These Sweet Potato Recipes Are Making Us So Excited for Fall (2024)

FAQs

What does the existence of the sweet potato among Polynesian societies tell us? ›

It is unknown how sweet potato began to be cultivated in the Pacific, but the current scholarly consensus is that the presence of sweet potato in Polynesia is evidence of Polynesian contact with South America.

The prevailing explanation is that Polynesian voyagers had sailed to South America and brought the sweet potato back to the islands on their return. Archaeological and genetic data seemed to support this conclusion, although scientists have questioned some of this evidence over the years.

According to Lehmann, sweet potatoes are good for mental health because they're high in vitamin B6, which is needed to synthesize serotonin, a neurotransmitter that helps to regulate mood. We're in favor of any food that calms anxiety!

Sweet potatoes are bursting with more beta-carotene than carrots. They are filled with greater amounts of vitamins and minerals than a typical white potato, and provide a unique combination of being low-fat and rich in heart-healthy vitamin E.

Potato and sweet potato are examples of analogous organs. Both sweet potato and potato have a common function i.e., storage of food in the form of starch. Hence, they show convergent evolution. But they both differ in structural origin as the sweet potato is a root modification while the potato is a stem modification.

Archaeological research has now conclusively shown that the sweet potato was introduced to Central Polynesia by approximately A.D. 1200 to 1300 (2), most likely by Polynesian voyagers who reached South America and subsequently spread the crop to the widely dispersed islands of the Polynesian triangle (e.g., ref. 3).

Sweet potatoes originated in Central and South America. But archaeologists have found prehistoric remnants of sweet potato in Polynesia from about A.D. 1000 to A.D. 1100, according to radiocarbon dating. They've hypothesized that those ancient samples came from the western coast of South America.

The Bottom Line. You can eat sweet potato skin. It's a good source of fiber, a nutrient that may help lower the risk of heart disease and keep you feeling full for longer periods of time. The next time you make a sweet potato dish, whether it's a roasted side dish or a hearty, cozy casserole, leave the peel on.

At the time of the murder, police found three shell casings and a sweet potato with a hole in it at the scene, according to a prosecutor with the Cape and Islands District Attorney's Office. Prosecutors said they found DNA on the sweet potato that was a match for Hampton.

Just one sweet potato gives you 102% of the vitamin A you need each day. This helps keep your eyes healthy as well as your immune system, your body's defense against germs. It's also good for your reproductive system and organs like your heart and kidneys.

What happens when you start eating sweet potatoes everyday? ›

Sweet potatoes contain beta-carotene, and their excessive consumption can lead to hypervitaminosis A (vitamin A toxicity), in which excess vitamin A accumulates in the liver. Although it is not considered harmful, the color of the skin and nails may turn orange.

Sweet potato intolerance

However, sweet potato contains a type of sugar called mannitol that can cause stomach pain, trigger bloating, and diarrhoea. Frequent symptoms after eating sweet potato might suggest that you are intolerant to foods that contain mannitol.

In Quechua, one of the languages of Northwestern South America, the word for sweet potato is Cumal or Cumar. In Samoan, it is called 'Umala, in the Marquesas, Kuma'a, in Hawaiian, Uala, and in Mäori of Aotearoa, Kümara.

Sweet potatoes originated in Central and South America. But archaeologists have found prehistoric remnants of sweet potato in Polynesia from about A.D. 1000 to A.D. 1100, according to radiocarbon dating.

Amazingly, it produces more biomass and nutrients per acre that any other food crop. It also has a wide range of adaptability, making production possible in marginal agricultural settings. This adaptability has made the sweet potato incredibly important for food security in developing countries.

The domestication of sweet potato occurred in either Central or South America. In Central America, domesticated sweet potatoes were present at least 5,000 years ago, with the origin of I. batatas possibly between the Yucatán Peninsula of Mexico and the mouth of the Orinoco River in Venezuela.