Health
We’ve all heard that something that tastes so good can’t possibly be good for you. But, the NC Sweet Potato turns that old saying right on its head.
To start, the sweet potato is a complex carbohydrate that’s low in calories (about 100 in a medium, baked, skin-on sweet potato), a good source of fiber, fat & cholesterol free, and rich in important vitamins. The awesome folks at the North Carolina Sweet Potato Association summed it up like this:
- Vitamin A: A medium sweet potato has over four times the recommended daily amount of vitamin A, which plays a vital role in vision, bone development and immune function. Vitamin A is a fat-soluble vitamin, so be sure to eat your sweet potato with a little bit of fat, like a pat of butter or a drizzle of olive oil, to maximize vitamin absorption.
- Vitamin C: Like citrus, sweet potatoes are a good source of vitamin C, which helps fight infections, heal wounds and absorb iron. A medium sweet potato provides 37 percent of your daily, recommended amount of vitamin C.
- Manganese: Sweet potatoes are a good source of manganese, which helps maintain normal blood sugar levels and optimal thyroid function.
- Fiber: Sweet potatoes are rich in fiber, a nutrient that bulks up food, keeping you full longer. Fiber also keeps your bowels healthy and lowers cholesterol. A medium sweet potato baked in its skin has 4 grams of fiber, more than a packet of instant oatmeal.*
- Complex Carbohydrates: Sweet potatoes are made of complex carbohydrates (energy) that are released at a steady pace for a constant source of vitality, so no sugar highs or lows to worry about.
- Antioxidants: Sweet potatoes are high in antioxidants compared to other vegetables. Antioxidants help reduce your risk of chronic diseases such as cancer and cardiovascular disease.
*Eating the sweet potato skin will lower the glycemic index and provide additional nutrients.
To hang on to as many of these benefits as possible, you need to love the tuber so much that you produce a clean, nutritionally preserved fry (or puree, or tot, etc.) by building your process around the sweet potato and only the sweet potato. Because we’re all about the super food, we developed a gluten free, rice-based batter that serves only to pump up the crunch, not take away from the stellar nutritional profile or flavor of the sweet potato.