A well-rounded diet from whole foods have such a positive effect on healing any ailment especially neurodevelopmental disorders such as ADHD, SPD etc in kids. It can have such positive effects on mood, mental cognition and behavior.

Finding and navigating the right foods to add into your diet can be a massive task, but I am here to help. Enter stage right……Sweet Potatoes.

Did you know that most people erroneously associate sweet potatoes with regular potatoes?

However, botanically, they are completely unrelated.

Thinking that the two are same, people avoid eating sweet potato considering it an ordinary vegetable which is just loaded with calories and fats like potatoes. I am going to attempt to change that view!

In recent years, the sweet potato (but not the regular potato) has enjoyed “superfood” status among healthy eaters.

Read the following health benefits to find out why yours and your kid’s diet should see more of sweet potatoes:

1. 1. Supports a Healthy Immune System – Sweet potatoes are rich in Vitamin A which is a powerful antioxidant. It is very beneficial for the immunity system. It helps in the production of immune cells that fight against harmful diseases and infections in our body. Moreover, sweet potatoes are full of beta-carotene (another major antioxidant), iron, vitamin C and Vitamin B, and phosphorus which all help to boost the immunity system.
   2. Heals Digestion – A lot of kids with neurodevelopmental disorders have gut issues. One of the health benefits of sweet potato is that they improve digestion. Sweet potatoes are full of fiber and important minerals like magnesium. And they both make a great combination to facilitate digestion. Owing to fiber and magnesium, sweet potatoes are digested easily. Plus, they also help promote intestinal health. And do you know that magnesium relaxes the body and mind? In other words, it is great for de-stressing.
   3. Reduces Inflammation – Due to the presence of the toxic load in today’s society within food, chemical cleaners etc most of our kid’s inflammatory response goes into over drive. This is part of what causes so many symptoms such as behavioral issues, sleep disturbances, hyperactivity, inability to focus etc. Therefore, reducing inflammation is a must. The presence of Vitamin C, magnesium, and beta carotene in sweet potatoes effectively reduce the internal and external inflammation. This is one of the qualities that both sweet potato and regular potato share.
   4. Low G.I – The “glycemic index” (GI) is the rate at which sugar from food enters the body’s cells. High glycemic foods can wreak havoc on behaviour due to the rate high levels of insulin secreted by the pancreas which causes sugar to empty quickly from cells. Low-Glycemic foods deliver a steady supply of sugar helping people control behaviours and improve performance. And you guessed it…Sweet potatoes are considered low on the glycemic index scale and research suggest that they can control the sugar level quite efficiently.
   5. Cancer – As sweet potatoes are high in Beta-carotene, they may protect against prostate cancer and colon cancer accordingly to these two studies – Harvard School of Public Health’s Department of Nutrition and this Japanese study.