Recipe: Yam and Beet Hash Browns

Print art by Judith Rice

This recipe is adapted from my sweet potato hash brown recipe.  It is essentially the same recipe, a few seasoning changes and I’ve simply swapped yams and beets for the sweet potaters.  A nice alternative to the usual white potato version.  These also make a tasty and colorful side-dish for a winter potluck.

Ingredients:

yams and red beets

yellow sweet onion

coconut oil

sea salt

fresh ground black pepper

nutritional yeast

Method:

finely slice the onion, thin, thin, thin

add a couple spoons of coconut oil to a pan (preferably cast-iron skillet if you have one)

add the sliced onion to the pan on medium heat

while the onions are cooking, peel the beets and yams, then grate them with the medium size grate on the grater

give the onions a stir or two while you are grating

done grating, great

add a bit more coconut oil to the pan with the onion, once it melts, add the grated beets and yams

add as much sea salt and fresh ground pepper as you’d like

put a lid on it for a bit, 5 minutes or so

open up the lid, add in a few pinches of nutritional yeast

just like Bob Marley would say, “stir it up, little darlin’, stir it up!”

put the lid back on for another 3 or 4 minutes

take the lid off, taste it to see if you need to add any more of your spices or salt

add just a bit more coconut oil and stir

the last part of the cooking is done without the lid on it, this is where things start getting golden, brown, and just that little bit crusty like hash browns do

the key here is to not over stir, to not have the heat too high, and to not let the pan be too dry

so with all that in mind, you might need to turn the heat to medium low, add a touch more oil, and be patient

Variations and Combinations:

great garnished with some finely chopped cilantro and slices of ripe avocado

also great topped with some green and gold spread, click here for the recipe!

great as a side dish for some wild salmon or a juicy steak

If you do the last step of the cooking method  just right you can get them to fry up in one solid circle, like a pancake of sorts, then drizzle with maple syrup or honey

a great base for Birds in a nest, eggs baby!

Nutritional Info on Beets from whfoods.com

Health Benefits

Remember all those legendary Russian centenarians? Beets, frequently consumed either pickled or in borscht, the traditional Russian soup, may be one reason behind their long and healthy lives. These colorful root vegetables contain powerful nutrient compounds that help protect against heart disease, birth defects and certain cancers, especially colon cancer.

Promote Optimal Health

The pigments that give beets their rich colors are called betalains. There are two basic types of betalains: betacyanins and betaxanthins. Betacyanins are pigments are red-violet in color. Betanin is the best studied of the betacyanins. Betaxanthins are yellowish in color. In light or dark red, crimson, or purple colored beets, betacyanins are the dominant pigments. In yellow beets, betaxanthins predominate, and particularly the betaxanthin called vulgaxanthin. All betalains come from the same original molecule (betalamic acid). The addition of amino acids or amino acid derivatives to betalamic acid is what determines the specific type of pigment that gets produced. The betalain pigments in beets are water-soluble, and as pigments they are somewhat unusual due to their nitrogen content. Many of the betalains function both as antioxidants and anti-inflammatory molecules. At the same time, they themselves are also very vulnerable to oxidation (change in structure due to interaction with oxygen). In addition to beets, rhubarb, chard, amaranth, prickly pear cactus, and Nopal cactus are examples of foods that contain betalains.

It’s interesting to note that humans appear to vary greatly in their response to dietary betalains. In the United States, only 10-15% of adults are estimated to be “betalain responders.” A betalain responder is a person who has the capacity to absorb and metabolize enough betalains from beet (and other foods) to gain full antioxidant, anti-inflammatory, and Phase 2 triggering benefits. (Phase 2 is the second step in our cellular detoxification process).

Antioxidant Benefits

What’s most striking about beets is not the fact that they are rich in antioxidants; what’s striking is the unusual mix of antioxidants that they contain. We’re used to thinking about vegetables as rich in antioxidant carotenoids, and in particular, beta-carotene; among all well-studied carotenoids, none is more commonly occurring in vegetables than beta-carotene.

