Now that you know the foods included in Okinawan diet, you can incorporate this wonderful, healthy, and naturally sweet vegetable in your meals throughout the year. You can enjoy these potatoes baked, mashed, roasted, boiled, steamed, or sautéed. The striking hue can add a colorful twist to the dish. You can make colorful cakes, ice creams, pies, doughnuts, soups, etc., using Okinawan sweet potatoes. Improved Memory Anthocyanins in purple sweet potatoes have memory-enhancing effects. It also helps regulate blood sugar levels.ġ0. It prevents indigestion, gas, constipation, stomach ache, etc. Digestive Health Fiber in PSP helps improve digestive health. Thus, PSP can improve visual functions.ĩ. offer some protection against the development of advanced age-related macular degeneration, especially to those who are at risk for the disease. Eye Health The antioxidants, vitamins A, C, E, zinc, etc. They not only live longer than anyone else in the world, but they also live more youthful lives even in old age.Ĩ. The secret of the long life of the residents of Okinawa perhaps lies in their diet rich in purple-fleshed sweet potatoes. However, researchers have found that DHEA levels drop at a much slower rate among the long-lived Okinawans. Studies show that in Western cultures, along with aging, DHEA levels drop dramatically. As per need, DHEA gets converted into estrogen, progesterone, or testosterone. Hormonal Balance and Anti-aging Effect PSP is also a good source of DHEA (dehydroepiandrosterone), a precursor hormone. PSP can help control diabetes by improving blood sugar regulation and insulin production.ħ. So they can be incorporated in the diet by weight watchers and diabetics. Low Glycemic Index Okinawan potatoes come with a low glycemic index. The extract acts like an anti-atherosclerotic (hardening of arteries, due to deposition of plaque on their inner walls, is called atherosclerosis) and anti-diabetic agent.ģ. Antioxidant Activity PSP extract, which has potent antioxidant activity, can be used to treat hyperlipidemic (abnormally high concentration of fats or lipids in blood) and hyperglycemic (diabetes, an excess of glucose in blood) disorders. While passing through the digestive tract, Okinawan potatoes can lower the potential health risk posed by heavy metals and oxygen radicals.Ģ. Neutralization of Free Radicals Sporamins, storage proteins in sweet potato, also have antioxidant properties. In short, purple-fleshed sweet potatoes are fat-free, low in calories, high in fiber, and are loaded with antioxidants. Even the leaves of the plant carry antioxidant properties and are included in soups in many cuisines. Different genes in the flesh and the skin produce different concentrations of anthocyanin antioxidants. Studies show that the antioxidant activity in PSP cultivars is 3.2 times higher than that of a type of blueberry! All parts of Okinawan sweet potatoes exhibit antioxidant properties. The anthocyanin content may vary according to the cultivar. The purple anthocyanin pigments such as peonidins and cyanidins, responsible for the rich purple tones of the flesh, exhibit antioxidant and anti-inflammatory properties. PSP cultivars are unusually high in antioxidants. The high anthocyanin content, the deep purple color, the flavorful, dense, and creamy flesh, a richer taste, and well-balanced sweetness make them different from other sweet potato varieties. Source: the University of Hawaii’s Cancer Center Okinawan Sweet Potato Calories and Nutritionġ cup (150 g) serving of these sweet potatoes can provide 220 calories and about 1,442 retinal equivalents of vitamin A (more than 500% of the daily value).
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