Over the last several years, superfoods have taken off as people search for new ways to support their physical, mental, and emotional health. Food isn’t just good for your muscles and bones. It provides essential nutrients that the brain needs to think clearly and stabilize mood.
Blueberries, almonds, and salmon are always at the top of superfood lists. One food that often gets overlooked but deserves a mention is the sweet potato. Sweet potatoes are a powerful source of several essential vitamins and healthy carbohydrates that can lead to a healthier heart and a better mood. If you want to support your Emotional and Physical Wellness with one hearty vegetable, the sweet potato is a great way to go.
Let’s Start with the Heart
Sweet potatoes are an amazing source of fiber, potassium and other nutrients that have been shown to prevent heart disease. One study showed that eating sweet potatoes could lower LDL cholesterol by as much as 29%, and eating just two a week may cut your risks of suffering a heart attack by as much as 86%.
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Fiber is essential for a healthy heart, and sweet potatoes are one of the best sources of dietary fiber available. Fiber helps you maintain a healthy weight because it fills you up and keeps you satisfied, and a healthy weight is one of the keys to a healthy heart. Fiber also scrapes various passages in the body, clearing out artery-clogging plaque build-up.
The Antidiabetic/Antidepressant Connection
Many people don’t realize that blood sugar and mood are very closely connected. When blood sugar spikes and then crashes, depression can often result, and, if you become hooked on this rush and crash cycle, it can have serious long-term effects on both your emotional and physical health.
Emotionally, blood sugar issues can cause anxiety, depression, and addiction. When blood sugar is constantly rushing, it can make you feel jittery, nervous, and “on edge.” When blood sugar crashes, it can send you into a depressed mood as you lose all energy and become extremely fatigued. Over time, this cycle can cause adrenal fatigue as the body fights to maintain equilibrium in the face of such stress, and you can become addicted to the cycle because more sugar sends you rushing back up again out of a crash—only to bring you crashing down again soon.
This cycle has physical effects as well. It can build up insulin resistance, a major factor in the development of diabetes. Insulin is a hormone designed to carry sugar from the blood to the cells, providing them with vital nutrients. Diabetes is a serious disease that can have negative and even dangerous physical effects.
Where does the sweet potato come in? Animal studies have shown that the sweet potato helps to stabilize blood sugar levels and lower the chances of insulin resistance. It has been called an “antidiabetic” because of its abilities to create stable blood sugar, but it could also be called a natural antidepressant for the same reason.
When your blood sugar is stabilized, your mood is steadier and calmer. You’re able to focus better and think more clearly. Eating a sweet potato can keep you feeling energized and elevate your mood for as many as three hours afterward. You’ll also avoid that sugar rush and crash cycle that does so much damage to your mood and to your body.
Sweet potatoes are also rich in vitamin B9, or Folate. Folate is an essential support for your brain’s ability to produce the neurotransmitters that regulate mood, as well as other vital bodily functions.
Other Reasons the Sweet Potato is Super
The sweet potato is rich in vitamin A, vitamin C, manganese, fiber, vitamin B9 (Folate) and iron. Vitamin C, Folate and beta carotene (vitamin A) are three of the top cancer-fighting nutrients, and fiber is also a cancer-fighting agent. It is believed that as many as 30% of cancer cases could have been prevented by practicing healthier diets, and sweet potatoes would be one way to implement those changes.
Sweet potatoes also support good eyesight and help with weight control. One eight-ounce sweet potato can provide women with almost 1/5 their daily protein requirement and enough iron to support healthy levels for two-and-a-half days.
Whether you’re interested in improving your mood or enhancing your heart health, re-energizing during your mid-afternoon slump or fighting cancer, the sweet potato is one superfood that deserves a shot.
Author: Nan Little
Website: http://www.123FeelBetter.net/
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