Sweet Potatoes
The sweet potato is another Native American food discovered by Columbus and his crew. This root vegetable called "batatas" by the natives was taken back to Spain around 1500, where other varieties, including red, purple, and white were then cultivated. In Colonial times, American doctors recommended sweet potatoes for children to help prevent childhood nutritional diseases.
Sweet potatoes in their many varieties are a highly nutritious food, easy to prepare, heavenly tasting, and extremely versatile on any menu. Yet, they are undervalued, ignored, and under appreciated. Some people enjoy the wonderful flavor and health benefits of sweet potatoes year round, but for many families sweet potatoes appear on the table at Thanksgiving and only then.
Sweet potatoes were actually born in Mexico, Central, and South America, as well as the West Indies. Their botanical name, Ipomoca batata, was derived from the American Indians of Louisiana who were growing them in native gardens as early as 1540.
Sweet potatoes are part of the morning glory family, yet are often confused with the yam, which comes from the African word "nyami", referring to the starchy root from a different genus of plants. Yams sold at supermarkets are actually sweet potatoes with a moist texture and orange flesh. It was the Southerners, mainly from North Carolina, Georgia, and Louisiana, who adopted the name yams for the darker-skinned orange variety and made them an important part of their cuisine. "Yams" were so important in the South that during the American Revolution and the Civil War, they were said to have sustained the fighting soldiers.
The sweet potato deserves to be on the highest perch because it is a nutritional powerhouse with 4 ounces of cooked pulp supplying 2 grams of protein, 3.4 grams of fiber, 24.6 mg of vitamin C, 28 mg of calcium, 22.6 mcg of folic acid, 20 mg of magnesium, 348 mg of potassium, and a whopping 21822 I.U. of vitamin A.
That's mighty impressive for only a half cup serving. The skins, which are completely edible, add even more fiber.
The deep orange color of sweet potatoes is a calling card for its stash of antioxidants called carotenoids - the major one being beta-carotene. Recently, Swedish researchers discovered that eating three or more servings a week of carotenoid-rich vegetables, such as green leafy vegetables or root vegetables, could reduce the risk of stomach cancer by between 35 and 57 percent.
See also:
Sweet Potatoes: A Dietary Goldmine
Belly Byte: Ian's Sweet Potato Fries
