5 ways sweet potatoes can help you lose weight

Don’t we all love sweet potatoes? Absolutely yes. This is because sweet potatoes are not just yummy but are also packed with Vitamin A, minerals and plant compound called phytonutrient, which is great for our health.

They are even a favourite among athletes. However, sweet potatoes have gained a reputation for being a fattening vegetable due to its high-calorie content. But that’s not true.

In fact, sweet potatoes are considered as a healthy alternative to normal potatoes and have scientifically been proven to help in weight loss.

Here are three ways how sweet potatoes can help you lose weight:

1. High in fibre
Sweet potatoes are rich in dietary fibre, which aids weight loss by forming a gel like mesh in the stomach. This makes you feel fuller for longer and thus prevents you from overeating. Fibre also promotes stool movement and supports the production of good bacteria. Consuming fibre rich sweet potatoes can improve metabolism, digestion and thus aid weight loss.

2. Energy-rich good carbs
Carbohydrates are not supposed to be ignored completely, even while you are trying to lose weight. Carbs provide you with energy for various functions – to walk around, take the stairs and more. If your body doesn’t have enough carbs, you will not have the energy to keep yourself active and healthy. 300 grams of mashed potatoes contains a total of 58 grams of carbs, 8.25 of which is complex carbs (dietary fibre).

3. Low glycemic index (GI)
GI is the ranking of carbohydrates in the food, which depends on the glucose spike it causes in the body after being consumed. Foods with a high GI can cause high blood sugar. Consuming too much of these foods can cause insulin resistance and even increase your risk of type II diabetes. Though sweet potatoes are sweet, their GI is low. You can consume them without worrying about your blood glucose levels.

4. High water content
Dehydration can slow down your metabolism and consuming sweet potatoes can help rehydrate your body cells and give your metabolism a kick-start.

Being hydrates prevent your body from accumulating fat, balances the pH and helps in flushing out the toxins.

5. Rich in antioxidants
Sweet potatoes have many antioxidants inducing zinc superoxide, catalase and sporamins. These antioxidants protect your body from inflammation, which can lead to weight gain.