What are root vegetables?
Vegetables that grow under the ground as part of plants and are eaten by humans are root vegetables.
Root vegetables also contain a lot of nutrients as they absorb all the nutrients from the soil. This generally acts as a store house of the plant where all plant carbohydrate is stored in its organs.
Do we consider root vegetables like sweet potato, as vegetable or starches?
In recent years starch filled spuds like potatoes have fallen from grace, as many health authority argued that they should not be considered as a part of diet because most root vegetables like turnips, potato, parsnips are full of carbohydrate content which leads to high blood sugar developing high risk to diabetes, this indicated that root vegetables contains three times more starch as compared to green vegetables.
Though there are many cons to these starchy vegetables but some parts like the skin of all root vegetables contains a lot of fiber which helps in controlling blood sugar level and gives us a feeling of full ;discouraging overeating while the skin of root vegetables do not contain nutrients or other vitamins.
Some nutritionists say that root vegetables other than potato and sweet potato like carrot, beets, rutabagas have lower caloric and starch content. Eating a variety of root vegetables is good for health.
It is advised that, if you are healthy then you can have root vegetables once a day with other high nutrient vegetables; though you should not eat the same root vegetable everyday rather eating variety in them can be more healthy.
A better way to eat them is to combine them with other green vegetables as this reduces the amount of carbs and balance’s the nutrients from other vegetables making food more healthy.
Various Types of Root Vegetables
Sweet Potato- They can be eaten in many flavors sweet, sour, savory etc., they taste good with cream, coconut, orange, ginger, cinnamon etc. This vegetable is the most user friendly as it can be used in any form like mashed, pureed, roasted etc.
Beets- One of the most healthy vegetables as they help in increasing blood levels in the body, can increase glow on skin, and they also contain anti-inflammatory and antioxidant properties. They can be eaten in many forms like raw, juice, boiled etc.
Ginger- They taste similar to beets but with some more subtle flavors' and just like beets they also provide us many health beneficial nutrients, only if eaten within the prescribed limit.
Some other root vegetables include Onions, Garlic, Turnip, Parsnips, Carrots, Yuca roots, Rutabagas and many more. All these vegetables provide an opulent number of nutrients to us only when we eat them in a curtailed amount.
Written By - Vanshu Verma
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