GrayRiver Farms Posted December 28, 2015 Share Posted December 28, 2015 HEALTH WATCH: Sweet potato, best nutrient bang for a buck Posted on November 20, 2015 in Nutrition By Michael Greger MD Sweet potatoes can be considered a superfood. They are one of the healthiest vegetables on the planet. (And one day, perhaps, even off the planet, as NASA has chosen the sweet potato for space missions.) A study out of the University of Washington aimed to identify which vegetables provided the most nutrients per dollar. The healthiest foods, like dark green leafy vegetables, may also be the cheapest, and the highest nutrient-rich food scores per dollar were obtained for sweet potatoes. Sweet potatoes are not just packed with nutrition but may also have special cancer-fighting properties. In 1931, a unique protein was discovered in sweet potatoes. It turns out that 80% of the protein in sweet potatoes is a type of protease inhibitor with potential anticancer effects. These proteins were originally tested against leukemia and appeared to suppress the growth of leukemia cells in a petri dish. But how would a sweet potato protein ever get into our bloodstream? As soon as most proteins hit our stomach, they start getting digested. To get around the digestion issue, researchers tried sweet potato protein against tongue cancer cells (sweet potato proteins certainly come in contact with our mouth!). Tongue cancer is often treated with chemotherapy, and most of the chemo drugs for tongue cancer have adverse effects; so, it is indispensable for us to find other therapeutic strategies. Sweet potato protein rapidly diminished viability of the cancer in vitro within a matter of days, leading the researchers to propose that sweet potatoes may be useful for human tongue cancer. But could they possibly help with other cancers as well? Remarkably, this special class of proteins doesn’t just survive digestion, but may also be absorbed into the bloodstream intact (in at least two of the nine women with advanced cervical cancer researchers tried giving them to). Most recently, sweet potato proteins were tried on colorectal cancer cells, one of our most common and deadly cancers. Normally, we just surgically remove the colon, but that only works in the early stages since there are often “micrometastases” outside the colon that can subsequently lead to cancer recurrence and death; so, we’ve been searching for anti-metastatic agents. Not only does sweet potato protein slow down the growth of colon cancer cells, but it may also decrease cancer cell migration and invasion. Sweet potato consumption has also been associated with lower gallbladder cancer rates, but it has never been directly put to the test, but what’s the downside? GrayRiver Farms has sweet potatoes! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Dottie Atwater Posted December 28, 2015 Share Posted December 28, 2015 I eat a lot of sweet potatoes. They are very easy to grow. Just plant a vine with a root. I'll be happy to give "starts" to anyone who wants them. 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
JudyS Posted December 28, 2015 Share Posted December 28, 2015 Are we talking about yams, the big orange ones (which are really a variety of sweet potato)? Or are we talking about the other type of sweet potatoes, which tend to be white or yellow (purple in Hawaii). I like the big orange ones, the white/yellow ones not so much. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Dottie Atwater Posted December 28, 2015 Share Posted December 28, 2015 (edited) 13 minutes ago, JudyS said: Are we talking about yams, the big orange ones (which are really a variety of sweet potato)? Or are we talking about the other type of sweet potatoes, which tend to be white or yellow (purple in Hawaii). I like the big orange ones, the white/yellow ones not so much. Beats me, Judy. They can be harvested fairly small or wait until they're big. Mine or orange inside. Next time you come to the clinic in Volcan, remind me and I'll give you a vine. Edited December 28, 2015 by Dottie Atwater add info Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Marcelyn Posted December 28, 2015 Share Posted December 28, 2015 Sounds like yams to me. I agree, Judy, I favor the orange variety. Additional value to sweet potatoes (so I've read) is they contain lots of vitamin A, which is good for the skin. Happy healthy eating. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
