Health Benefits of Jicama (Chinese Potato)

Seng Kuang

Jicama is a large and bulbous root vegetable. Its skin is thick and brown in color, with very juicy white crunchy flesh. It can be consumed either raw or cooked (but best eaten raw for its optimum health benefits). Jicama is pronounced as hee-ka-ma. It is also known by names like yam bean, Mexican water chestnut, Mexican potato, Mexican turnip, yacon or best known in Malaysia for Seng Kuang. The skin of jicama is thick but it’s easy to peel. Wash it under running water to clean off the excess soil, before peeling off its skin.

Nutritional Benefits

Jicama is rich with vitamins A, C, K and the B vitamins. There is a good balance of sodium and potassium present in jicama, making it useful for alkalizing the blood. Minerals in this vegetable are calcium, iron, magnesium, manganese and zinc.

Peeled Seng Kuang

Health Benefits

Health benefits of jicama are many. It is an ideal food for health whether eaten raw or cooked. It is low in calories, cholesterol and fats, and has excellent anti-oxidant and an anti-inflammatory properties.

1. Breathlessness and asthma: Jicama contains high anti-oxidant and anti-inflammatory properties that are helpful for relieving breathlessness and asthma.



Asthma

2. Cold and flu: Including jicama in your daily juice fix helps prevent cold and flu. Jicama juice is dense-packed with a tremendous amount of healthful properties that make a great immunity booster drink. 

3. 

   Cold and Flu

4. Bruising and swelling: Deficiency of vitamin C can cause bruising and swelling problems for some people. So taking in jicama can solve deficiency problems of that result in easy bruising and swelling.
5. Immune system: Include jicama as your regular juice ingredient to benefit from its overall medicinal properties that provide support to strengthen the immune system. A strong immune system prevents many health problems.
6. Nose bleeding: Nose bleeding is caused by weak capillaries. The high vitamin C content in jicama supports and help strengthen capillary damages, thus reducing the risks of nose bleeding.
7. Skin health: Regular consumption of jicama help improve skin tone and helps wounds heal faster, giving the skin a healthier appearance.
8. Weight loss snack: As an extremely low calorie food, jicama can be chosen as a weight loss snack item, thus helping you reduce the intake of calories in the body.

The use of Jicama in our daily life

If you ask a Malaysian, jicama or seng kuang is normally use in foods and i believe you can name some of it too. Below is some picture of super nice foods that use jicama as its ingredients, enjoys.

Popiah!

Rojak!

Vegetarian Bun!

Jicama Juice

Jicama juice tastes very mild and sweet; and it mixes well with most green juices and juices of other root vegetables, like lotusroot, carrot, beetroot. This is one of my favorite juice which is very alkalizing and a great immune booster.

Jicama Salads

Ingredients

1. 1 jicama root, peeled and sliced into fries shape
2. 1 teaspoon salt
3. 2 teaspoons sugar
4. 2 limes, juiced
5. 2 lettuce, chopped
6. 2 tablespoons chopped cilantro leaves, a handful of leaves, finely chopped
7. 3 tablespoons extra-virgin olive oil
8. Freshly ground black pepper

Place jicama in a bowl, sprinkle with salt and sugar, and add the juice of 1 lime. Let jicama stand 15 minutes. While jicama softens, work on the rest of your meal.

Arrange lettuce on a serving plate and topped with jicama. Juice 1 lime into a small bowl, add cilantro. Whisk in extra-virgin olive oil in a slow stream. Pour dressing over salad and season with salt and pepper. Serve for a healthy meal.

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