An introduction to Yacon Root
In the last 20 years, the popularity and use of yacon root has exploded around the world. It’s available to buy in powdered form, in flakes and as a syrup, but what is yacon?
This perennial plant is actually from the same family as the daisy, and is a close relative of the sunflower and Jerusalem artichoke. It grows up to 2.5 metres and can have up to 20 tuberous ‘storage roots’, and it’s these for which this plant has long been prized.
Yacon is used widely as a sweetener and for its health-promoting effects. But what are the benefits of yacon root?
Get your mouth round the Fructooligosaccharides!
Fructooligosaccharides are a type of polysaccharide which pass directly through the gut undigested, so they have no calorific value to the body. At the same time, though, they taste sweet, making yacon a great choice to add sweetness to dishes without piling on the pounds! Fructooligosaccharides have also been shown to promote the absorption of calcium in the gut, making it great for the health of your bones and teeth.
Yacon provides food for the healthy bacteria which live in the lower intestine, making it excellent for gut health. If our body is filled with good bacteria and our intestines are healthy and working well, our digestive efficiency increases, which means we’re better able to absorb all the nutrients from the food we eat.
One of the major antioxidative compounds in yacon is L-tryptophan, an amino acid which the body cannot synthesise, meaning it must be obtained from the diet. L-tryptophan is essential as a biochemical precursor in various biological processes involving the neurotransmitter serotonin, a key hormone which helps stabilise our mood, promotes feelings of wellbeing and enables brain cells and cells from our nervous system to communicate effectively with each other.
Yacon is brilliant for your liver
The liver is the organ which manufactures glucose in our body, and as eating yacon helps regulate glucose, it’s a friend to our livers. Many studies have proved that consuming yacon root (especially if combined with milk thistle extract) can stop fat building up in the liver and maintain its health and function.
It's a brilliant choice for diabetics
This research paper concludes that yacon syrup, taken daily, produced a significant decrease in body weight, waist circumference and body mass index, without any negative effect on fasting glucose levels.
Another academic review found that the chlorogenic acid present in yacon root had great anti-diabetic potential and acted on the body in a similar way to the common diabetes drug Metformin.
Come and have a look at our fantastic range of Yacon products here!