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Jicama is a well-known root vegetable with a sweet and crunchy flavor. It is similar to a potato but has more nutrients and lesser carbs. This root vegetable originated in Mexico and was then eventually spread across the world. This vegetable requires a warm climate and a long growing season. It is known by several other names in different places, such as Mexican potato, Leafcup, Chinese potato, Mexican yam, and so on.
You should include this root vegetable in your diet because of its nutritional content and multiple health benefits, including better digestion, weight management, and healthy bones. Due to its low sugar and carb content, it is also great for people with a low-sugar diet and diabetes.
Nutritional Facts of Jicama
Jicama has diverse nutrients such as minerals, fiber, and vitamins, while it is low in calories. These include:
- This vegetable is an excellent source of vitamin C, which helps build the immune system that acts as a natural defense of our body against infections and diseases. This vitamin also has wonderful benefits, such as healthy skin.
- This vegetable is also a moderate source of potassium, which will help maintain heart health.
- The decent amount of calcium in this root vegetable provides for healthier bones and reduces risks related to bone disease.
Health Benefits of Jicama
1) Rich in Antioxidants
This root vegetable is packed with several compounds and vitamins. All of them provide different health benefits to the body. For instance, jicama is a decent source of vitamin C, which is essential for glowing skin and healthy hair growth. It also helps reduce inflammation and boost the body's immune system. Additionally, it plays a role in reducing the effects of oxidative stress, which leads to a decrease in the probability of aging and cardiovascular diseases.
2) Versatility
This vegetable can be used in various dishes and eaten both cooked and raw. You can include this root vegetable in your diet by adding it to the vegetable salad, mixing it with the tropical food salad, eating the vegetable with dip, including it on the vegetable platter, and so on.
Thus, this root vegetable is versatile and can be added to your diet in numerous ways.
3) Decreasing the Probability of Cancer
The antioxidants and compounds present in this root vegetable help reduce the probability of cancer. Jicama does this by neutralizing the free radicals that tend to be responsible for cancer. So reducing the likelihood of cancer is one of the essential health benefits.
However, research at the macro-level needs to be carried out to determine their correlation.
4) Blood Sugar Regulation
One of the health benefits of jicama is the regulation of blood sugar. This root vegetable is a decent source of fiber and is low on the glycemic index. This entails that having this vegetable in a regular diet will prevent increased blood sugar levels. This also means this vegetable is a healthy choice for people with diabetes. You should include this vegetable in your diet to maintain blood sugar levels.
5) Helpful for Gut Bacteria
One of the significant health benefits of eating jicama is that it helps regulate your digestive and gut health. This root vegetable is an excellent prebiotic fiber source, which helps increase the number of good bacteria in your gut and reduce harmful bacteria. This will also help decrease the probability of several chronic diseases such as obesity, kidney disease, and diabetes.
This root vegetable also helps eliminate stomach problems, such as easing constipation.
6) Aids in Weight Loss
Jicama has a diverse nutritional portfolio with many health benefits. This vegetable has fewer calories and a high amount of both fiber and water. It will help you in feeling full for a longer time.
This root vegetable will help your body's weight management by reducing the consumption of calories and maintaining your blood sugar level. It can be a good alternative as a healthy snack to unhealthy foods such as chips or sugary foods. Thus, weight management is one of the health benefits of this root vegetable.
Bottom Line
This root vegetable can be considered healthy food that should be included in your regular diet. It can be eaten in many different manners, so it is not hard to integrate this root vegetable into your meals. Plus, the health benefits of this vegetable are too good to be ignored.
This root vegetable is also suitable for people with celiac disease, diabetes, and people on a low sugar diet.
Be careful not to eat the beans of jicama as they are toxic.