When it comes to antioxidant phytonutrients that give most red vegetables their distinct color, we’ve become accustomed to thinking about anthocyanins. (Red cabbage, for example, gets it wonderful red color primarily from anthocyanins.) Beets demonstrate their antioxidant uniqueness by getting their red color primarily from betalain antioxidant pigments (and not primarily from anthocyanins). Coupled with their status as a very good source of the antioxidants vitamin C and manganese, the unique phytonutrients in beets provide antioxidant support in a different way than other antioxidant-rich vegetables. While research is largely in the early stage with respect to beet antioxidants and their special benefits for eye health and overall nerve tissue health, we expect to see study results showing these special benefits and recognizing beets as a standout vegetable in this area of antioxidant support.

Anti-Inflammatory Benefits

Many of the unique phytonutrients present in beets have been shown to function as anti-inflammatory compounds. In particular, this anti-inflammatory activity has been demonstrated for betanin, isobetanin, and vulgaxanthin. One mechanism allowing these phytonutrients to lessen inflammation is their ability to inhibit the activity of cyclo-oxygenase enzymes (including both COX-1 and COX-2). The COX enzymes are widely used by cells to produce messaging molecules that trigger inflammation. Under most circumstances, when inflammation is needed, this production of pro-inflammatory messaging molecules is a good thing. However, under other circumstances, when the body is undergoing chronic, unwanted inflammation, production of these inflammatory messengers can make things worse. Several types of heart disease—including atherosclerosis—are characterized by chronic unwanted inflammation. For this reason, beets have been studied within the context of heart disease, and there are some encouraging although very preliminary results in this area involving animal studies and a few very small scale human studies. Type 2 diabetes—another health problem associated with chronic, unwanted inflammation—is also an area of interest in this regard, with research findings at a very preliminary stage.

In addition to their unusual betalain and carotenoid phytonutrients, however, beets are also an unusual source of betaine. Betaine is a key body nutrient made from the B-complex vitamin, choline. (Specifically, betaine is simply choline to which three methyl groups have been attached.) In and of itself, choline is a key vitamin for helping regulate inflammation in the cardiovascular system since adequate choline is important for preventing unwanted build-up of homocysteine. (Elevated levels of homocysteine are associated with unwanted inflammation and risk of cardiovascular problems like atherosclerosis.) But betaine may be even more important in regulation of our inflammatory status as its presence in our diet has been associated with lower levels of several inflammatory markers, including C reactive protein, interleukin-6, and tumor necrosis factor alpha. As a group, the anti-inflammatory molecules found in beets may eventually be shown to provide cardiovascular benefits in large-scale human studies, as well as anti-inflammatory benefits for other body systems.

Support of Detoxification

The betalin pigments present in beets have repeatedly been shown to support activity in our body’s Phase 2 detoxification process. Phase 2 is the metabolic step that our cells use to hook activated, unwanted toxic substances up with small nutrient groups. This “hook up” process effectively neutralizes the toxins and makes them sufficiently water-soluble for excretion in the urine. One critical “hook up” process during Phase 2 involves an enzyme family called the glutathione-S-transferase family (GSTs). GSTs hook toxins up with glutathione for neutralization and excretion from the body. The betalains found in beet have been shown to trigger GST activity, and to aid in the elimination of toxins that require glutathione for excretion. If you are a person who thinks about exposure to toxins and wants to give your body as much detox support as possible, beets are a food that belongs in your diet.

Other Health Benefits

It’s important to note two other areas of potential health benefits associated with beets: anti-cancer benefits and fiber-related benefits. The combination of antioxidant and anti-inflammatory molecules in beets makes this food a highly-likely candidate for risk reduction of many cancer types. Lab studies on human tumor cells have confirmed this possibility for colon, stomach, nerve, lung, breast, prostate and testicular cancers. Eventually, we expect to see large-scale human studies that show the risk-reducing effect of dietary beet intake for many of these cancer types.

