Sweet Potato for Weight Loss: 7 Proven Health Benefits & Recipes

“You need to add sweet potatoes in your daily meal if you want better results in weight loss” one of Aashu’s friends has advised him recently.

But when he asked the same thing to his mother, she told him that eating sweet potato is far healthier than having white potato on your plate.

She even advised him to substitute the white potato considering fast foods loaded with potatoes are the primary reason for obesity and other chronic diseases.

Aashu has made up his mind about sweet potato but before adding it to his diet, he needs more information about it.

Now, again he opened Know Ur Diet to get clarity and check the correctness of the advice given to him. Let us see what he finds-

What is sweet potato?

Sweet potato is a root vegetable that is consumed worldwide. Part of the Morning Glory family, flowers of such plants unfurl into full bloom in the early morning. The tubers of this dicotyledonous plant are eaten in many different forms.

Sweet potato is native to Central and South America and in that region, it was first domesticated for mass consumption at least 5000 years ago. In North American countries like the US & Canada, sweet potato is referred to as “Yams”.

Nutritional Value of Sweet Potato

Sweet potato is considered nutritious and healthier than other forms of potato, so let us compare the nutritional value of sweet potato with that of common potato.

Based on these nutritional values, there are several health benefits that you can enjoy by adding this to your meal plan.

Health Benefits of Sweet Potato

Following are 7 proven benefits of having sweet potato in your diet:

Immunity Booster

Out of all, sweet potato has an important health benefit of adding required vitamins and minerals in your meal that are critical for the immune system. One such nutrient is Vitamin A whose intake is directly associated with immunity.

One vital role of vitamin A is that it improves epithelial cell functioning. These cells are essential for the response of the immune system to any pathogen that enters the body.

Good for Brain Functioning

Another reason, why you should have sweet potato in your diet is that it can improve the functioning of your brain cells. Anthocyanins a compound present in purple sweet potato can be great to reduce the occurrence of inflammation and free radical damage in your brain cells.

Vitamin B6 is scientifically termed a mood booster as it synthesize chemicals that regulate the mood. This can be helpful in avoiding anxiety, depression and mood swings.

Supports in Healthy Heart

Every one of us is searching for foods that can protect our heart from common threats like heart attacks & strokes. Sweet potato is one such food as it is rich in potassium.

Potassium is associated with lower blood pressure as it accelerates the withdrawal of excessive sodium out from the body. When your blood pressure is in control then you have little or no risk of having chronic heart diseases.

Eye-friendly food

At a time when most of us spend hours in front of the screen. We must have foods that are effective in resisting eye-related diseases. Beta-carotene in sweet potato is converted in our body into Vitamin A which is required for maintaining healthy eyesight.

A recent study in the US has proven that consumption of beta-carotene can also help in preventing the macular degeneration disease that is the primary reason for vision loss among adults.

Prevents Cancer

Cancer remains a major death cause in developed countries and today every person is at risk of developing cancer cells. Here, sweet potato can be beneficial as it carries antioxidants that can limit the growth of cancer-causing chemicals in the body.

There is sufficient evidence to conclude that anthocyanins present in sweet potatoes can lower the risk of colon cancer, a leading cause of death among adults.

Pacify Gut Issues

You can not maintain a healthy living when you are facing regular digestive problems. Including Sweet potato in the diet can avoid these issues.

Fiber and antioxidants in sweet potatoes are great for maintaining a healthy gut. Fiber helps in smoothening the lining of the digestive tract which prevents constipation and fatty acids generated by the fermentation of fiber help in strong intestinal layers.

At last, we need to understand how sweet potato can be helpful in weight loss and for this, we need to compare it with common potato.

Sweet Potato vs Common Potato, which is good for weight loss?

Most of us have been advised that we must exclude potatoes from our diet as it is laden with carbs that can harm weight loss goals.

Carbs are a form of sugar that boosts insulin production. The primary function of Insulin is to store fat and this can lead to weight gain.

Now, if you have gone through the nutritional value of sweet potato and common potato that we have mentioned above. You can see that both of them are high in carbs. This means that both should be avoided if you are on a journey for weight loss.

But you need to understand that rather that eating them, how you consume them is more important to minimise the effect of carbs on your body. As per doctor recommendations, if you eat sweet potatoes by boiling or baking them rather than frying them. Most of us love to have potatoes as French fries and fried chips. This makes a general consensus that potatoes are unhealthy.

Try to include sweet potato in your plate without peeling skin so that you can have a good quantity of fiber. Also, serve them with other fruits and vegetables rather than fast foods.

Sweet Potato Recipes

If you are including sweet potato for weight loss in your meal, then you should try making these recipes at home:

Roasted Sweet Potato

No other recipe is as simple and quick to prepare as roasted sweet potato. No added sugar or unhealthy sauces just roast chopped pieces of sweet potato in virgin olive oil. You can enjoy it with mint & coriander chutney or with pickles.

Baked Sweet Potato Fries

Prepare these crispy, tasty and flavorful sweet potato fries at your home. Avoid adding salt, rather do seasoning of healthy spices like powder of black pepper, garlic and cayenne.

Roasted Sweet Potato Chips

If you are a chips lover then you should have this sweet potato recipe on your plate. You need just 20-25 minutes to enjoy this oven-roasted dish. Sprinkle black pepper, and paprika and eat it with avocado garlic dipping sauce for more taste.

Roasted Chicken and Sweet Potato

Either you are body builder and gym-goer and you want to include chicken for protein then your sweet potato recipes list should include this dish. To make it more nutritious have it with veggie salad like kale and broccoli.

Sweet Potato Vegan Burger

If you are a vegan and want to include the benefits of sweet potato, then you must have this. Replace the meat burger patty with a patty of soft and crispy sweet potato patty. To make it gluten-free, replace the bun with lettuce wraps.

Conclusion

In the end, Aashu is convinced that sweet potato is a nutritious & healthy food but it is high in calories and carbs that can harm his weight loss goals.

At the same time, if he wants to enjoy sweet potato then he should eat it by boiling or roasting in healthy fats such as olive oil.

Sweet potatoes are beneficial for gut health, vision, heart and brain as well making them a great substitute for common potatoes.