12 Surprising Health Benefits of Sweet Potato

Sweet potato has properties that contribute to good muscle formation. For this reason, people who practice bodybuilding and other physical activities for the purpose of exercising and strengthening the muscles, include very rich food in this diet.

Regardless of the tendency for sweet potato to be appreciated by gym-goers, consuming it is very healthy, not only for our muscles but for our bodies in general.

In this article you will discover twelve benefits of sweet potato.

Sweet potatoes help keep fit

Sweet potato has low carbohydrate and glycemic indexes, is high in fiber and promotes satiety for a longer time. Therefore it is a great food for those who want to lose weight.

This food provides energy in a balanced way, avoiding surges in insulin that, in excess in the blood, causes the body to store fat.

Sweet potato helps increase muscle mass

Anyone who wants to strengthen and develop muscles should include sweet potatoes in their meals, as it gives them energy and contributes to muscle build.

Sweet potato and its properties

Sweet potato is a food that has a low carbohydrate complex carbohydrate, is rich in fiber, has vitamins A, B, C, E and minerals such as phosphorus, iron, magnesium, potassium, calcium, potassium, among other nutrients. Therefore, this food has the following benefits for our health:

1. It controls diabetes
2. It strengthens the immune system
3. It is antioxidant
4. It prevents cancer
5. It contributes to collagen formation and muscle reconstitution
6. It lowers blood pressure
7. Vitamin A contained in sweet potato contributes to skin and eye health
8. B complex vitamins that are part of the nutritional constitution of sweet potato, benefits the nervous system
9. The magnesium that make up the sweet potato activates several enzymes that contribute to the proper functioning of our body.
10. Another mineral that is part of sweet potato is the phosphorus that helps us to have more disposition
11. Calcium, which we can get by eating sweet potatoes, preserves our bones.
12. The potassium obtained from this food keeps the blood pressure balanced.

Sweet potato consumption and its benefits

In addition to the benefits of keeping fit, sweet potato contributes to the proper functioning of our body in general.

Here are some other benefits that sweet potatoes bring to our body:

In addition to preventing diabetes, sweet potato with its resistant starch lowers LDL levels, bad cholesterol, and triglycerides, protecting the heart from cardiovascular disease.

Sweet potato carbohydrate helps prevent constipation, hemorrhoids, and inflammatory bowel disease.

The orange-fleshed sweet potato species has beta-carotene and the purple variety contains anthocyanin and vitamins C and E, nutrients that act as antioxidants protecting the body from premature aging.

The reasons sweet potato is perfect for those who do physical activity

We can eat sweet potatoes in a variety of ways: boiled, baked, chips, sautéed in mashed form or as the basis for the mass of various types of recipes.

Sweet potato is the darling of those who want to keep their muscles fit, keep their weight up, and have the energy to work out and exercise.

Those who consume sweet potatoes for these purposes do so mainly in pre-training or before physical activities, whether gymnastics, weight training or others.

How trainers eat sweet potatoes

Ideally, it should be consumed two hours before training to allow the body time to digest and absorb the nutrients in this food. All because sweet potato contains resistant starch, a type of low glycemic carbohydrate.

The sweet potato gradually provides energy, meaning it is available before, during and after physical activity. This food promotes the slow release of blood sugar in the body, maintaining glycogen levels, which serves as fuel for muscle activity, preventing loss of muscle mass in training.

Sweet potato recipes

And to get even more out of the sweet potato benefits, here are a couple of recipe suggestions to include this food in a variety of ways:

Gluten-free sweet potato and caramel onion pie

Ingredients:

• 1/2 baked sweet potato
• 2 tbsp flaked oatmeal or amaranth flour
• 1 tablespoon flaxseed
• 1 tbsp olive oil
• 1 teaspoon salt
• 1/2 finely chopped red onion
• 1/2 teaspoon coconut oil
• salt to taste

Preparation:

Mash the baked sweet potato with the fork.

Add the oatmeal, flaxseed, olive oil and salt to mashed potatoes, mash and mix by hand.

Mold in the form carefully and bake in a preheated medium oven for 20 minutes.

Meanwhile in a pan prepare the stuffing by placing the onion, coconut oil and salt.

Stir the preparation while cooking, it will be ready when the onion is transparent.

Reserve the onion stuffing.

Unmold the pie carefully, as the dough is delicate, let cool and stuff with the onion.

Sweet potato burger

Ingredients:

• 1 boiled and mashed sweet potato
• ½ cup flaked quinoa
• ½ cup chopped chives and parsley
• ½ chopped onion
• 1 tablespoon chopped pepper
• Salt to taste

Preparation:

Saute onion, pepper and salt for two minutes.

Add the stew with the mashed sweet potatoes, parsley and chives.

Add quinoa and mix well.

Mold the hamburgers.

Fry the burgers in a nonstick skillet for two minutes on each side.

Remove and serve then.

The advantages of consuming sweet potato

Now you can see that there are plenty of reasons to include sweet potato in our daily menu, because, besides, there are several ways to consume it and enjoy its properties and benefits.

Another advantage of consuming sweet potato is that it is a low-cost food that is easy to find for purchase in markets, fairs and if you want to grow it in your backyard or garden, it is a vegetable that germinates easily.

What do you think about sweet potato? How about trying it in your meal today? Let us know in the comments.