Sweet Potatoes

From reader’s digest A Sweet That Lowers Blood Sugar: The Hot Potato of Diabetes Management  You probably have heard by now that a sweet potato is better for people with diabetes than a regular potato. The reason typically given is that sweet potatoes raise your blood sugar 30% less than regular spuds. But that’s old news in fighting the war on diabetes. The new news? Sweet potatoes are loaded with nutrients that are diabetes-fighting powerhouses. These nutrients help fend off insulin resistance and lower your blood sugar, thanks to the triple-combat compounds found in them—carotenoids, chlorogenic acid, and vitamin C. Call them The Three C’s for short. The bright orange hue that makes a sweet potato (or yam) recognizable to you is caused by orange and yellow pigments called carotenoids. These tiny plant pigments are potent nutrients that help your body manage insulin better. In fact, studies have linked high carotenoid levels in the blood to a reduced risk of diabetes. Sweet potatoes are also rich in an organic compound called chlorogenic acid, which helps reduce insulin resistance and slows the release of glucose into the bloodstream. Interestingly, chlorogenic acid is also found in abundance in coffee beans, which is one big reason coffee is considered healthy for diabetes. That brings us to the third C, good old vitamin C, which helps the body fight heart disease, nerve and eye damage—all health issues for people with diabetes. Though you may not think of sweet potatoes as a likely conduit of this vitamin, one serving provides almost 30% of your vitamin C daily requirement. It doesn’t stop for The Three C’s either. There’s a host of other properties found in yams that protect your body from the ravages of many diabetes complications. Potassium helps lower blood pressure—and one sweet potato has more potassium than a banana. These sweet spuds also deliver a hearty serving of vitamin A, which is crucial to good vision—and may reduce the risk of lung cancer. So throw out the notion that sweet potatoes are just for Thanksgiving. Today, most grocery stores carry them year ’round, so there’s no reason they shouldn’t appear on your plate on a weekly basis. For a change of pace, cut them in cubes and roast them (see instructions below); slice ultra-thin and make oven-baked potato chips; or make a simple sweet potato soup (sweet potatoes pair well with many herbs and spices). Any of these are seriously delicious medicine!