Beet fiber has also been a nutrient of increasing interest in health research. While many people tend to lump all food fiber into one single category called “dietary fiber,” there is evidence to suggest that all dietary fiber is not the same. Beet fiber (along with carrot fiber) are two specific types of food fiber that may provide special health benefits, particularly with respect to health of our digestive tract (including prevention of colon cancer) and our cardiovascular system. Some beet fiber benefits may be due to the pectin polysaccharides that significantly contribute to the total fiber content.

 

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Recipe: Carrot and Celeriac Hash Browns

Celeriac, surely not the most attractive root veggie out there, but a great tasting and fun ingredient to use, always fun to try cooking with something new and different. Most grocery stores will have some of these ugly ducklings.

This recipe is adapted from my sweet potato hash brown recipe.  It is essentially the same recipe, a few seasoning changes and I’ve simply swapped carrots and celeriac (celery root) for the taters.  A nice alternative to the usual, and a fun way to introduce yourself, or others, to a new veggie.

Ingredients:

carrots and celeriac (celery root)

yellow sweet onion

garlic

coconut oil

sea salt

fresh ground black pepper

curry powder

nutritional yeast (hippie dust)

Method:

finely slice the onion, thin, thin, thin

add a couple spoons of coconut oil to a pan (preferably cast-iron skillet if you have one)

add the sliced onion to the pan on medium heat

while the onions are cooking, peel the carrots and celeriac, then grate them with the medium size grate on the grater, the celeriac is a rough and tough type veggie, so be patient

give the onions a stir or two while you are grating

done grating, great

add a bit more coconut oil to the pan with the onion, once it melts, add the grated carrots and celeriac

add as much sea salt and fresh ground pepper as you’d like

put a lid on it for a bit, 5 minutes or so

open up the lid, add in a few pinches of curry powder and dashes of nutritional yeast

give it a stir

use a garlic press, or finely mince the garlic with a knife, add the garlic to the pan

just like Bob Marley would say, “stir it up, little darlin’, stir it up!”

put the lid back on for another 3 or 4 minutes

take the lid off, taste it to see if you need to add any more of your spices or salt

add just a bit more coconut oil and stir

the last part of the cooking is done without the lid on it, this is where things start getting golden, brown, and just that little bit crusty like hash browns do

the key here is to not over stir, to not have the heat too high, and to not let the pan be too dry

so with all that in mind, you might need to turn the heat to medium low, add a touch more oil, and be patient

Variations and Combinations:

great garnished with some finely chopped cilantro and slices of ripe avocado

also great topped with some green and gold spread, click here for the recipe!

If you do the last step of the cooking method  just right you can get them to fry up in one solid circle, like a pancake of sorts, then drizzle with maple syrup or honey

a great base for Birds in a nest, eggs baby!

Nutritional Info on carrots from whfoods.com

Health Benefits

Carrots are perhaps best known for their rich supply of the antioxidant nutrient that was actually named for them: beta-carotene. However, these delicious root vegetables are the source not only of beta-carotene, but also of a wide variety of antioxidants and other health-supporting nutrients. The areas of antioxidant benefits, cardiovascular benefits, and anti-cancer benefits are the best-researched areas of health research with respect to dietary intake of carrots.

Antioxidant Benefits

All varieties of carrots contain valuable amounts of antioxidant nutrients. Included here are traditional antioxidants like vitamin C, as well as phytonutrient antioxidants like beta-carotene. The list of carrot phytonutrient antioxidants is by no means limited to beta-carotene, however. This list includes:

• Carotenoids
  • alpha-carotene
  • beta-carotene
  • lutein
• Hydroxycinnamic acids
  • caffeic acid
  • coumaric acid
  • ferulic acid
• Anthocyanindins
  • cyanidins
  • malvidins

Different varieties of carrots contain differing amounts of these antioxidant phytonutrients. Red and purple carrots, for example, are best known for the rich anthocyanin content. Oranges are particularly outstanding in terms of beta-carotene, which accounts for 65% of their total carotenoid content. In yellow carrots, 50% of the total carotenoids come from lutein. You’re going to receive outstanding antioxidant benefits from each of these carrot varieties!

