Eat this, not that. Stop eating sugar. Are you frustrated with your diabetes? Here is a simple food you can add to your diabetic kitchen. We are bringing in the sweet potatoes.
Now, the question is “are sweet potatoes good for diabetics”?
Described below are some highlights of sweet potatoes (SP) as a diabetes food.
Highlights
- Sweet potatoes are famous as “slow carbohydrates”.
- They keep you full for a longer time by digesting slowly because of their good fiber content.
- It does not elevate your blood sugar suddenly. They can raise blood sugar if you eat them in high quantities so be careful about the portions.
- It adds energy to your body cells and muscles without making you feel tired.
- It is low in fat and does not add weight to your body.
- It’s full of essential nutrients: both macro and micro, along with helpful vitamins. Sweet potatoes are loaded with antioxidants and nutrients like vitamin A, vitamin C, manganese, vitamin B6, magnesium, and potassium. They’re also rich in fiber, which is excellent for digestion.
- As a natural food, it has no side effects.
- The most recent addition of sweet potato to the clean 15 lists by the Environmental working group (EWG) group.
- The United States Department of Agriculture (USDA ) lists this as one of the least pesticide-containing vegetables.
- The glycemic index of sweet potato varies from mid to high range. By boiling them and controlling your portion, you can be safe as diabetic type 2.
AND
They taste sweet when you are scratching your head to treat your sweet tooth as a diabetes type 2 patient.
All of these qualities and their ready availability with no need of deep pockets to buy for the family or just for you is a reward from God.
Introduction
There are 4000 types of sweet potatoes found on earth. We will focus on purple, white, and red sweet potatoes which are readily available elsewhere. Just to let you know, the purple variety claimed to be better than the orange-colored ones. However, all kinds have attributes to help diabetes type 2 control blood sugar.
What Nutrition Does Sweet Potato Offer?
Below is the rundown of its nutrition profile.
100 grams of raw sweet potato contain 77g of water.
1.57 grams: Protein
20.1 grams: Carbohydrate
3 grams: Fiber
4.18 grams: Sugar
They are rich in important micronutrients and vitamins: Ca, Mg, Fe, P, K, Mn, Se; Vitamin C, Thiamin, Vitamin B6, Folate, Choline, and Vitamin A.
As you see, it comes with a great package of nutrition. Sweet potatoes help digestion, healthy hair and skin building, and overall health. But how about a diabetic patient?
How Is the “Sweet” of Sweet Potatoes Healthy For Diabetes?
In the context of diabetes, the sugar present in the sweet potato is like any other sugar and it can raise blood sugar. However, the sugar is with fiber inside. The sluggishness of fiber digestion reduces the ability of the sugar present to raise sugar in your blood.
But no one eats raw sweet potatoes.
So How to Process Sweet Potatoes for a Diabetic?
Eating raw sweet potatoes can create kidney stones because of the large amount of oxalate content.
It turns out that boiling sweet potatoes is the preferred way to get the best benefit for diabetes. This is superior to baking or roasting.
Eating with skin adds more nutrition to your health.
When boiled, sweet potatoes are a low glycemic index (GI) food, meaning they won’t spike your blood sugar as much as roasted and baked or regular potatoes, according to research published in the Journal of Nutrition and Metabolism.
- Curry
- Mashed
- mashed SP Stuffing in a sandwich
- Soup
- Use in Odisha-famous Dalma
Can One Eat Just Sweet Potatoes for Full Meal?
Sweet potatoes have a medium to the high glycemic index (GI)with a varying range of 44-96. GI measures how fast your blood sugar rises after a meal. Given the fairly large value of GI, a complete meal of sweet potatoes is too much for a diabetic with type 2
Because of the softness and delicacy of the boiled sweet potatoes, it’s easier to eat them in excess without realizing it. That is bad for diabetes because one can gain weight and be a victim of high blood sugar.
Watch your portion. It is all about how much.
Sweet potatoes cab be safe to eat if you boil them and watch your portion.
A healthy portion of sweet potatoes is 3-4 Oz
Can You Eat Sweet Potato Fries As a Diabetic?
Boiled and dried sweet potatoes can be fried using an air fryer. Regular oil fried ones are oily and too much oil is not good for a diabetic person. You may try a piece or two. It is always your portion. Either oil fried or air fried, check your portions.
Are Sweet Potatoes Safe to Eat for Diabetes?
Sweet potatoes are natural food. They don’t have side effects. For adiabatic, the boiled variation a smaller portion size (3-4 oz) will work. Eating a lot may spike your blood sugar.
Last but not least: what does science say about SP in the control and management of diabetes type-2?
A1c Reduction and Improved Insulin Resistance and Insulin Generating Cell Regeneration in Pancreatic regeneration- Scientific Evidence
The cumulative results from 23/2941 selected articles indicate that White sweet potato (I. batatas) has proven to be effective in treating the high blood sugar condition and is able to regulate dyslipidemia.
In a placebo-controlled randomized clinical trial (RCT) 140 participants were given 4 grams/day of sweet potato against a placebo. The analysis of data after six weeks and five months duration shows reduced blood sugar levels against placebo.
In an animal study, the diabetes-induced mice were fed with mixtures of white sweet potato leaves (washed and air-dried) and white sweet potato slices – after being processed. The analysis of pancreatic cells showed improved insulin resistance and insulin-generating cell regeneration in the pancreas. These results may help diabetes dietary management.
More Human trials are necessary to prove these results.
The Magnesium and Fiber Present in Sweet Potato Help Reduce Insulin Resistance
Bottomline
Sweet potatoes are a great nutrition source, particularly recommended! food for diabetes-affected people.
Add sweet potato to your daily nutrition. A boiled variation of sweet potato can be your choicest sweet treat to swap your sugary sweets and drinks. Consume a small portion of boiled sweet potato as a snack, pre-workout food, side item with your main meal, or cooking with fiber-rich vegetables or lentils.
- It manages your blood sugar level curbing your appetite.
- That helps to reduce your body weight, which reduces your blood sugar.
- Revival of pancreatic cells and insulin secretion may help you to rebuild your health before diabetes has been observed in the mice model.
- This root vegetable is nutrient-rich to help you as wholesome nourishment for maintaining good overall health and improving your diabetes health as well.
