Sweet potatoes for ex-smokers: Yams have been proven to fight emphysema, lung cancer growth

Sweet potatoes tend to be a favorite among clean eaters and fitness fanatics alike. They give a little sweetness to a bland diet and a dose of healthy fiber, vitamins, minerals and antioxidants. Sweet potatoes can be found in local markets year-round, however they are most abundant in season in November and December, but are also in season in January.Be sure to scrub and eat the skin of the sweet potato, it is where most of the minerals are stored.

Fast Facts

Eating one large baked sweet potato gives you nearly 25 percent of your daily potassium needs.
The orange-flesh sweet potatoes are exceedingly rich in beta-carotene (vitamin A).

A single large sweet potato contains more than 100 percent of the RDA for vitamin C.
The purple-flesh varieties are outstanding sources of antioxidants.
A large sweet potato contains 37 g of carbohydrates.

Sweet potatoes contain a valuable amount of dietary fiber (just over 3 grams per medium sweet potato).
They are also a very good source of manganese, copper, dietary fiber, niacin, and vitamin B5.

Sweet Potatoes Fuel Muscles

Sweet potatoes are complex carbohydrates. Complex carbs not only leave us feeling fuller for longer and control our blood sugar but when broken down turn into fuel for our muscles. These carbs are stored in the body in the form of glycogen. Glycogen in your muscles is important for activities requiring quick bursts of intense work, such as lifting weights.

Lung Health

Research into the effects of sweet potatoes on your lungs centers on the plant’s high concentration of beta-carotene, which your body converts into vitamin A. This vitamin plays many important roles in the body, including in the health of the eyes, bones and immune system. Among other things, vitamin A and other carotenoids have been shown to aid in lung regeneration, including in people with emphysema.

Another study, conducted by Taiwanese researchers and published in the Asia Pacific Journal of Clinical Nutrition in 2007, gave food frequency questionnaires to 301 people with lung cancer, along with 602 hospital controls and 602 neighborhood controls. They found that people who ate the most sweet potato leaves were 43 to 65 percent less likely to develop lung cancer than those who ate the least.

The study also found that those who had higher intakes of vitamin A, alpha-carotene or beta-carotene had a significantly lower risk of lung cancer. Overall vegetable intake was also associated with lower risk, although sweet potato leaves and garland chrysanthemum had the strongest effect.

( Source: Natural News)

Glycemic Benefits

Clean-eaters, bodybuilders, dieters and fitlifers choose low glycemic index foods to give them sustained energy throughout the day. Sweet potatoes have a significantly lower glycemic index compared to other starchy vegetables like peas and white potatoes.If boiled or steamed sweet potatoes can carry a very reasonable glycemic index (GI) rating of approximately 50.

Food starches can be converted by our digestive tract into simple sugars. Most starchy root vegetables are not helpful for controlling blood sugar. Sweet potatoes actually improve blood sugar regulation—even in persons with type 2 diabetes.

Adiponectin Regulation

Research has shown that extracts from sweet potatoes can significantly increase blood levels of adiponectin, a protein hormone produced by our fat cells.

Adiponetin enhances your muscle’s ability to use carbohydrates for energy, boosts your metabolism, increase the rate in which your body breaks down fat, and curbs your appetite.

Adiponectin works with leptin (the “stop-eating” hormone)to perform complementary actions, and can have synergistic effects.

Caramelized Onion and Ginger Sweet Potatoes

6 cups sweet potatoes, peeled and cut into 1-inch pieces
1/2 medium onion, cut in half and sliced thin
4 medium cloves garlic, chopped

1-1/2 Tbsp finely minced fresh ginger
1/2 tsp cinnamon
1/2 Tbsp honey

1 Tbsp + 1 cup chicken or vegetable broth
salt and pepper to taste

Directions:

Slice onions and chop garlic and let sit for 5 minutes to enhance their health-promoting properties.

Heat 1 Tbsp broth in a larger skillet. Sauté onion over medium heat for 3 minutes, stirring frequently. Add garlic and ginger and continue to sauté for another minute, stirring constantly.

Add sweet potatoes, cinnamon, honey, and 1 cup broth. Mix and simmer over low heat covered for about 15 minutes, or until sweet potatoes are tender. Season with salt and pepper.

By Amanda Ennett

At home, this mom and busy wife doesn’t let daily stress stop her from eating clean and training hard. On the job, Amanda uses her BS in Exercise Science to aide physical therapy patients and transform her personal training clients. On her off time, she loves to write about her main passions: nutrition and healthy living. Amanda considers herself a self-proclaimed health fanatic living by the mantra “let thy food be thy medicine.”

Follow my facebook page @ AJ’s: Fit n Beautiful [https://www.facebook.com/Fit.n.Beautiful] and on instagram @fitnbeautiful

Image Courtesy: Heidi Billotto: Food

Article originally published on FitLife.tv republished with permission