7 Reasons to Eat Sweet Potato

Mother nature likes to throw us curve balls every now and then, doesn't she?

Take the eggplant, for instance. It's not egg at all. Similarly, the sweet potato isn't a potato at all!
Distantly related to the regular, white potato, sweet potato is actually a root vegetable!

The sweet potato is full of vitamins and minerals that regular potato does not provide at all!

(Photo credit: Wally Hartshorn)
Here are 7 reasons to consume this heart healthy food:

One Medium Size Sweet Potato Contains:

1) Vitamin B6 (.3 mg)

This vitamin is crucial for keeping the walls of your arteries flexible and strong. It helps break down homocysteine, which contributes the hardening of arteries and all the passageways where blood must flow! For that reason a diet rich in vitamin B6 has been shown to help prevent heart disease!

2) Sweet potato boasts a large amount of betacarotene (11062 mg)

Betacarotene is what gives vegetables their bright colored hues and it's very important to include generous portions of brightly colored fruits and veggies in your diet anyway. One reason for that is because this nutrient actually helps protect your skin (internally) from the harm of UV rays from the sunlight! It also "flips a switch" in your skin's DNA triggering it to shed dead skin and regenerate!

3) Potassium (438 mg)

Both regular potato and sweet potato contain potassium, which is very important for regulating blood pressure! Potassium is an electrolyte, like salt and sugar.

4) The Unsung Hero: Maganese

(.3 mg)

Maganese is that little known trace mineral that does 2 things: it helps stabilize blood sugar (which is why sweet potato is recommended even for diabetics!) and it promotes that "I'm full" feeling!

5) Fiber Up! (3.9 g)

Sweet potato has about 3.9 grams of dietary fiber. Fiber is important for healthy bowel function, and over all intestinal health.

6) Rich in Vitamins A, E and C

There is 18441 IU of vitamin A in sweet potato. Vitamin A is important for healthy vision, immune function, skin, hair and antioxidant activity! There are .3mg of vitamin E in a medium size potato and 3.1mg of vitamin C in one. The synergy of all of these vitamins working together promotes overall immune health, disease prevention and vibrant skin, hair and nails!

7) Anti-inflammatory

The American diet is high in inflammatory foods and our lifestyles perpetuate the cycle of inflammation. Research has shown that chronic inflammation leads to chronic illnesses. It is highly advisable that you include foods that are ANTI inflammatory into your diet to combat this trend. Sweet potato is a great natural way to do just that!

So friends, why not try switching out white potato for sweet potato here and there? Your body will thank you! You can find more nutritional facts about this super food here.