Some have wondered "can you eat sweet potato raw
without cooking it?" Yes, you can eat raw sweet potatoes safely. Most
people won’t get sick after eating them, and if you do, the symptoms usually
aren’t severe.
They may be safe for humans, but they can be bad for some
animals, so don’t share raw sweet potatoes with your pets.
Raw sweet potatoes have a lot of fiber, but this can make
them harder to digest. This is why they’re normally cooked before eating.
If you do eat raw sweet potatoes, you may experience gas and
bloating, but this isn’t usually serious.
For the most part, it’s unlikely that raw sweet potatoes
will make you sick. Just make sure that they’re fresh and that you wash them
well before consuming them.
Are Raw Sweet Potatoes Healthy?
Raw sweet potatoes
are good for you. They’re low in calories, contain a lot of water, and offer
some protein and fiber. They also have barely any fat or carbs. If you leave
the skin on, you also get almost four times your daily recommended dose of
Vitamin A. The root has more nutrients to offer too.
Vitamin A supports your vision and immune system
health. You must get enough of this nutrient in your diet each day. Simply
adding one raw sweet potato as a snack is more than enough to give you all the
Vitamin A that you need.
Benefits
- It
has high starch content, has no saturated fats or cholesterol, and
contains high levels of many nutrients, such as fiber, antioxidants,
vitamins and minerals.
- It
contains the highest rate of carotene and vitamin A in all vegetables that
stem from a root. Vitamin A helps with vision and healthy skin. The raw
yam also has vitamin B5, B6, B1, niacin, and riboflavin, which help with
the metabolic process.
- It
also includes elements that help break down carbs, enzymes, and proteins,
which are magnesium, manganese, and potassium. Many of the minerals raw
yams contain serve an additional function-help to prevent lung and oral
cavity cancer as well.
- It
has sugar in it, but the sugar raises the blood sugar levels at a slower
rate than even some fruit sugars. It is highly recommended for those
suffering from diabetes.
- Even
the leaves of the plant have more minerals and health benefits than other
tubular vegetables. The leaves are even healthier than the sweet potato
itself with higher contents of iron, folates, potassium, and vitamins C
and K, while having a lower salt rate.
Side Effects
Raw sweet potatoes have an enzyme inhibitor that stops the
trypsin enzyme from digesting proteins. The higher the protein in a raw yam, the
higher the number of these inhibitors it has, thus making it hard to digest.
However, this inhibitor is broken down in the cooking process.
What’s more, it also contains raffinose, a sugar partially
responsible for farts. It is one of three plant tissue sugars that cannot be
digested in the stomach-the other 2 are verbascose, stachyose and raffinose. These
sugars end up being broken down in the intestines, resulting in CO2 and
hydrogen necessary for flatulence.
You can eat raw sweet potatoes safely, just make sure that
you don’t confuse them with yams! Sweet potatoes are very nutritious and can
have many health benefits.
Who of us doesn’t want to enjoy such benefits? It’s still a challenge to educate the public about the benefits of orange fleshed sweetpotatoes, of their value and nutritional punch, and to demonstrate how resourceful the vegetable is, in terms of ease of preparation and range of uses. There’s a translated Chinese proverb that says “When someone shares something of value with you and you benefit from it, you have a moral obligation to share it with others too.” You promised, so…DO yours and spread the love please! I have done mine.