Fight Sugar Craving with Sweet Potatoes

By, Charlotte Snow

SWEET POTATOES – CRAVING CRASHERS??

Sweet potatoes are on everyone’s mind this season. They seem to go hand in hand with the holidays, whether you’re making “candied yams” (yum) or sweet potato pie, they’re sure to be somewhere on the menu.  Fortunately, eating these and other sweet vegetables needn’t be limited to just this time of year. I personally eat sweet potatoes pretty much every single day.  Occasionally I will switch it out for brown rice, but it’s rare.  I just love the taste, the digestibility and the effect it has on stabilizing my blood sugar levels, thus preventing me from craving sweets.  Many people don’t realize, but cravings for sweets can be greatly reduced by adding sweet vegetables, such as sweet potatoes, yams, parsnips, beets, squash, turnips and rutabagas to your daily diet. Sweet potatoes elevate blood sugar gently rather than with the jolt delivered by simple refined carbohydrates, such as white flour pasta, rice or bread, so there’s no energy crash after you eat them. Much higher in nutrients than white potatoes and especially rich in vitamin A, sweet potatoes offer a creamy consistency that is satisfying and soothing. They are healing to the stomach, spleen, pancreas and reproductive organs and help to remove toxins from the body.  For those of you with child or preparing for pregnancy, here’s a fun fact, sweet potatoes can increase the quantity of milk in lactating women and can lessen cramps and premenstrual symptoms. If you don’t have any sweet potatoes in your kitchen, go out and buy some today!!