Cardiovascular Benefits

Given their antioxidant richness, it’s not surprising to find numerous research studies documenting the cardiovascular benefits of carrots. Our cardiovascular system needs constant protection from antioxidant damage. This is particularly true of our arteries, which are responsible for carrying highly oxygenated blood.

A recent study from the Netherlands, in which participants were followed for a period of 10 years, has given us some fascinating new information about carrots and our risk of cardiovascular disease (CVD). In this study, intake of fruits and vegetables was categorized by color. The researchers focused on four color categories: green, orange/yellow, red/purple, and white. Out of these four categories, orange/yellow (and in particular, foods with deeper shades of orange and yellow) was determined to be the most protective against CVD. Within this dark orange/yellow food group, carrots were determined to be the single most risk-reducing food. Participants who had the least carrot intake had the least amount of CVD risk reduction, even though they still received risk-reducing benefits from their carrot intake. However, participants who ate at least 25 more grams of carrots (with 25 grams being less than one-quarter of a cup) had a significantly lower risk of CVD. And the groups of participants who ate 50- or 75-grams more had an even more greatly reduced risk of CVD! We’re not sure how any study could better demonstrate how easy it can be to lower CVD risk by making a food like carrot part of the everyday diet.

Antioxidant nutrients in carrots are believed to explain many of the cardioprotective benefits provided by these root vegetables. The many different kinds of carrot antioxidants are most likely to work together and provide us with cardiovascular benefits that we could not obtain from any of these antioxidants alone if they were split apart and consumed individually, in isolation from each other. The synergistic effect of carrot antioxidants is a great example of a whole food and its uniqueness as a source of nourishment.

Yet in addition to the diverse mixture of carrot antioxidants, there is yet another category of carrot phytonutrient that is believed to help explain carrot protection against cardiovascular disease.That category is polyacetylenes. Polyacetylenes are unique phytonutrients made from metabolism of particular fatty acids (often involving crepenynic acid, stearolic acid and tariric acid). They are particularly common in theApiaceae/Umbelliferae family of plants (which includes carrot). The two best-researched polyacetylenes in carrot are falcarinol and falcarindiol. Preliminary research on animals and in the lab has shown that carrot polyacetylenes have anti-inflammatory properties and anti-aggregatory properties (that help prevent excessive clumping together of red blood cells). So in addition to the unique mix of antioxidants in carrot, polyacetylenes may play a key role in the cardiovascular protection provided by this amazing food.

Vision Health

While you might expect to find a large number of human research studies documenting the benefits of carrot intake for eye health, there are relatively few studies in this area. Most studies about carotenoids and eye health have focused on carotenoid levels in the bloodstream and the activities of the carotenoids themselves, rather than the food origins of carotenoids (like carrots). Still, we have found some smaller scale human studies that show clear benefits of carrot intake for eye health. For example, researchers at the Jules Stein Institute at the University of California at Los Angeles determined that women who consume carrots at least twice per week – in comparison to women who consume carrots less than once per week – have significantly lower rates of glaucoma (damage to the optic nerve often associated with excessive pressure inside the eye). Intake of geranyl acetate – one of the photonutrients that is present in carrot seeds (and sometimes extracted from purified carrot seed oil) has also been repeatedly associated with reduced risk of cataracts in animal studies. However, researchers have yet to analyze the amount of geranyl acetate in the root portion of the carrot and the impact of dietary intake on risk of cataracts.

