Have you heard of yacon syrup yet? Well, let me get you up to speed.
Yacon syrup gained quite a bit of notoriety a few years back when it was featured on the Dr. Oz Show. Dr. Oz discussed the benefits and its possible link to weight loss. Although I was very excited to hear about this, I don’t take everything I see on TV at face value!
So, I continued to educate myself about the health benefits and found some interesting information. There’s evidence that proves consumption of yacon is linked to weight loss, but most studies have been done on rats. So, although it looks really promising, let’s stick with the facts.
Here are the basics:
- It’s an extract from the root of the yacon plant grown in South America.
- It looks similar to a sweet potato in its whole form but looks and tastes similar to molasses in its liquid form.
- It’s high in antioxidants, prebiotics, and fructooligosaccharides (FOS), which is a dietary fiber that keeps you feeling fuller longer, assists with digestion, and is low glycemic.
Let’s go back to my favorite part of this superfood — the taste. Yacon syrup can be used as a sugar substitute to help keep your body healthy and your taste buds happy. That is right, Yacon Syrup is a Low Glycemic Sugar Substitute!
It tastes amazing as the sweetener in fresh chocolate sauce (see my low-glycemic recipe below) or in other homemade treats.
Chocolate Sauce
Ingredients
- ¼ cup refined coconut oil
- ½ teaspoon vanilla extract
- 3 tablespoons yacon syrup
- ¼ cup cacao powder
Preparation
Mix all wet ingredients together in a small mixing bowl. Add cacao powder and whisk until well-blended. Use on anything that requires chocolaty goodness!
Yacon syrup: beneficial effects on obesity and insulin resistance in humans,” Universidad Nacional de Tucumán, Argentina, 2009).
Clin Nutr. 2009 Apr;28(2):182-7. doi: 10.1016/j.clnu.2009.01.013. Epub 2009 Feb 28.
*The post originally appeared on MiindBodyGreen February 13, 2016
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