What are the nutritional values ​​of sweet potatoes and what are the taboos in eating sweet potatoes

Sweet potatoes are the sweet potatoes we usually eat, also known as sweet potatoes. Sweet potatoes have extremely high nutritional value, are rich in sugar, cellulose and multiple vitamins, and have anti-cancer effects. Today, the editor will introduce in detail

Sweet potato introduction

Sweet potato is also known as sweet potato, sweet potato, yam, sweet potato, red potato, thread potato, golden potato, sweet potato, red potato, pillow potato, etc. The skin is white or reddish, the flesh is mostly yellow-white, but there are also purple ones. In addition to being edible, it can also be used to make sugar, wine, and alcohol.

What is the nutritional value of sweet potatoes

Ancient documents such as "Compendium of Materia Medica" and "Supplement to Compendium of Materia Medica" record that sweet potatoes have the effects of "tonifying deficiency, strengthening qi and strength, strengthening spleen and stomach, and strengthening kidney yin", making people "live longer and have fewer diseases". They can also tonify the middle, harmonize blood, warm the stomach, and nourish the five internal organs. The contemporary "Chinese Materia Medica" says that it "tastes sweet and is neutral in nature. It enters the spleen and kidney meridians." "It tonifies the middle and harmonizes blood, replenishes qi and produces body fluid, relaxes the intestines and stomach, and relieves constipation. It is mainly used to treat spleen deficiency edema, sores, swelling and poison, and dry intestines and constipation."

Sweet potatoes are rich in starch, dietary fiber, carotene, vitamins A, B, C, E, and more than 10 trace elements such as potassium, iron, copper, selenium, calcium, and linoleic acid. They have high nutritional value and are called the most nutritionally balanced health food by nutritionists. These substances can maintain the elasticity of blood vessels and are very effective in preventing and treating habitual constipation in the elderly. Unfortunately, most people think that eating sweet potatoes will make people fat and dare not eat them. In fact, on the contrary, eating sweet potatoes will not only not make people fat, but on the contrary can help lose weight, keep fit, prevent sub-health, and detoxify.

Every 100 grams of fresh sweet potato contains only 0.2 grams of fat and produces 99 kcal of heat energy, which is about 1/3 of rice. It is a very good low-fat, low-calorie food. At the same time, it can effectively prevent sugar from turning into fat, which is beneficial for weight loss and bodybuilding. Sweet potatoes contain a lot of dietary fiber, which cannot be digested and absorbed in the intestines. It can stimulate the intestines, enhance peristalsis, and detoxify. It is especially effective for constipation in the elderly. When eating sweet potatoes, be sure to steam and cook them thoroughly. It is not advisable to eat sweet potatoes in excess. People diagnosed by traditional Chinese medicine as dampness blocking the spleen and stomach and qi stagnation and food accumulation should eat them with caution.

The Japanese National Cancer Research Center recently released a list of 20 anti-cancer vegetables: sweet potatoes, asparagus, cauliflower, cabbage, broccoli, celery, eggplant, peppers, carrots, golden cauliflower, rapeseed, kohlrabi, mustard, mustard greens, tomatoes, komatsuna, onions, garlic, cucumbers, etc., with sweet potatoes at the top of the list. Japanese doctors found through a dietary survey of 260,000 people that the cancer inhibition rate of cooked sweet potatoes (98.7%) is slightly higher than that of raw sweet potatoes (94.4%). The Philadelphia Hospital in the United States has also extracted an active substance from sweet potatoes - desandrosterone, which can effectively inhibit the occurrence of colon cancer and breast cancer.

Sweet potatoes are rich in sugar, cellulose and multiple vitamins, especially carotene, vitamin E and vitamin C. In particular, sweet potatoes are rich in lysine, while rice and flour lack lysine. Eating sweet potatoes with rice and flour can provide a more comprehensive protein supplement. In terms of overall nutrition, sweet potatoes are the best among grains and vegetables. Europeans and Americans praise it as the "second bread", former Soviet scientists say it is the future "space food", and the French call it a well-deserved "high-end health food".

The lysine content in sweet potatoes is much higher than that in rice and white flour. They are also rich in carotene, which can promote the normal maturation of epithelial cells, inhibit abnormal differentiation of epithelial cells, eliminate carcinogenic oxygen free radicals, prevent carcinogens from binding to proteins in the cell nucleus, and promote the enhancement of human immunity.

Sweet potato eating taboo

"People with fullness in the stomach should not eat too much, as it can cause stagnation of qi." (Supplement to Compendium of Materia Medica) People with excessive stomach acid should not eat too much, as it can cause acid reflux. People with weak spleen and stomach should not eat raw food.

How to identify the quality of sweet potatoes?

1. Choose spindle-shaped sweet potatoes first. Don't choose round ones, as they taste better.

2. Choose a surface that looks smooth and has no bumps.

3. After the sweet potato is cut, it should not smell moldy. Moldy sweet potatoes contain ketone toxins and cannot be eaten.

4. Choose sweet potatoes with red skin. Do not buy sweet potatoes with black or brown spots on the skin. They will have a strange smell when cooked.

5. Although sprouted sweet potatoes are not as poisonous as potatoes, they taste worse.