Anti-Cancer Benefits

The anti-cancer benefits of carrot have been best researched in the area of colon cancer. Some of this research has involved actual intake of carrot juice by human participants, and other research has involved the study of human cancer cells types in the lab. While much more research is needed in this area, the study results to date have been encouraging. Lab studies have shown the ability of carrot extracts to inhibit the grown of colon cancer cells, and the polyacetylenes found in carrot (especially falcarinol) have been specifically linked to this inhibitory effect. In studies of carrot juice intake, small but significant effects on colon cell health have been shown for participants who consumed about 1.5 cups of fresh carrot juice per day.

We’re confident that future studies in this area will show carrot intake as being protective against risk of colon cancer. Carrots are simply too rich in digestive tract-supporting fiber, antioxidant nutrients, and unique phytonutrients like falcarinol to be neutral when it comes to support of the lower digestive tract and colon cancer protection.

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Recipe: Sweet Potato Hash Browns

Part of a hearty breakfast that is guaranteed to please, and fuel whatever sort of wood choppin’ & axe swingin’ adventure you might have planned for the day!

These hash browns make a solid foundation for a delicious wintry breakfast, and are also a great side dish for dinner, or good as a lunch munch.  They’ll please the hungry logger types looking for a companion to sausage and eggs as well as the health-nut looking for a nutritious and delicious way to start the day.

Ingredients:

sweet potatoes and/or yams

yellow sweet onion

garlic

coconut oil

sea salt

fresh ground black pepper

chipotle chili powder

smoked paprika

Method:

finely slice the onion, thin, thin, thin

add a couple spoons of coconut oil to a pan (preferably cast-iron skillet if you have one)

add the sliced onion to the pan on medium heat

while the onions are cooking, peel the sweet potatoes, then grate them with the medium size grate on the grater

give the onions a stir or two while you are grating

done grating, great

add a bit more coconut oil to the pan with the onion, once it melts, add the grated sweet potatoes

add as much sea salt and fresh ground pepper as you’d like

put a lid on it for a bit, 5 minutes or so

open up the lid, add in a few pinches of chipotle chili powder and smoked paprika

give it a stir

use a garlic press, or finely mince the garlic with a knife, add the garlic to the pan

just like Bob Marley would say, “stir it up, little darlin’, stir it up!”

put the lid back on for another 3 or 4 minutes

take the lid off, taste it to see if you need to add any more of your spices or salt

add just a bit more coconut oil and stir

the last part of the cooking is done without the lid on it, this is where things start getting golden, brown, and just that little bit crusty like hash browns do

the key here is to not over stir, to not have the heat too high, and to not let the pan be too dry

so with all that in mind, you might need to turn the heat to medium low, add a touch more oil, and be patient

Variations and Combinations:

for a sweeter and less laborious version you can omit the onions and garlic

If you do the last step of the cooking method  just right you can get them to fry up in one solid circle, like a pancake of sorts, then drizzle with maple syrup

a great base for Birds in a nest, eggs baby!

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Recipe: Sweet Potato Granola, Gluten Free

If you have ventured into the world of homemade granola you know the  joy of mixing and matching, the amazing taste of fresh out of the oven warm granola as it warms the milk you pour over it.  A tasty treat to start the day or as a welcome lunch item.  This unique recipe features plenty of nutrition, amazing taste, and it’s gluten free, vegan, and has no refined sugars!

Surprise your family and friends when they discover they are eating vegetables with their breakfast cereal!

Explore more of my recipes by clicking on, ‘Recipes!’ under the Categories list to the right.

You will find that the quantities in my recipes are rarely exact.  Sometimes it depends on what I have in the kitchen, it also depends who I am cooking for and their taste buds, and how much I plan to make.  Remember that cooking is an art and a science, so experiment and pay attention, be aware and be positive, put some love into it and taste as you go.  I’m sure it will turn out great!  If you do have any specific questions you want answered before you dive into making it let me know by posting a comment below, I’ll reply as soon as I can.

