recently, a claim about sweet potatoes preventing cancer has been circulating online. So, is this claim true or false, and how should we properly eat sweet potatoes?
Japanese Research: Sweet Ties for First Place in Cancer-Preventing Foods
Scientists from the Japanese National Cancer Prevention and Research Institute conducted a follow-up survey on the dietary habits of 260,000 people and found that certain vegetables do have a cancer-preventing effect. They ranked 20 vegetables with a significant inhibitory effect on tumor cells from highest to lowest, with sweet potatoes "taking the top spot" on this list.
Sweet Potatoes Are More Powerful Than You Think! The Most Nutritionally Balanced Food
Sweet potatoes are rich in starch, carotene, and more than 10 trace elements such as potassium and iron. They can protect the structural integrity of human epithelial cells, inhibit viral activity, block the production of nitrosamines in the gastrointestinal tract, and eliminate the toxic effects caused by mercury, cadmium, arsenic, and other toxic metals from food or the environment, thereby blocking the carcinogenic process of toxic metals. Therefore, sweet potatoes are known as the most nutritionally balanced health food.
Sweet Potatoes Have a Right Way to Eat! Don't Eat Them Wrong
The Ming Dynasty pharmacologist Li Shizhen said: "People in the sea are long-lived because they eat sweet potatoes." Although eating more sweet potatoes is good for your health, there are many taboos associated with eating them.
1. Roasted sweet potatoes in winter should not be eaten with the skin
Hot roasted sweet potatoes are sweet and delicious, and some even have "sugar oil," which makes them very popular. Therefore, many people like to eat them with the skin on. However, eating them with the skin is very unhealthy because the skin contains more alkaloids, and excessive consumption can cause gastrointestinal discomfort. The skin of sweet potatoes with black spots should especially not be eaten, as it can even cause poisoning in severe cases.
2. Pay attention to the time and method of eating sweet potatoes
a. Sweet potatoes should not be eaten raw: The cell membranes of the starch in raw sweet potatoes are not broken down by high temperatures, making them difficult to digest in the human body. At the same time, when boiling sweet potatoes, the cooking time should be appropriately extended to better destroy the "gasification enzyme" they contain, so as to avoid discomfort such as bloating, heartburn, belching, nausea, and gas after eating.
b. Sweet potatoes are best eaten with other foods: Eating sweet potatoes with rice or flour can have a complementary effect on protein. At the same time, pairing them with pickles or fresh radishes can help reduce stomach acid production.
c. It is best to eat sweet potatoes at noon: This is because the calcium contained in sweet potatoes needs to be absorbed by the human body for 4 to 5 hours after eating, and the afternoon sunlight can promote calcium absorption. Therefore, eating sweet potatoes at lunch allows the calcium to be fully absorbed before dinner, without affecting the absorption of calcium from other foods at dinner.
Roasted Sweet Potatoes