Can You Eat Sweet Potato Skins?
The first thing to understand is that there are two types of sweet potatoes: white and yellow. White sweet potatoes have a fleshy interior and are usually used in baking or cooking. Yellow sweet potatoes are smaller than white ones, but they contain more starch (a type of sugar) so they’re often eaten raw. They’re great for stuffing into your face when you want something savory without having to worry about calories!
Sweet potatoes are one of the most nutritious foods around, containing vitamins A, C, E and K2. They’re high in fiber too!
The flesh of these little guys contains no fat at all; it’s mostly water. When cooked down into their purest form – which takes a long time because they retain moisture – they become very tasty. Sweet potatoes are also rich in dietary fiber and vitamin B6, B12 and folate.
But wait, there’s more! Sweet potatoes are also loaded with antioxidants called polyphenols.
These phytonutrients are thought to protect against cancer, heart disease and other diseases. There is some evidence that eating sweet potatoes may reduce the risk of diabetes and even lower blood pressure.
But what about those nasty chemicals found in many processed foods? Are they safe to eat?
Yes, yes they are! According to the USDA, sweet potatoes are safe to eat. There are no traces of any toxic chemicals or pesticides in their natural state, which means that they are completely safe to eat as they are. In fact, sweet potatoes contain antioxidants that help protect your body against diseases. Eating a diet rich in antioxidants helps prevent cell damage, which may help reduce your risk of cancer.
Sweet potatoes are very nutritious and have a low glycemic index. That means they won’t cause your blood sugar to spike, which is good news for people with diabetes.
In addition, sweet potatoes contain lots of fiber and a variety of nutrients that most people don’t get enough of in their diet.
But what about those with inflammatory bowel disease? Are sweet potatoes OK to eat?
Yes! Sweet potatoes can actually help reduce inflammation in the body.
What about those with inflammatory bowel disease who need to eat low-fiber foods?
Yes! Sweet potatoes are low in fiber.
If you have a condition such as diabetes or inflammatory bowel disease, speak with your doctor before making any changes to your diet. But a serving of sweet potatoes won’t hurt you.
There are many more health benefits of sweet potatoes, but I’m going to stop talking about them here because I’m getting hungry and want to go eat some!
If you’re like me, then you probably want to know how to cook a sweet potato. Thankfully, cooking a sweet potato is easy.
You can either microwave, steam, boil, bake or even fry it. If you want to eat the skin along with the potato, go ahead and bake or boil them (steaming can make the skin soggy). Eating the skin along with the flesh will give you extra fiber and other nutrients.
When boiling, allow 20 minutes of cooking time for a regular potato, and 30 minutes for a larger one. If you like them softer, then only allow 15 minutes.
Once they’re done, drain the water and allow them to cool slightly before eating. If you like them softer still, then cook them for 5 minutes or so with the skin on, then remove the skin and mush them up when they’ve cooled down.
Sources & references used in this article:
Sweet potato: commercial vegetable production by DM Granberry, WT Kelley, GE Boyhan – 2007 – athenaeum.libs.uga.edu
Sweet Potatoes by S Potatoes – Crop Reporting BoardT Washington, DC …, 1953 – dc.foodmarketmaker.com
Sweet potato post-harvest assessment: experiences from East Africa by D Rees, R Kapinga, VQ Oirschot – 2003 – books.google.com
‘Regal’sweet potato. by A Jones, PD Dukes, JM Schalk, MG Hamilton… – HortScience, 1985 – cabdirect.org
Physiochemical properties of sweet potato and mung bean starch and their blends for noodle production. by MT Ho, A Noomhorm – Journal of Food Processing and Technology, 2011 – cabdirect.org
Everything you ever wanted to know about sweetpotato: Reaching agents of change ToT manual. 5: Harvesting and postharvest management, processing and … by T Stathers, A Bechoff, K Sindi, JW Low, D Ndyetabula – 2013 – cgspace.cgiar.org
