Sweet potato (English: sweet potato) formerly known as sweet potato (scientific name: Ipomoea batatas (L.) Lam.), also known as red taro, sweet potatoes, sweet potatoes, rice (Guangdong), yam (Hebei), yams, groundnuts (North), red camas, line camas, white potatoes, gold potatoes, sweet potatoes, Zhu yam, cushion potatoes, panga, white taro, fennel taro groundnuts, etc.. Sweet potato belongs to the order of tubular flowers, cyclamen annual herbaceous plants, more than 2 meters long, lying flat on the ground diagonally, the leaf blade is usually broadly ovate, 4-13 centimeters long, 3-13 centimeters wide, the corolla pink, white, mauve or purple, campanulate or funnel-shaped, 3-4 centimeters long, the capsule is ovate or compressed-orbicular with pseudoseptation, divided into 4 chambers, with underground caudexes, caudexes are fusiform, and the outer skin is earthy-yellow or purplish-red. Sweet potato is rich in protein, starch, pectin, cellulose, amino acids, vitamins and a variety of minerals, "longevity food" reputation. Sugar content reaches 15%-20%. There are anti-cancer, heart protection, prevention of emphysema, diabetes, weight loss and other effects. North commonly known as groundnut, yam. Ming Dynasty Li Shizhen "Compendium of Materia Medica" recorded "sweet potato to supplement the deficiency, strengthen the spleen and stomach, strong kidney yin", and said that the people in the sea eat long life. Chinese medicine regard sweet potato as good medicine.
Sweet potato root contains 60%-80% water, 10%-30% starch, 5% sugar and a small amount of protein, oil, cellulose, hemicellulose, pectin, ash, etc., if 2.5Kg of fresh sweet potatoes folded into 0.5Kg of grain, its nutrients in addition to fat, protein, carbohydrates, etc. content are higher than the rice, flour, and the protein composition of sweet potatoes is more reasonable, high content of essential amino acids. Composition is more reasonable, essential amino acid content is high, especially grain and cereal food in the lack of lysine in the sweet potato content is high. In addition sweet potato is rich in vitamins (carotene, vitamin A, B, C, E), its starch is also easily absorbed by the body.
Sweet potatoes contain unique bioflavonoid components, which can promote smooth defecation and can effectively inhibit the occurrence of breast and colon cancer; it can improve the function of the digestive organs, nourish the liver and kidneys, and can also effectively treat hepatitis and jaundice.
Sweet potato protein quality is high, can make up for rice, white flour in the nutritional deficiencies, regular consumption can improve the body's utilization of staple food in the nutrients, so that a person's health, prolong life.
Sweet potatoes are rich in dietary fiber, with a special function of preventing the conversion of sugar into fat; can promote gastrointestinal motility and prevent constipation, used to treat hemorrhoids and anal fissures, etc., on the prevention of rectal cancer and colon cancer also has a certain role.
Sweet potato has a special protective effect on the mucous membrane of human organs, which can inhibit the deposition of cholesterol, maintain the elasticity of blood vessels, prevent the connective tissues in the liver and kidney from atrophying, and prevent the occurrence of collagen disease.