Are you doing the right thing by eating sweet potatoes to lose weight? 3 key Q&A tips for you

Peel off the hot sweet potato, take a bite, and the sweet taste in your mouth will make you feel satisfied and touched! In addition to being delicious and palatable, sweet potatoes are high in potassium, low in GI, high in fiber, and can easily make you feel full after eating, which are the key reasons why people can't put them down. Although sweet potatoes are rich in nutrients, if you want to lose weight by eating them, what should you do? Let the experts answer the three most common Q&As from the public one by one!

Sweet sweet potatoes are rich in nutrients! High in fiber and potassium, helps increase satiety and reduce edema

Why are sweet potatoes considered by most people to be an excellent food for weight loss? According to the Food Nutrition Facts Database of the Food and Drug Administration, the most common red sweet potato has 113 calories per 100 grams and 2.4 grams of dietary fiber, making it a high-fiber food. Moderate consumption can help increase satiety.

In addition to its high fiber content, every 100 grams of sweet potato also contains up to 300 mg of potassium ions. Moderate intake can help the human body maintain the balance of sodium and potassium ions in the body, further playing a role in reducing edema. The most important thing is that although the main nutrient component of sweet potatoes, which are whole grains and root vegetables, is still starch, most of the starch contained in sweet potatoes is "resistant starch" that is difficult to digest and utilize in the small intestine. Therefore, the calories consumed are lower than those eaten; and because digestion and absorption are slow, replacing part of the staple food with sweet potatoes is indeed beneficial for taking in more dietary fiber, increasing satiety, avoiding overeating, and also helping to maintain constant blood sugar.

Want to help lose weight by eating sweet potatoes? 3 must-know Q&As

If you want to lose weight by eating sweet potatoes, what should you do? The book "Sweet Potato Coarse Food Health Book" written by the Amateur Natural Food Research Association and reviewed by Chinese Medicine Practitioner Wang Meijun specifically addresses the three most common questions among the public and explains them one by one:

It is recommended that people who want to lose weight should replace sweet potatoes with equal amounts of white rice, white bread and other foods when eating them.

Q1/Sweet potatoes have a low glycemic index, so eating more won’t make you fat?

The glycemic index mainly refers to the impact of food on the rise and fall of blood sugar levels after it is eaten by the human body. Foods with a high glycemic index can easily cause blood sugar to rise rapidly after being eaten. In order to carry excess sugar away from cells, the body will secrete more insulin. Therefore, there is a saying that foods with higher glycemic index are more likely to stimulate insulin secretion, causing the calories eaten to be converted into fat; while foods with low glycemic index are less likely to cause such a mechanism and are relatively less likely to make people fat.

But it is worth noting that even so, sweet potato is still a starchy food. Eating too much can easily lead to excessive calorie intake and cause obesity. Taking the sweet potatoes sold in convenience stores as an example, half a palm-sized sweet potato (200 grams) has 226 calories, which is almost close to a bowl of rice (280 calories). If you eat two, the calories will be too high.

Therefore, it is recommended that people who want to lose weight should replace sweet potatoes with equal amounts of white rice, white bread and other foods when eating them. Do not eat sweet potatoes as a side dish or snack without restraint, or make sweet potatoes the staple food for every meal just because you think they are healthy.

Q2／If I want to eat sweet potatoes to help me lose weight, is it better to eat baked sweet potatoes or steamed sweet potatoes?

During the baking process, the sweet potato skin becomes dry and hard, making it difficult for people to eat the skin which has high nutritional value. In addition, compared with steaming, high-temperature baking of sweet potatoes can easily cause the loss of phytochemicals rich in the sweet potato skin. Therefore, it is recommended to eat sweet potatoes by steaming or boiling, which will help increase the palatability of the sweet potato skin.

Put the baked sweet potatoes in the refrigerator and let them become frozen sweet potatoes before eating. In this way, the starch in the sweet potato can be converted into "resistant starch" which is less easily absorbed by the human body, thereby reducing the body's absorption rate.

If you still like to eat baked sweet potatoes, you might as well try putting the baked sweet potatoes in the refrigerator and turn them into frozen sweet potatoes before eating them. In this way, the starch in the sweet potato can be converted into "resistant starch" which is less easily absorbed by the human body, thereby reducing the body's absorption rate. According to European experiments, the absorption and digestion rates of resistant starch are worse than those of ordinary starch. It can even reduce the digestibility to 42%, and even reduce the absorption of calories by about 50%. It can be said to be another food option for the public.

Q3／If I want to eat sweet potatoes to help lose weight, is it better to eat them with the skin?

Sweet potato peel is rich in dietary fiber, proteoglycans, minerals and other nutrients. Moderate intake can help the body lower blood cholesterol, maintain blood vessel elasticity and lower blood pressure. Therefore, if people can accept the taste of sweet potato skin, it is recommended that they eat sweet potatoes with the skin.

In order to increase the palatability of sweet potato skin, you may choose to steam or boil it, which will make it easier to eat. In addition, if you can increase the number of chewings when eating, it will be more beneficial to stimulate the central nervous system of the brain, play a role in increasing satiety and avoid eating too much food.

【Intimate Reminder】：

Although replacing white rice with sweet potatoes in moderation is indeed helpful for weight loss, it should be reminded that in order to successfully have a healthy body, in addition to starting with diet, developing regular exercise habits, eating three meals at regular times and in regular amounts, and a balanced diet are the only way to truly prevent obesity.