Merdeka.com – Uwi is one of the starchy staple food crops which is very important in tropical and sub-tropical agriculture because it shows a strong growth cycle. In the past, uwi was often an alternative food, a helper during famine.
When the dry season hits, rice and sago cannot be harvested, people will consume tubers like uwi. Umbi uwi has the Latin name Dioscorea alata which belongs to the uwi-uwian tribe (Dioscorea spp).
In Java, uwi has various relatives and is known by several names such as gembili (Dioscorea esculenta), gembolo (Dioscorea bulbifera), sosohan (Dioscorea petaphylla) and gadung (Dioscorea hispida).
Uwi has a fairly complete nutritional content such as provitamin A, vitamin C, protein, starch content. With this content, I am not surprised if uwi can be said to be better when compared to other tubers such as potatoes, cassava and cassava.
Given its complete nutrition, it is not surprising then that Uwi is rich in benefits for body health. The following is more about the benefits of uwi for health, a substitute for rice for diabetics has been summarized by merdeka.com through liputan6.com and core.ac.uk.
Uwi Nutritional Content
From the provisional research results, it is known that the calorie content of uwi (Dioscorea alata) is 101 cal, 2.0 g protein, 0.2 g fat, carbohydrates, 19.8 g, 45 mg calcium, 280 mg phosphorus, 1.8 mg iron, vitamins. B1 0.10 mg, vitamin C 9 mgr, water 75.0 g. With complete nutritional content, it’s no wonder that Uwi is rich in benefits for body health.
Uwi Benefits for Health
1. Substitute Rice for Diabetes Patients
The first benefit of uwi for health is as a substitute for rice for diabetics. Uwi generally has a trunk length of 10-25 m, short wings and four in number, 1 cm in diameter. Uwi is a potential tuber variety as a source of non-rice carbohydrate food. As a tuber that is free of gluten, it is suitable as a substitute for rice for diabetics.
2. Mixture of Cake, Bread and Noodle Products
The next health benefit of uwi is as a mixture of cake or bread and noodle products. Uwi tubers can usually be found in local markets, especially on the island of Java. These tubers are usually marketed in the form of fresh sweet potatoes.
It turns out that uwi can not only be eaten by boiling or fried, but also can be used as flour which can be used as a mixture in making cake, bread and noodle products. The use of uwi flour can be mixed with wheat flour or bean flour to increase nutritional value.
3. Help Lose Weight
Not only useful as a mixture of cake, bread or noodle products. Uwi is also useful for weight loss. This is inseparable from the fiber content in uwi and low sugar levels so that it can make you feel full longer and help you lose weight.
4. Lowering Cholesterol Levels
The benefits of uwi for further health are that it can lower cholesterol levels. The reason is that Uwi has fairly complete nutrients such as 20-30 percent carbohydrates, 2-4 percent protein and 0.2-0.6 percent fat. You can consume Uwi by boiling it so you don’t lose the nutritional content in it.
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sweet potato illustration. sweet potato illustration