While potato is one of the most important vegetables in every Indian household, its distant cousin sweet potato is one the most nutritious foods when it comes to health and beauty benefits. Sweet potatoes contain Omega 3, fatty acids magnesium, phosphorus, potassium, sodium and zinc and vitamins A, B, C, K and E. Sweet potato is considered as an excellent source of natural, health-promoting compounds known as beta-carotene and anthocyanin. Beta-carotene is known to reduce risk of several chronic diseases, including cancer, cardiovascular diseases, age-related macular degeneration and cataracts. Anthocyanin fights pigmentation and provides anti-inflammatory benefits to the skin. Vitamin A, B and C have anti-oxidant properties that help in fighting against damage caused by free radical.
Sweet potatoes are also known as ‘Shakarkandi’ or ‘Shakarkand’ in Hindi, ‘Chilakada Dumpa’ in Telugu, ‘Sarkaraivalli kizhangu’ in Tamil, ‘Madhurakkilannu’ in Malayalam, ‘Genasu’ in Kannada, ‘Ratalu’ in Gujarati, ‘Ranga aloo’ in Bengali, Ratala Marathi, and Shakarkandi in Punjabi.Here are some ways you can use sweet potato and derive beauty and health benefits out of it:
Boil sweet potatoes. Let them cool and then mash them. Add a tablespoon of honey and spread this over your face. Let it stay for 20-30 minutes and wash off. You can also add 2-3 teaspoon lemon juice to it in case you have oily skin.
After boiling sweet potato, do not throw away the water. It is packed with nutrients that can help in improving your skin texture and clear your complexion. After boiling sweet potatoes, strain the water. Store this water in a bottle and keep it in the refrigerator to cool down. Use this sweet potato water as a toner for skin. This natural toner will help to absorb impurities, deep cleansing your pores and soothing irritated skin.
In case you have dry feet and cracked heels, instead of cooling the water in which the sweet potatoes were boiled completely, let it remain a little warm and soak your feet in it. It will help in getting rid of painful cracked heels.
The next time you decide to eat this tasty vegetable, just take two slices and place them on your eyes. As mentioned before, anthocyanin helps in reducing pigmentation and has anti-inflammatory properties that will help in getting rid of dark circles, wrinkles and puffiness of eyes.
To rejuvenate your dry skin, take one big sweet potato and boil it until it is soft enough that the skin can be pulled of easily. Take 1 tablespoon honey, 1 tablespoon of milk and 1 tablespoon of ginger juice extracted by grating the ginger root and then siev the juice out using a muslin cloth. Blend all the ingredients together until you have a smooth paste. Apply the mask to your cleansed face and neck. Let it sit for 20-25 minutes minutes. Rinse off with warm water. This mask will leave your skin fresh, hydrated and prevent pre-mature ageing. Also you can easily refrigerate the remaining unused face mask in the refrigerator for up to 2-3 days.
To make a mild scrub that doesn’t dry out your skin, take half a cup of boiled sweet potato cubes, 1 tablespoon oats and 1 tablespoon yogurt and blend them together to form a thick, coarse paste. Use this to scrub your skin in slow circular motions and wash it off with lukewarm water followed by moisturizing your skin with your favourite moisturizer.
Sweet potato works really well for your hair as well. With the abundance of different nutrients, the nourishment it provides to thirsty strands is almost unmatched. Take one big sweet potato, 1 cup yogurt, 1 tablespoon honey and 1 tablespoon of olive or almond oil. Blend all the ingredients until the mixture is smooth, apply it and let it sit for 15-20 minutes. For those who have very dry hair, you can also add 2-3 tablespoon of coconut cream with the rest of the ingredients.
Manganese found in sweet potato helps in promoting metabolism and maintaining healthy blood sugar balance. It also helps suppress your appetite to prevent you from overeating, thus helping in losing weight. It also helps in treating anaemia and severe premenstrual symptoms.
Sweet potato is a large, starchy, sweet-tasting, tuberous root vegetable. It is categorized as a super food, as it has a higher amount of nutrients in comparison to other foods. Sweet potato provides a good amount of vital minerals such as iron, calcium, magnesium, manganese, and potassium that are essential for enzyme, protein, and carbohydrate metabolism. This starchy root vegetable is a rich source of flavonoids, anti-oxidants and dietary fiber that are essential for your overall health.
The health and weight management benefits of sweet potatoes far exceed the nutritional value found in ordinary white and yellow fleshed potatoes. It is one of the average calorie starch foods (provides 90 calories/100g in comparison to 70 calories/100 g of potato). However, the tuber of the sweet potato contains no saturated fats or cholesterol and is a very rich source of dietary fiber, anti-oxidants, vitamins, and minerals.
Sweet potato is a very rich source of vitamin C which is known to produce collagen. Collagen helps in maintaining the elasticity of the skin and makes it look youthful.
Sweet potato consists of beta-carotene or vitamin A which is an important anti-oxidant and is known to prevent different types of cancer. It repairs cell damage caused by excessive UV exposure and provides an internal layer of protection to the skin from harmful UV rays of the sun.
Sweet potato contains a good amount of minerals such as magnesium and iron. Magnesium is believed to help in relaxation and acts as a stress buster for the skin.
Sweet potato, apart from vitamin A & C, also contains vitamin E which is known to be beneficial for the health of the skin. It improves the complexion, thus providing flawless skin. These vitamins (A, C & E) comprised together are known to be ‘beauty food’ for the skin.
The presence of vitamin A or beta-carotene in sweet potato makes it an ideal food for hair growth. Its deficiency may lead to hair problems like dull, damaged and lifeless hair. It can further lead to dandruff.
Sweet potato mask along with other ingredients like honey, yoghurt and olive oil works wonders for dull and rough hair, making them hydrated and imparting a natural shine.
Principle
Nutrient Value
Percentage of RDA
Energy86 Kcal4%Carbohydrates20.12 g15.5%Protein1.6 g3%Total Fat0.05 g<0.5%Cholesterol0 mg0%Dietary Fiber3 g8%Vitamins
Folates11 µg3%Niacin0.557 mg3.5%Pantothenic acid0.80 mg16%Pyridoxine0.209 mg15%Riboflavin0.061 mg5.5%Thiamin0.078 mg6.5%Vitamin A14187 IU473%Vitamin C2.4 mg4%Vitamin E0.26 mg2%Vitamin K1.8 µg1.5%Electrolytes
Sodium55 mg3.5%Potassium337 mg7%Minerals
Calcium30 mg3%Iron0.61 mg7.5%Magnesium25 mg6%Manganese0.258 mg11%Phosphorus47 mg7%Zinc0.30 mg3%Phyto-nutrients
Carotene-α7 µg—Carotene-ß8509 µg—Crypto-xanthin-ß0 µg—
So don’t forget to get home these magical roots when you get to the grocery shopping next time.