Sweet potato (Ipomea Botatas) is indigenous to Central America, and according to archaelogical evidence, is one of the oldest vegetables known to man. When Christopher Colombus came to the New World, he discovered the Incas and the Mayas using sweet potato as a food.

He brought it back to Spain and other explorers took it to the Phillipines, Africa, Indonesia and Southern Asia. Sweet potato is traditionally used as part of the traditional thanksgiving dinner in the United States of America where it is prized as a sweet yam in order to distingish it from its Irish counterpart. During November and December, almost every market in the United States stocks this vegetable, which is one of the body’s most efficient energy sources, in that it allows the body to store glycogen in the muscles and the liver as a source of energy to fuel the body. Because of this, people who work long strenuous hours are advised to eat sweet potato.

Hear hear, athletes!

It has been proven for many reasons to be one of the most important foods for sport performance and it is claimed by the Chinese who are its largest producers for export that it has some of the most important chemicals that have ever existed in herbal remedies. It is good for lowering the blood pressure and, by extension providing insulation from strokes and heart attacks.

Sleepwalkers too can beenfit from the sweet potato which has over four hundred varieties ina range of colours from purple to white. It is a rich source of beta carotene which is used by the body to to manufacture vitamin A, a powerful anti-oxidant. It is also rich in Vitamin C, another strong anti-oxidant that repairs damaged cells in the body. Sweet potatoes are very low in calories and contain no fat. They are also rich in potassium, one of the minerals required to build strong bones and teeth. Do you remember the children’s movie called Sweet Potato Pie? It was based on a black family in the Unied States which fed on sweet potato pie…The root of the sweet potato stores protien whch is also essential for muscle-building. It is also rich in B-Complex, Magnsium. Phosperos and Zinc, all of which are essential for good skin quality. Here’s something for you to try:

* Grind a half pound of sweet potato to a pulp

* Mix it to a paste with honey and apply to the face as a mask for a half hour repeatedly

* If you are suffering from pimples you WILL see the difference

Also apply this paste on those rusty knees and elbows for relief.

A half cup of of raw sweet potato juice taken three times daily will yield great benefits to those who suffer from stomach acidity and acid reflux.

Charles Darwin, the English naturalist had high regard for the sweet potato which he viewed as an ideal food to prolong the life species and extend the gene pool.

And smokers shuld consume a lot of sweet potato to help prevent emphysema.

I think I’ve said enough about this versatile vegetable to make you yearn for it. Be sure to get the organic type that I sell!

Buckston Harrison is well known for his work as a herbalist, especially in western Jamaica. He resides in Sheffield, Westmoreland.

Buckston and Huber’s Alternative is not intended as a substitute for the diagnosis, cure, prevention or treatment of disease. You may send your questions and comments to thealternative@jamaicaobserver.com

Huber’s 100 per cent Pine Plum Blast

Ingredients

* 1 sugar pineapple

* 2 passion fruits

* 3 jew plumes

* 8 star fruit

* 1 ounce ginger (optional)

Method

* Wash fruits

* Extract fruits from seeds without adding water

* Use a mortar stick to pound juice to a pulp

* Combine juices and serve immediately

Thomas ‘Bongo Tommy’ Huber is a Swiss national who migrated to Westmoreland’s Retrieve District 10 years ago. He is a naturalist who lives off the land and is deeply involved in an ongoing effort to create Jamaica’s next generation of exotic fruit trees.