Sweet potatoes are a healthy source of complex carbohydrates, which give you the energy your cells need to function properly.
According to the US Department of Agriculture, a medium-sized cooked sweet potato provides 23.6 grams of carbohydrates (8% of your daily needs), 103 calories, and no fat or cholesterol.
Sweet potatoes also provide a significant amount of fiber to help your digestive system function properly, preventing constipation. Sweet potatoes contain a number of important nutrients including vitamins A, B, C, potassium, manganese, magnesium, and copper.
An average sweet potato contains 30.8 grams of magnesium. According to Nutrition magazine, magnesium plays an essential role in nerve transmission and muscle contraction, and has the ability to prevent and treat neurological disorders and treat anxiety.
Differences between potato colors
Different colored potatoes can have different textures and flavors. For example, orange-fleshed potatoes are sweeter and firmer on the inside, while white-fleshed potatoes are drier and blander.
Purple sweet potatoes, originally from Okinawa, Japan, quickly spread to other countries. This type of potato has a creamy texture, sweet taste and is believed to contribute to the longevity of Japanese people.
In general, according to Livestrong, most sweet potatoes have similar vitamin and mineral content. Meanwhile, the color of the potato's flesh shows the origin and antioxidant content.
Orange-fleshed sweet potatoes are rich in carotenoids, purple sweet potatoes are rich in anthocyanins. These antioxidants create a different color for potatoes.
Carotenoids are yellow and orange pigments, a source of vitamin A, strengthen the immune system, good for the eyes, and prevent Lou Gehrig's disease (ALS). The most common carotenoids are beta-carotene, lutein, zeaxanthin and lycopene.
Anthocyanins are natural flavonoids found in red, purple and blue fruits. According to research published in the journal Food and Nutrition Research, in addition to being a powerful antioxidant, anthocyanin also has anti-inflammatory, anti-bacterial effects, preventing obesity, diabetes, cardiovascular disease and cancer.
Studies have compared the antioxidant content of white, cream and purple sweet potatoes. Accordingly, purple-fleshed sweet potatoes have the highest antioxidant content and total soluble fiber.
Another study comparing white, yellow and purple-fleshed sweet potatoes confirmed the above results. The conclusion published in the journal Preventive Nutrition and Food Science showed that all colors of sweet potatoes have similar polyphenol content, but purple-fleshed sweet potatoes have the highest anthocyanin antioxidant content, white-fleshed sweet potatoes have the lowest.
If you have good eyesight, sweet potatoes are a good choice due to their high vitamin A content.
An orange-fleshed sweet potato provides 730% of your daily vitamin A needs, which can prevent dry eyes, night blindness, and reduce the risk of eye infections. Purple-fleshed sweet potatoes contain an anthocyanin that can keep your eyes healthy.
How to preserve fresh sweet potatoes
Do not store potatoes in the refrigerator because it will change the cell structure of the potato and make the core of the potato harder. This is a mistake that many women make.
After buying sweet potatoes, you should store them in a dark, cool place, away from rain and sunlight, and away from places with too high temperatures. If you want to keep sweet potatoes for a long time, wrap them in newspaper or put them in a cardboard box lined with newspaper underneath.
Another effective way to preserve sweet potatoes from sprouting is to leave fresh potatoes in dry sand. Place the top of the potato facing out and from the bottom up.
If you have both sweet potatoes and potatoes, you should store them separately and not mix them together.
Storing boiled and pre-processed potatoes
Boiled sweet potatoes should be used within 2 days, while peeled fresh sweet potatoes should only be stored for 4-5 days to avoid losing nutrients.
You can leave the pre-processed, sliced sweet potatoes in water and then put them in the refrigerator for 1-2 days. However, cut fresh sweet potatoes should be processed immediately, not left for too long or they will no longer be delicious.
To preserve cooked sweet potatoes, you just need to put them in a zip bag or a regular plastic food container, close it tightly and store it in the refrigerator.