When we're trying to get on a health kick, there is one thing we think know for sure; carbohydrates are the enemy. For so long dismissed by those in the fitness industry as unnecessary and even unhealthy, carbohydrates have built up a bad reputation over the years and now, admitting that you eat them can be a very taboo thing to do indeed.
It turns out, however, that we might not have all of our facts straight. While chowing down on simple carbohydrates such as white bread or refined wheat will see a spike in your sugar levels and leave you feeling worse off, eating complex carbohydrates can actually be very good for your health. While you might be tempted to reach for the brown rice or pumpkin to get your carb fix, there's a reason why you might want to look to the sweet potato. Packed full of vitamins and great for your heart, sweet potatoes are more powerful than they look and could just be the way to reach a better, more healthy you.
Don't be put off by its name; the sweet potato is actually a great way in which to regulate your blood sugar levels and keep your energy levels at a steady rate. Packed full of natural sugars, the sweet potato releases its nutrients slowly into the bloodstream, allowing your body enough time in which to break them down and use them as fuel. You are left with more energy, less fatigue and an all round feeling of good health. It's win-win-win!
While you might not think about it in terms of your general health, your nervous system is incredibly important to the way in which your body functions. Linking essential organs and internal signals to one another, the nervous system controls the smooth running of every part of your body, ensuring that you stay on tip top form. Maintaining its health, then, is incredibly important. Packed full of powerful potassium, the sweet potato can help to regulate your nervous system, maintain your heartbeat and reduce swelling in your body tissues. Now that's impressive.
The sunlight nutrient, vitamin D is incredibly important to your overall health but unless you live in a sunspot all year round, you're likely to suffer a deficiency by the end of winter. There are a number of ways in which you can top up your vitamin D stores and sweet potato might just be the very best on the market. Playing an active role in your energy levels, heart health, skin quality and thyroid functioning, vitamin D is essential to practically all aspects of your health; it's time to take it seriously.
Do you want to feel more energetic throughout the day? Try eating more sweet potatoes. Containing high quantities of iron, the vegetable is a great way of regulating your energy levels throughout the day, helping you to focus more fully. Add in the fact that it can also help reduce your susceptibility to stress, keep your immune system working and produce more white blood cells and you're on to a winner.
When you're feeling under the weather, you might reach for the nearest orange, but there's a good reason why you should make sweet potato your alternative food of choice. Containing high levels of vitamin C, sweet potato can be eaten as an effective way to ward off illness, improve digestion, maintain dental health and increase blood cell formation. There's a lot to love in the humble vegetable.
With everyday stresses mounting up, it's easy to feel overwhelmed but did you know that by simply changing your diet, you can feel more relaxed? Topping up your body's stores of magnesium is a great way in which to decrease your levels of stress, maintain heart health and keep your muscles working on top form. Where can you find high quantities of magnesium? Just look to the sweet potato.
Want to see in the dark? Put down that carrot and pick up a sweet potato. Packed full of carotenoids, which function as antioxidants within the body, sweet potatoes can help to maintain the quality of your eyesight and ward off any degenerative diseases. Absorbing damaging light, the carotenoids will help to keep you seeing clearly for a long time into the future.