JudyS Posted December 28, 2015 Share Posted December 28, 2015 2 hours ago, Dottie Atwater said: Beats me, Judy. They can be harvested fairly small or wait until they're big. Mine or orange inside. Next time you come to the clinic in Volcan, remind me and I'll give you a vine. Wrong Judy I think. I never come to the clinic in Volcan, or Boquete either. Can't be away that long. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Dottie Atwater Posted December 28, 2015 Share Posted December 28, 2015 Duh, sorry! You're right--wrong Judy. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Bonnie Posted December 28, 2015 Share Posted December 28, 2015 Betty's sweet potatoes are the orange variety. I made a sweet potato casserole out of some of them for Christmas, and it was delicious--just like I ate growing up in the South (U.S.). Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Carol Posted December 28, 2015 Share Posted December 28, 2015 I agree with Bonnie, Betty's sweet potatoes are the real deal. Very sweet and delicious, not like the Panamainian variety. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Penny Posted December 29, 2015 Share Posted December 29, 2015 Betty will be selling her famous sweet potatoes plus many other plants at the Chiriqui Storage flea market on Sunday, January 3. Gates open for customers at 10 AM Still some space for vendors -- email chiriquistorage@gmail.com Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Dottie Atwater Posted December 29, 2015 Share Posted December 29, 2015 23 hours ago, Carol said: I agree with Bonnie, Betty's sweet potatoes are the real deal. Very sweet and delicious, not like the Panamainian variety. I don't know what you mean by the "Panamanian" variety. I'm sure Betty's are delicious, and my sweet potatoes are the "real deal," too. I don't sell them, but I'll be happy to give "starts" to anyone who happens to be in Volcan. Just let me know. In the attached picture, I harvested this one while it was still fairly small. When I have too many to use right away, I bake them in foil and then freeze them. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Marcelyn Posted December 29, 2015 Share Posted December 29, 2015 A friend of mine from Mississippi makes a sweet potato pie. Tastes like pumpkin pie and fewer calories (so he claims). Makes his "specialty", freezes the completed product, then bakes the pie when friends come to visit. Yummy. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Dottie Atwater Posted December 29, 2015 Share Posted December 29, 2015 I discovered another delicious way to eat sweet potatoes. Partially thaw a cooked frozen sweet potato. Cut into rounds. In coconut oil or olive oil, brown the rounds on both sides along with chopped onions. Lightly salt and enjoy! Who wudda thought onions and sweet potatoes would complement each other, but wow! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Chris McCall Posted December 30, 2015 Share Posted December 30, 2015 Dottie - another thing to try, we don't eat gluten and found that cutting the sweet potatoes into rounds about 1/4 or little more thick browning as you say and using them as hamburger buns, with all the fixings. Great taste, even if we could eat bread I would not go back. The sweet potatoes are so so much better. Try it, you will love it. Also make a few extra thinly sliced or french fry slices to accompany the burgers :-) Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Gordon Bakke Posted December 30, 2015 Share Posted December 30, 2015 Sweet Potatoes and Yams are a very confusing topic, made worse by the fact that two basic types of sweet potato (there are many named varieties) are sold in the U.S., one called yams (they are not really yams) and one generally called sweet potato, both of which are sweet potatoes (Ipomoea batatas). Yams are actually a totally different genus (Dioscoreaceae). I have to look this up every time the topic comes up. :-) http://www.huffingtonpost.com/2013/11/25/difference-between-sweet-potatoes-and-yams_n_1097840.html Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Dottie Atwater Posted December 30, 2015 Share Posted December 30, 2015 OK, I have sweet potatoes. "... a copper skin with an orange flesh that is sweet and soft. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
JudyS Posted December 30, 2015 Share Posted December 30, 2015 In the year 2020 when everybody will be back to eating gluten-filled foods, I wonder what the next food phobia will be. I hope it's not chocolate. Maybe sweet potatoes. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Ken and Becky Posted December 31, 2015 Share Posted December 31, 2015 You are right, it's not a gluten problem, but it probably is gliadin. http://www.cbsnews.com/news/modern-wheat-a-perfect-chronic-poison-doctor-says/ Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
JudyS Posted December 31, 2015 Share Posted December 31, 2015 3 hours ago, Ken and Becky said: You are right, it's not a gluten problem, but it probably is gliadin. http://www.cbsnews.com/news/modern-wheat-a-perfect-chronic-poison-doctor-says/ I eat wheat in all forms with gusto. If it binds with opiate receptors, maybe that's why I enjoy bread and pasta so much. Maybe I should be smoking it to get the full joy of it. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Ken and Becky Posted December 31, 2015 Share Posted December 31, 2015 I wish I could eat it. The psoriasis and fibromyalgia are too severe when I eat it and gone when I eliminate it from my diet. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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