Sweet potato is a common root vegetable, rich in carbohydrates and protein. In the past, however, most people believed that sweet potatoes were high in calories and could easily lead to weight gain, so they avoided them. In reality, sweet potatoes are neutral in nature and sweet in flavor, tonifying the spleen and replenishing qi. The "Gangmu Shiyi" records: "They tonify the middle jiao, warm the stomach, and nourish the five organs." Consuming them in cold weather helps to maintain the body's vital energy, nourish the stomach, aid digestion, resolve food stagnation, and can also clear the intestines for weight loss.
Sweet Potato Ball in Milk
Regular consumption of sweet potatoes has these benefits
1. Tonifying Qi and Blood: Sweet potatoes are particularly good for the skin. For those with rough skin, regular consumption will gradually make the skin more supple and moist. Sweet potatoes tonify qi and blood, and their effects can be compared to jujubes, but without the tendency to generate damp-heat. Girls with pale complexions can improve their facial complexion by persistently eating sweet potatoes over a long period.
2. Promoting Bowel Movements and Weight Loss: Eating sweet potatoes can effectively prevent carbohydrates from turning into fat, which is beneficial for weight loss and fitness. Sweet potatoes contain a large amount of dietary fiber, which cannot be digested or absorbed in the intestines. It stimulates the intestines, enhances peristalsis, and promotes bowel movements and detoxification. It is especially effective for senile constipation.
3. Anti-Aging: They inhibit the production of melanin, preventing the appearance of freckles and age spots. Sweet potatoes can also inhibit skin aging, maintain skin elasticity, and slow down the body's aging process.
4. Promoting the Healing of Sores: Crushed raw sweet potato, when applied around a hot toxic sore, can relieve pain. Raw sweet potatoes themselves have anti-inflammatory and detoxifying properties, and promote skin growth. When applied around the sore, it can draw out the pus from within, encouraging the sore to heal quickly.
5. Anti-Diabetes: Researchers found that in diabetic and obese rats, insulin levels in the blood decreased by 26% and 60% after 4 and 6 weeks of eating sweet potatoes, respectively. They also discovered that sweet potatoes can effectively inhibit the rise in blood sugar levels in diabetic and obese rats after oral glucose intake. Eating sweet potatoes can also lower triglyceride and free fatty acid levels in diabetic rats. Clinical studies have found that diabetic patients' insulin sensitivity is improved after taking sweet potato extract, which helps in blood sugar control.
6. Beneficial for Heart Health: Sweet potatoes are rich in potassium, beta-carotene, folic acid, vitamin C, and vitamin B6. These five components all help prevent cardiovascular disease. Potassium helps maintain the balance of body fluids and electrolytes in cells, and supports normal blood pressure and heart function.
7. Preventing the Flu: Sweet potatoes help defend against the flu and prevent colds. They are the best food source of beta-carotene, which helps the body produce enough white blood cells to fight infections caused by cold viruses.
5 Key Points for Eating Sweet Potatoes
1. Do not eat too many sweet potatoes at one time. You can eat them with some cabbage or radish.
2. When steaming or boiling sweet potatoes, add a little alkali to the water, or soak them in salt water for 10 minutes before cooking. The steaming or boiling time should be more than 20 minutes, or you can cook them with rice, flour, or beans to reduce the effect of oxidase. This will prevent bloating.
3. Sweet potatoes should not be eaten as a single staple food. You can use rice or steamed buns as the main food, with sweet potatoes as a supplement. This not only adds variety to the taste but also avoids adverse effects on the digestive system.
4. If you are eating sweet potatoes alone, you can eat some pickled vegetables or pickled vegetable soup. This can reduce stomach acid and alleviate or eliminate gastrointestinal discomfort.
5. Sweet potatoes should not be eaten with persimmons at the same time to avoid persimmon-stone in the stomach. The sugar in sweet potatoes ferments in the stomach, increasing gastric acid secretion. This reacts with the tannins and pectin in persimmons, causing precipitation and coagulation, which forms hard masses. In severe cases, it can cause gastrointestinal bleeding or a stomach ulcer.
Sweet Potato and Coconut Milk Glutinous Rice Balls
However, these groups of people should not eat sweet potatoes
On an empty stomach: Sweet potatoes are high in sugar. Eating them on an empty stomach produces a large amount of stomach acid. When there is too much stomach acid, it can irritate the gastric mucosa, causing acid reflux and a burning sensation. Sweet potatoes also contain an oxidase that produces a large amount of carbon dioxide gas in the gastrointestinal tract, easily causing symptoms like bloating and belching.
People with stomach problems: Those with conditions like gastric ulcers or bloating should especially avoid sweet potatoes. The sugar in sweet potatoes produces a large amount of stomach acid, increasing pressure within the stomach. For people with a sensitive stomach, this can irritate ulcer surfaces or the gastric mucosa, leading to discomfort.
In summary, not everyone is suitable for eating sweet potatoes to nourish the stomach. And whether for healthy individuals or those with special conditions, the amount of sweet potatoes eaten at one time should not be excessive.
Can you eat sweet potatoes after they have sprouted?
You can eat sprouted sweet potatoes, but because they sprout without soil, toxins can remain in the root area. Therefore, when eating, you should dig out the area around the sprouts deeply. However, if the skin has brown or black spots, it should not be eaten, as this is due to contamination with black spot fungus. The toxins excreted by this fungus contain ipomeamarone and ipomeamarol, which make the sweet potato hard and bitter and are highly toxic to the human liver. Although these toxins are not destroyed by boiling or roasting, their biological activity remains. After consumption, symptoms usually appear within 24 hours, including gastrointestinal issues like nausea, vomiting, and diarrhea. In severe cases, high fever, headache, shortness of breath, confusion, convulsions, vomiting blood, coma, and even death can occur.
Potato pink
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