Ingredients

grated sweet potato and/or grated yam (2-4 depending on size)

old fashioned rolled oats (gluten free!)

ground flax seed meal (1/2 – 1 cup)

unsweetened shredded coconut (1/2 – 1 cup)

walnut oil (olive oil also works) 1/4 cup or more

coconut oil and/or ghee 1/4 cup or more

honey and/or maple syrup 1/4 cup

fresh ginger root 2 – 3 inches

cashews 1/2 cup or more

dried apricots 1/4 cup or more

raisins 1/4 cup or more

cinnamon, dashes

nutmeg, dashes

cardamom, sparing dashes

sea salt, pinches

vanilla, tiny splashes

Optional tasty add-ins: chia seeds, crystalized ginger pieces, nutritional yeast

Process

Get out your largest mixing bowl.

In the mixing bowl, combine: walnut oil (or olive oil), coconut oil (and or ghee), maple syrup and honey, salt, vanilla, cinnamon, nutmeg, cardamom,

Use a garlic press or finely chop the ginger and add that into the bowl, stir.

Add the shredded coconut, stir.

Grate your tubers, using a medium size hole on the grater.

Add your grated tubers to the mixing bowl of goodness.

Use your clean hands to mix and toss contents of the bowl.

Add in the nuts, dried fruits, oats, and flax seed meal as you continue to mix.

Add in anything else you forgot…

Bring oven up to 405 degrees.

Spread granola mixture evenly on baking sheet/s.  It is important that you can see through the granola to the bottom of the baking sheet, there should be some holes and space for air to circulate.  If it is packed to thick or too close the granola will not cook evenly and will end up a bit soggy.

Place baking sheets in oven and smile, breakfast will be ready in a bit!

Check on it after 15 minutes, using a spatula to give it a turn and a stir.

After the first 15 minutes turn the oven down to 375 degrees.

Check on it every 10 or so minutes until it is golden brown and crispy, as done as you like it.

While you’re waiting make some coffee or tea, make a fancy cut fruit plate, make some green smoothies, clean up the kitchen, sweep the floor, or just relax, read, do the crossword or read some stories from my blog…

Total cooking time depends on your oven’s heat and how much you have in there baking.

Once the cooking is done turn off the oven, crack the door a couple inches, and let the granola continue to bake/dry/cool for about 20 minutes before taking it out completely.

It’s ready to eat! If you have any leftover let it sit out for the rest of the day before your put it in a paper bag or tupperware.

Please not that this granola is fresher and has a higher moisture content than what you would buy in a store. Store it in a brown paper bag so it can breathe, if you are storing it in a jar or tupperware I would suggest keeping it in the fridge.

Tips and Tricks

* If you have a food dehydrator you can “cook” the granola in that instead of the oven.  Though some prefer to start or finish the granola in a hot oven for that crispy baked taste.

*Making granola is a great reason to explore the bulk foods area of your grocery store.  Buy organic when you can, especially with the nuts and dried fruits, since organic varieties won’t have all the preservatives and added sugars that their non organic kin do.

* For any Paleo-diets or grain free diets you can make this granola the same way and simply omit the oats, increase the amount of flax seed meal, coconut flakes, or add in some chia seeds!

* Feel free to mix and match your favorite nuts, seeds, and dried fruits in this recipe based on what you like or what you have on hand.  Some other tasty combos include: walnuts/dried bananas/raisins, or, dried figs/hazelnuts/dried pears, or, dates/almonds/sunflower seeds, or, dried apples/walnuts/raisins

* A tasty topping for your favorite vanilla ice cream or sprinkled on top of baked apples, baked pears, or a bowl of sliced bananas!

And if you want to get your science on here is some more tuber info pulled from the webs, http://www.whfoods.com

Superior fiber content

Sweet potatoes contain almost twice as much fiber as other types of potatoes. Contributing close to 7 grams of fiber per serving, they make an excellent starchy addition to any meal. The high fiber content gives them a “slow burning” quality. This basically means their caloric energy is used more slowly and efficiently than a low-fiber carbohydrate.

