Steamed yam is a staple food, on the one hand, because it is nutritious and healthy, on the other hand, because it can nourish the stomach. Theoretically speaking, yam is rich in polysaccharide, which can protect gastric mucosa. From the nutritional point of view, coarse-grain potatoes such as corn and sweet potato are high in starch and dietary fiber, which are not easy to digest and are easy to cause abdominal distension and stomach pain. In contrast, yam has fine texture, soft taste, small starch granules and high amylopectin content. Easier to be digested by digestive juice, less irritating to gastrointestinal tract, promoting the production of digestive enzymes and speeding up digestion. For patients with digestive tract diseases, there is no need to worry about gastrointestinal mucosal damage.
Another advantage of using yam as staple food is to stabilize blood sugar. The starch content of crisp yam is about 12%, iron stick yam is about 20%, and rice is about 75%. After the rice is cooked, the water content increases, and the starch content still exceeds 30%. The water content of steamed bread and pie is lower than that of rice, so the starch content is higher. Therefore, compared with traditional staple food, eat it. In addition, studies have shown that yam can reduce the absorption rate of fat and cholesterol in food. Adding some yam to the diet is helpful to delay the occurrence and development of diabetes. Yam also contains active ingredients such as polysaccharide and dehydroepiandrosterone, which is helpful to improve sugar metabolism. Finally, reveal a little secret. The glycemic index of yam is only 52, which is the lowest among all potatoes.
In a word, yam is nutritious and healthy, which can nourish the stomach and stabilize blood sugar. Steamed yam is not only low in calories, but also can increase satiety, which can completely replace traditional staple food. "Dietary Guide for China Residents" suggests that yam and other potato foods can be included in the staple food category to replace some traditional staple foods such as rice and white flour, and it is more appropriate to eat 50 ~100g on average every day. After all, yam is no matter how good it is, so eat more.