Sweet Potatoes and Roasted Bananas
A Recipe for Heavenly Health for the whole family!
Sweet potatoes and roasted bananas pack a powerful nutritional punch. In one medium sweet potato, there is over 400 percent of your daily vitamin A requirement, plus fibre and potassium. Sweet potatoes have more grams of natural sugars than regular potatoes but more overall nutrients with fewer calories.
The banana is a nutritional powerhouse, packed with energy-giving carbohydrate and heart-healthy potassium. Bananas are an excellent source of potassium and vitamin B6, vitamin C, fibre and carbohydrate also. Bananas are loaded with valuable micronutrients, especially potassium. Potassium is one of the most important electrolytes in the body, helping to regulate heart function as well as fluid balance – a key factor in regulating blood pressure. The effectiveness of potassium-rich foods such as bananas, in lowering blood pressure and protecting against heart disease and strokes is well accepted and bolstered by considerable scientific evidence. https://www.health.harvard.edu/heart-health/potassium-lowers-blood-pressure
Bananas are soothing to the gastrointestinal tract due to their high content of pectin – as soluble fibre that not only lowers cholesterol but normalises bowel function. The high fibre content of bananas promote satiety (feelings of fullness). However, as a tropical fruit bananas are higher in sugar and aren’t a great choice for diabetics !!
The resistant starch in bananas also has a prebiotic effect, helping to keep gut bacteria happy by increasing the production of short chain fatty acids for digestive health.
Sweet potatoes are native to Central and South America and are one of the oldest vegetables known to man. They have been consumed since prehistoric times as evidenced by sweet potato relics dating back 10,000 years that have been discovered in Peruvian caves.
Christopher Columbus brought sweet potatoes to Europe after his first voyage to the New World in 1492.
Possible health benefits of sweet potatoes and roasted bananas:
Consuming fruits and vegetables of all kinds has long been associated with a reduced risk of many adverse health conditions.
Research suggests that increasing consumption of plant foods, like sweet potatoes, decreases the risk of obesity, diabetes, heart disease, and overall mortality. https://www.medicalnewstoday.com/articles/281438.php
A diet including fresh fruit and vegetables may also promote a healthy complexion, increased energy, and overall lower weight.
1. They are high in vitamin B6.
Vitamin B6 helps reduce the risk of degenerative diseases in our bodies.
2. They are a good source of vitamin C.
While most people know that vitamin C is important to help ward off cold and flu viruses, few people are aware that this crucial vitamin plays an important role in bone and tooth formation, digestion, and blood cell formation. It helps accelerate wound healing, and is essential to helping us cope with stress.
3. They are a good source of vitamin D, which helps build healthy bones.
Vitamin D is critical for immune system and overall health. Both a vitamin and a hormone, vitamin D is primarily made in our bodies as a result of getting adequate sunlight. Vitamin D also plays an important role in our energy levels, moods, and helps to build healthy bones, heart, nerves, skin, and teeth, and it supports the thyroid gland.
4. Sweet potatoes contain iron and support a healthy immune system.
Most people are aware that we need the mineral iron to have adequate energy, but iron plays other important roles in our body, including red and white blood cell production, resistance to stress, proper immune functioning, and the metabolizing of protein, among other things.
5. Sweet potatoes are a good source of magnesium, which is the relaxation and anti-stress mineral.
Magnesium is necessary for healthy artery, blood, bone, heart, muscle, and nerve function.
6. They are a source of potassium.
Potassium is one of the important electrolytes that help regulate heartbeat and nerve signals. Like the other electrolytes, potassium performs many essential functions, some of which include relaxing muscle contractions, reducing swelling, and protecting and controlling the activity of the kidneys.
7. Sweet potatoes do not cause blood sugar spikes however, as a tropical fruit bananas are higher in sugar and aren’t a great choice for diabetics..
Sweet potatoes are naturally sweet-tasting but their natural sugars are slowly released into the bloodstream, helping to ensure a balanced and regular source of energy, without the blood sugar spikes linked to fatigue and weight gain.
8. Sweet potatoes are powerful antioxidants.
Their rich orange colour indicates that they are high in carotenoids like beta carotene and other carotenoids, which is the precursor to vitamin A in your body. Carotenoids help strengthen our eyesight and boost our immunity to disease, they are powerful antioxidants.
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More Sweet potato Recipes by Tyler Florence at : http://www.foodnetwork.com/recipes/tyler-florence/whipped-sweet-potatoes-and-bananas-with-honey-recipe2-1946616