We already know sweet potato to be a bit of a superfood but did you know it could help with weight loss too? Fewer in calories than a regular potato, not only have these golden gems been linked to cancer prevention, but they are also a fabulous source of Vitamin A for healthy eyes, Vitamin B for energy and immunity and contain antioxidants that carry anti-ageing properties.

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Typically, we bake, mash or fry it, but a new study suggests that, in order to get the most nutrition out of the vegetable, we should perhaps be drinking sweet potato tea!

A team of researchers, led by Dr Koji Ishiguro from the National Agriculture and Food Research Organization in Japan, began looking into ways to reduce the wastewater produced upon boiling sweet potatoes on an industrial scale.

“We throw out huge volumes of wastewater that contains sweet potato proteins – we hypothesized that these could affect body weight, fat tissue, and other factors,” says Dr. Koji Ishiguro.

The team fed three groups of mice high-fat diets – one group’s regime included a high concentration of the sweet potato peptide protein (SPP), while another was given a lower dosage.

After a month, the researchers collated the rodent’s data, taking to account their liver mass, fatty tissue, fat cholesterol levels and triglyceride levels.

They also measured levels of leptin, which controls hunger, and adiponectin, which regulates metabolic syndrome.

From these results, Dr. Ishiguro could see that the mice who had been given SPP has a significantly lower body weight and liver mass, as well as lower cholesterol and triglycerides.

Sweet potato tea isn’t the only beverage that has a load of health benefits. Here are some others that promise to help you slim down and look younger: