Jicama nutritional benefits

Information on Jicama

Jicama is a vegetable with a sweet root and it is a vitalingredient of numerous different types of dishes. It is also favored because itprovides numerous different types of health benefits. Jicama has a sweet anddelicious taste and it comes from the family of Fabacease and the genus ofPachyrhizus. It is actually one of the members of the potato family and itoriginates from Central America and Mexico. It can be characterized by acrunchy texture, it resembles a turnip and it has white flesh and brown skin.

It can be described as a cross between a turnip and a potato. Jicama is a veryversatile vegetable because it can be consumed in its raw form but it can alsobe cooked in numerous different ways.

The flavor of a raw jicama resembles theflavor of an apple but it needs to be peeled before the consumption. It oftenaccompanies various other types of vegetables in certain dishes. When it getscooked it is very efficient in absorbing all the flavors of the otheringredients included in the dish. It comes off as an excellent addition tonumerous different types of recipes.

Jicama Nutritional Value

Jicama is a remarkable source of various different types ofessential minerals and vitamins. It is loaded with important nutrients such asvitamin c, calcium, fiber, iron and potassium. It does not contain any fat andit is very low on calories and sodium. One cup of raw jicama contains 46calories, 5.8 grams of dietary fiber, 0.86 grams of protein, 0.11 grams oftotal fat and 10.6 grams of carbohydrates.

Jicama Nutritional Benefits

Jicama can be of great help when it comes to decreasing thelevels of bad cholesterol in the blood, increasing the levels of goodcholesterol in the blood and reducing the risk of certain medical conditionssuch as hypertension and heart attack. It has very potent anti inflammatory andantioxidant properties which can be very helpful in treating wheezing, commoncold and influenza.

Those who sufferfrom vitamin C deficiency should definitely include jicama into their dailydiet as it is loaded with that type of vitamin. It is also very efficient insupporting the capillary structures and reducing the risk of damagedcapillaries. Jicama is an excellent source of beta-carotene and folic acidwhich means that it is very efficient in lowering the levels of homocysteine inthe human body. Jicama comes in very handy when it comes to boosting the immune system, as well.