YACON – The Healthy Sweetener

This is our second season for Yacon and we wanted to promote it a bit here on our blog. After our first harvest last year, we tasted it and knew we had found “gold” in this delicious tuber. Not only does it grow easily in our Paauilo climate with no problems, Yacon also has multitude of health benefits. AND it tastes great! We introduced it on our produce list last year, but like us, not many people knew about the wonders of this plant. We’ll be experimenting with different ways to enjoy Yacon…but for now – we just slice and eat like an apple or chop for salad. It’s delicious.

About the Healthy Sweetener

Yacon is a sweet tasting root vegetable or tuber that has been grown in the Andes of Peru for thousands of years. Yacon syrup is extracted from the yacon roots. Yacon has a pleasant slightly sweet flavor and crispy texture that has been compared to apples and watermelons. Yacon has been eaten traditionally by rural people who eat it as a refreshing snack. Yacon roots contain mostly water and a special type of healthy sugar called Fructooligosacharides (FOS). This special type of sugar is not digested by the body and therefore yacon does not elevate blood glucose levels making it safe for diabetics and weight watchers.

Yacon’s Health Benefits The sugar in yacon root and syrup consists primarily of fructooligosacharides (FOS). These sugars are not digested by the body and therefore yacon is great for calorie reduced and low sugar diets. FOS is also a prebiotic which helps create a healthy bacterial probiotic environment in the gut. FOS also contains fiber which helps to prevent constipation and keeps the colon functioning well. FOS has also been shown in animal studies to:

Promote calcium absorption
Reduce cholesterol levels
Strengthen the immune system
Reduces cancerous lesions in the colon

Yacon roots and leaves are high in polyphenols. Polyphenols are a type of anti-oxidant that has been shown useful in the prevention of cancer and heart disease……read more