Food Focus: Sweet Potatoes

Food Focus: Sweet Potatoes

(This article appeared in the December, 2010 issue of A Healthy You.)

Sweet potatoes are on everyone’s mind this season. They seem to go hand in hand with the holidays, and fortunately, eating these and other sweet vegetables needn’t be limited to this time of year.

If you don’t have any sweet potatoes in your kitchen, go out and buy some (organic and local if possible).

• Sweet potatoes elevate blood sugar gently rather than with the jolt delivered by simple refined carbohydrates, so there’s no energy crash after you eat them.
• They are much higher in nutrients than white potatoes & especially rich in Vitamin A.
• Sweet potatoes offer a creamy consistency that is satisfying and soothing.
• They are healing to the stomach, spleen, pancreas and reproductive organs and help to remove toxins from the body.
• They can increase the quantity of milk in lactating women.
• They can lessen cramps and premenstrual symptoms.