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Batat – what is it
It is a tuber plant of the bindweed family. The lateral roots of the plant form edible tubers weighing from 200 grams. up to 3 kilograms. The pulp of a vegetable is of different colors: white, yellow, pink, purple, red. Young leaves and shoots are also used for food.
The plant has other names: underground pumpkin, kumara, kumar, sweet potato. But, as you know, potatoes are from the nightshade family.
The homeland of this food culture is Peru and Colombia (Andes). The history of the miracle root crop is tens of thousands of years old. It is believed that the ubiquitous Christopher Columbus brought root crops from America to Spain. Then from Spain the vegetable “went from hand to hand” of European, Asian and African countries.
The sweet potato is grown in warm countries, it is unpretentious, it is not eaten by the Colorado potato beetle, which loves potatoes.
This vegetable can be eaten raw and will remind you of the taste of carrots. If baked, it will turn into a pumpkin. The tubers are fried and stewed, and puree soup is prepared from them. The dried slices are ground to obtain a coffee substitute. Sweet potatoes are healthier than potatoes.
Sweet potato: calorie content and nutritional value
In 100 gr. fresh pulp
- calorie content – 85 kcal
- water – 77 gr.
- proteins – 1,5 g.
- fats – 0,05 gr.
- carbohydrates – 20 gr.
- starch – 14 gr.
- sugar – 4 gr.
- dietary fiber – 3 gr.
Root vegetables contain: beta-carotene (vit. A), antioxidant (vit. C), B vitamins; K, PP. It contains trace elements, pectin and amino acids, oxalic acid salts.
Vitamin A content:
- on 1st place – sweet potatoes;
- 2 – onions;
- 3 – potatoes.
Sweet potato: health benefits and harms
- Sweet potato starch is an effective enveloping agent for the treatment of diseases of the gastrointestinal tract;
- with a predisposition to cancerous tumors;
- it is a storehouse of vitamins to strengthen the immune system;
- stabilizes blood glucose levels;
- helps with stress, depression, chronic fatigue;
- for insomnia;
- strengthens vision;
- removes heavy metals from the body;
- normalizes metabolism and blood cholesterol levels;
- antidiabetic product;
- useful for gastritis, as an enveloping agent (outside the exacerbation phase);
- restores the elasticity of blood vessels;
- improves skin condition.
Sweet potato: contraindications
- oxalic acid in the composition of the plant can provoke the formation of stones in the gallbladder;
- ulcers of the stomach and duodenum (in the acute phase);
- periods of pregnancy and breastfeeding.
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