The Medicinal Value of Sweet Potato

Sweet potato is also very common in life eat the food. Sweet potato from the perspective of Chinese medicine, it has the effect of spleen qi, and can prolong life. Effect much more than sweet potato, its high medicinal value in fact, can prevent four of malignant disease.

Sweet Potato

1. Sweet potato have anticancer effects
The most anti-cancer diet of nutrients is β-carotene (vitamin A precursor), vitamin C and folic acid, and in the sweet potatoes are rich in three levels. A small sweet potato (about 2 double) provides 2 times the amount of human daily requirement of vitamin A, one-third of the required amount of vitamin C per day and about 50 micrograms of folic acid; one bowl of dietary fiber content is higher than oatmeal.

 β-carotene and vitamin C can help fight the antioxidant role of oxidative stress on the genetic material deoxyribonucleic acid (DNA) damage, play a role in cancer.
Eat sweet potatoes help maintain the body's normal folate levels, the body folic acid content is too low it increases the risk of cancer. Sweet potatoes have high levels of dietary fiber to promote gastrointestinal peristalsis, prevent constipation and colon cancer effect.

2. Sweet potatoes good for the heart
Sweet potatoes are rich in potassium, β-carotene, folic acid, vitamin C and vitamin B6, which are 5 components to help prevent cardiovascular disease. Potassium helps the body cells in fluid and electrolyte balance, maintaining normal blood pressure and heart function.
β-carotene and vitamin C has anti-lipid oxidation, prevention of the role of atherosclerosis. Folic acid and vitamin B6 helps to lower blood homocysteine levels, which can damage the arteries, is an independent risk factor for cardiovascular disease.

3. Sweet potatoes to prevent emphysema
University of Kansas an animal study found that smoking rats low levels of vitamin A, prone to emphysema; and eating foods rich in vitamin A while smoking rats significantly reduced the incidence of emphysema.
Why do some long-term smokers live to be 90 years old, but no emphysema, may be related to their daily diet rich in vitamin A content related. The researchers recommended that smokers or passive smokers eat some of the best foods rich in vitamin A such as sweet potatoes, to prevent emphysema.

4. Sweet potato has anti-diabetic effects
Japanese researchers found that obese diabetic rats eating white sweet potato 4 weeks, 6 weeks after the blood insulin levels were reduced by 26%, 60%; and found that sweet potatoes can inhibit oral glucose in obese rats with diabetes blood sugar levels rise after high; eating sweet potatoes can also be reduced in diabetic rats the level of triglycerides and free fatty acids.

White sweet potato research suggests a certain anti-diabetic effect. University of Vienna, Austria, a clinical study found that type 2 diabetes patients taking extract of white sweet potato, its improved insulin sensitivity, helps to control blood sugar.

Sweet potato has been used along with food and medicine as a nutritionist, nutritionally balanced food, the heat it only weighs a third of the heat generated by the rice, and almost no fat and cholesterol. Eat sweet potatoes good for human health, and have a certain weight-loss effect. But do not eat a sweet potato to eat too much, in order to avoid heartburn, abdominal bloating and other acid or back discomfort.