Yams are treasured all over the body, and can be used not only as a staple food but also in a variety of dishes. Stir-fried yam, blueberry yam, shredded yam, steamed yam, millet yam porridge, yam pork rib soup...... Each one is mouth-watering.
What is the nutrition of yam?
Yam is a nutritious ingredient. According to the data of the "Chinese Food Composition Table", the carbohydrate content of yam is 12.4g/100g, which is a high-starch food. The starch content of different varieties of yam varied greatly, with an average content of 18.7% and a range of 11.6%~29.2%. In contrast, yam has a slightly higher carb content than potatoes and sweet potatoes, at 17.8% and 15.3%, respectively. In addition, yam is rich in potassium, with a content of 213mg per 100 grams, which is nearly 2.5 times higher than sweet potatoes, although it is not as good as potatoes. In addition to carbohydrates and potassium, yam also contains a variety of active ingredients such as yam polysaccharides, cholesterol, ergosterol, rapesterol, β-sitosterol, polyphenol oxidase, phytic acid and saponins, etc., which provide multifaceted nutritional support for the human body.
The benefits of eating yam regularly on the body
The "Dietary Guidelines for Chinese Residents" recommends a daily intake of 50~100 grams of potato food, and yam is one of them. It is advisable to take the opportunity to consume more as it has many benefits for the body.
1. Weight control and weight loss yam is a high-starch potato food, suitable for replacing part of polished rice and white flour as a staple food. Yam contains only 57 kilocalories per 100 grams, which is comparable to apples and lower than sweet potatoes and potatoes, and only 1/6 of japonica rice. Therefore, replacing some of the white rice with yam can help with weight control and weight loss.
2. Protect myocardium and control blood pressureEating 100 grams of yam can consume 213 mg of potassium, which meets 11% of the daily potassium needs of the general population. A higher intake of potassium helps maintain normal heart muscle function, cell osmolality, acid-base balance, and blood pressure control. This may be related to factors such as potassium directly promoting urinary sodium excretion, inhibiting the renin-angiotensin system and sympathetic nervous system, improving baroreceptor function, and directly affecting peripheral vascular resistance.
3. Anti-inflammatory factors can cause damage to the body, and anti-inflammatory factors help reduce the damage of inflammatory factors to the body and avoid the development of diseases. Yam polysaccharides, glycoproteins, and diosgenins in yam exert anti-inflammatory effects by inhibiting bacteria, antioxidant, reducing the expression of inflammatory factors, and activating and regulating inflammation-related pathways.
4. Antioxidant
Yam contains polyphenolic compounds, such as flavonoids, phenolic acids, tannins and anthocyanins, which can scavenge excess free radicals in the body and have antioxidant effects. At present, there are few studies on the polyphenolic compounds of yam, mainly focusing on iron stick yam, Huai yam and Huai yam, and their contents are iron stick yam> Huai yam> Huai yam > purple yam in descending order.
Why do you always have itchy hands when handling yams?
Although there are many benefits of eating yams, when it comes to handling yams, everyone has a headache, and what they feel a lot is "It's so itchy!!" If you peel the yam with your bare hands, most people will have a huge itch. This is because the surface of the yam is covered with a layer of mucus, which contains ingredients such as calcium oxalate and potassium oxalate, which can easily cause allergic skin reactions.
4 tips for dealing with yams
When dealing with yams, there are four tips that can help relieve possible itchy skin.
1. Wear gloves to peel the yam skin to avoid direct contact with the yam mucus and be careful not to cut the skin of your hands.
2. You can use chopsticks to fix the yam to the wall, so that you don't need to touch the yam directly with your hands, just grab the chopsticks.
3. You can choose to steam the yam before peeling it, which can allow the allergenic substances to decompose at high temperature and reduce the itching sensation when touched.
4. If you accidentally come into contact with yam mucus, wash your hands and bake them in time to reduce the symptoms. These tips can help you handle yams more easily and avoid the discomfort of itchy skin.
Source: Healthy Women Magazine