Heart-healthy

They contain a large amount of vitamin B6. This vitamin is crucial in breaking down a substance called homocysteine, which contributes to hardening of the arteries and blood vessels. Vitamin B6 helps keep the walls of these important blood passageways flexible and healthy which allows blood to flow freely.

In addition, sweet potatoes contain high amounts of potassium. Potassium plays an important role in lowering blood pressure by ridding the body of excess sodium and regulating fluid balance. It is also an important electrolyte that helps regulate the natural rhythm of the heart, and maintains normal function of the brain and central nervous system.

Rich in beta-carotene

Beta-carotene or vitamin A is an important antioxidant. One medium sweet potato provides your body with the complete recommended daily allowance of vitamin A and then some. Vitamin A is useful in the prevention of several different types of cancer as it is one of the most potent antioxidants out there.

Beta-carotene also helps to internally protect your skin from sun damage by both deflecting and repairing cell damage caused by excessive UV exposure. It also is an excellent nutrient for eye health and has been linked to prevention of vision loss and macular degeneration.

A great source of manganese

Manganese is a little-discussed trace mineral that has some great health benefits. It is a pivotal component in the metabolism of carbohydrates which helps support healthy blood sugar levels. This can help stabilize the appetite for hours as opposed to the temporary satisfaction that comes with most other carbohydrates.

It also is a cofactor in enzymes that play an important role in the generation of energy as well as the efficient utilization of antioxidants. It is used for the treatment of anemia and is useful as a treatment for several premenstrual symptoms in women as well.

Rich in vitamins C and E

As if being one of the top vegetable sources of beta-carotene weren’t enough, sweet potatoes are also rich in vitamins C and E. These are potent antioxidant vitamins that play an important role in disease prevention and longevity.

Both vitamins also play a huge role in the health and beauty of your skin and hair, making them popular supplements. The combination of beta-carotene, vitamin E and vitamin C in one food makes the sweet potato one heck of a “beauty food”. These nutrients all contribute to a healthy, glowing complexion and vibrant hair

Antioxidant Nutrients in Sweet Potato

Sweet potatoes contain a wealth of orange-hued carotenoid pigments. In countries throughout Africa, in India and in the Caribbean, sweet potatoes have been shown to be a highly effective way of providing school age children with sizable amounts of their daily vitamin A. In some studies, sweet potatoes have been shown to be a better source of bioavailable beta-carotene than green leafy vegetables. Because sweet potatoes are available in many countries on a virtual year-round basis, their ability to provide us with a key antioxidant like beta-carotene makes them a standout antioxidant food.

Yet beta-carotene only begins to tell the story of sweet potato antioxidants. Particularly in purple-fleshed sweet potato, antioxidant anthocyanin pigments are abundant. Cyanidins and peonidins are concentrated in the starchy core of part of purple-fleshed sweet potatoes, and these antioxidant nutrients may be even more concentrated in the flesh than in the skin. That’s sweet potatoes have genes (IbMYB1 and IbMYB2) that are specialized for the production of anthocyanin pigments in the fleshy part of the tuber. Ordinary, we have to rely on the skins of foods for this same level of anthocyanin antioxidants. But not in the case of sweet potatoes! Extracts from the highly pigmented and colorful purple-fleshed and purple-skinned sweet potatoes have been shown in research studies to increased the activity of two key antioxidant enzymes—copper/zinc superoxide dismutase (Cu/Zn-SOD) and catalase (CAT).

Recent research has shown that particularly when passing through our digestive tract, sweet potato cyanidins and peonidins and other color-related phytonutrients may be able to lower the potential health risk posed by heavy metals and oxygen radicals. That risk reduction is important not only for individuals at risk of digestive tract problems like irritable bowel syndrome or ulcerative colitis but for all persons wanting to reduce the potential risk posed by heavy metal residues (like mercury or cadmium or arsenic) in their diet.

