Introduction: Sweet potatoes contain a substance called "gasifying enzyme," which can produce a large amount of stomach acid in the human gastrointestinal tract, causing heartburn, nausea, and vomiting of acid water after consumption.
As is well known, sweet potatoes are very nutritious. More valuable is the fact that in the recent "ranking" of 20 anti-cancer vegetables released by the National Cancer Research Center in Japan, sweet potatoes took the top spot. However, many people experience symptoms of nausea and heartburn after eating sweet potatoes. How can we reduce these side effects?
Sweet potatoes contain a substance called "gasifying enzyme," which can produce a large amount of stomach acid in the human gastrointestinal tract, causing heartburn, nausea, and vomiting of acid water after consumption. Therefore, it is important to master the correct way to eat sweet potatoes. For example, pairing sweet potatoes with rice or flour can have a complementary effect on protein. If you also eat some pickles or fresh radishes at the same time, you can reduce the production of stomach acid.
When processing, steam or cook the sweet potatoes thoroughly. This can use steam to destroy most of the gasifying enzyme, so you won't experience discomfort like bloating, heartburn, belching, nausea, or flatulence after eating. Additionally, soaking raw sweet potatoes in a solution of a small amount of alkali, alum, or salt water before cooking them into a finished dish can also reduce adverse reactions after eating sweet potatoes.
Furthermore, roasted sweet potatoes sold on the street often have their skins charred black, and many people eat them including the skin. Experts say it is best not to eat the skin of roasted sweet potatoes because the skin contains more alkaloids, and excessive consumption can cause gastrointestinal discomfort. In particular, the skin of sweet potatoes with black spots should not be eaten as it can cause poisoning.