Antiaging Longevity Food - Steamed Japanese Yams

Choosing low-glycemic foods such as Japanese sweet potatoes, may help prevent obesity and chronic disease. Blood sugar spikes can cause your blood vessels to harden and narrow, which can lead to damage to your heart. Controlling blood glucose can help prevent and delay the onset of complications, including heart disease, stroke and damage to your nerves and kidneys, advises the American Diabetes Association. No wonder my 80+ mom is strict to eat her boiled or steamed yams, not baked yams. The glycemic index of sweet potato depends on the cooking method. The more cooking and processing the potato goes through, the higher the glycemic index. The GI of a peeled sweet potato, boiled, is low at 46. But a baked sweet potato has a GI of 94.

This is because, when subjected to the high heat of baking or frying, starches break down into sugars instead of remaining in a more complex form.

When you boil potatoes the temperature cannot go above the boiling point of water or 212 F. Baking or pressure cooking is typically done at 350 F, or 250 F up which breaks down the starches more completely, making them easier to digest.

you might think high-carb content of Japanese sweet potatoes would cause you to gain weight. However, In a clinical trial, overweight participants given a plant-based high-carb, low-fat, low GI diet had overall loss of weight and body fat after 16 weeks.

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