Sweet Potatoes

What did the mammoth Global Burden of Disease Study identify as the primary cause of Americans’ death and disability? The typical American diet—with inadequate vegetable intake as our fifth-leading dietary risk factor, nearly as bad as our consumption of processed meat.

Indeed, a more plant-based diet may help prevent, treat, or reverse some of our leading causes of death, including heart disease, type 2 diabetes, and high blood pressure, and may improve not only body weight, blood sugar levels, and ability to control cholesterol, but also our emotional states, including depression, anxiety, fatigue, sense of well-being, and daily functioning.

My Daily Dozen recommends two daily servings of vegetables, and sweet potatoes are one of my favorites. During harsh Boston winters while I was in medical school, I would take two freshly microwaved sweet potatoes and pop them into my coat pockets to keep my hands warm. After they cooled down, healthy snacks on the go! It’s actually better to boil them to best preserve their nutritional content, but regardless of the cooking method, keep on the skin as its peel has nearly ten times the antioxidant power as the inner flesh (on a per-weight basis), giving them an antioxidant capacity approaching that of blueberries.

Sweet potatoes are among the healthiest common whole-food sources of potassium, which every cell in our body requires to function. In fact, they can be considered a superfood and are ranked as one of the healthiest foods on the entire planet. Sweet potatoes are among the healthiest and cheapest, with one of the highest nutrient-rich food scores per dollar. When picking out varieties at the supermarket, remember that a sweet potato’s nutritional content is tied directly to the intensity of its color. The more yellow or orange its flesh, the healthier it may be, and purple sweet potatoes are even healthier!

Image Credit: Pixabay. This image has been modified.