Storage proteins in sweet potato also have important antioxidant properties. These storage proteins—called sporamins—get produced by sweet potato plants whenever the plants are subjected to physical damage. Their ability to help the plants heal from this damage is significantly related to their role as antioxidants. Especially when sweet potato is being digested inside of our gastrointestinal tract, we may get some of these same antioxidant benefits.

Anti-Inflammatory Nutrients in Sweet Potato

Anthocyanin and other color-related pigments in sweet potato are equally valuable for their anti-inflammatory health benefits. In the case of inflammation, scientists understand even more about the amazing properties of this tuber. In animal studies, activation of nuclear factor-kappa B (NF-kB); activation of inducible nitric oxide synthase (iNOS), and cyclooxygenase-2 (COX-2); and formation of malondialdehyde (MDA) have all be shown to get reduced following consumption of either sweet potato or its color-containing extracts. Since each of these events can play a key role in the development of unwanted inflammation, their reduction by sweet potato phytonutrients marks a clear role for this food in inflammation-related health problems. In animal studies, reduced inflammation following sweet potato consumption has been shown in brain tissue and nerve tissue throughout the body.

What’s equally fascinating about color-related sweet potato phytonutrients is their impact on fibrinogen. Fibrinogen is one of the key glycoproteins in the body that is required for successful blood clotting. With the help of a coagulation factor called thrombin, fibronogen gets converted into fibrin during the blood clotting process. Balanced amounts of fibrinogen, thrombin and fibrin are a key part of the body’s health and its ability to close off wounds and stop loss of blood. However, excess amounts of these clotting-related molecules may sometimes pose a health risk. For example, excess presence of fibrinogen and fibrin can trigger unwanted secretion of pro-inflammatory molecules (including cytokines and chemokines). In animal studies, too much fibrin in the central nervous system has been associated with breakdown of the myelin sheath that surrounds the nerves and allows them to conduct electrical signals properly. If fibrin excess can trigger unwanted inflammation in nerve tissue and increase breakdown of the myelin wrapping the nerve cells (a process that is usually referred to as demyelination), health problems like multiple sclerosis (in which there is breakdown of the myelin nerve sheath) may be lessened through reduction of excess fibrinogen and/or fibrin. In preliminary animal studies, intake of sweet potato color extracts have been shown to accomplish exactly those results: reduction of inflammation, and simultaneous reduction of fibronogen levels. We look forward to exciting new research in this area of sweet potato’s anti-inflammatory benefits.

Blood Sugar Benefits

Many people think about starchy root vegetables as a food group that could not possibly be helpful for controlling their blood sugar. That’s because many people realize that food starches can be converted by our digestive tract into simple sugars. If foods are especially concentrated in starch, there can often be a risk of too much simple sugar release in our digestive tract and too much pressure upon our bloodstream to uptake more sugar. (The result in this situation would be an overly quick elevation of our blood sugar level.) What’s fascinating about sweet potatoes is their ability to actually improveblood sugar regulation—even in persons with type 2 diabetes. While sweet potatoes do contain a valuable amount of dietary fiber (just over 3 grams per medium sweet potato) and if boiled or steamed can carry a very reasonable glycemic index (GI) rating of approximately 50, it may not be either of these factors that explains their unusual blood sugar regulating benefits. Recent research has shown that extracts from sweet potatoes can significantly increase blood levels of adiponectin in persons with type 2 diabetes. Adiponectin is a protein hormone produced by our fat cells, and it serves as an important modifier of insulin metabolism. Persons with poorly-regulated insulin metabolism and insulin insensitivity tend to have lower levels of adiponectin, and persons with healthier insulin metabolism tend to have higher levels. While more research on much larger groups of individuals to further evaluate and confirm these blood sugar regulating benefits, this area of health research is an especially exciting one for anyone who loves sweet potatoes.

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