Kamote is life, as far as Iloilo 1st district Rep. Janette Garin is concerned.
No, really: Garin believes in the health benefits of kamote (sweet potato) so much that she has advised Filipinos to ditch their precious rice in favor of the root crop.
"Our love for rice has given birth to the famous 'extra rice' and 'unli rice' cultures. Unlike the popular expression 'rice is life,' we encourage restaurants to try using kamote in place of rice and even as French fries. What we need today are innovations in the kitchen," Garin said in a statement Tuesday, Oct. 25.
According to the Department of Health (DOH) secretary-turned-congresswoman, the nutritious content of rice cannot compare to that of kamote since rice transforms into sugar in the body, making one susceptible to diabetes.
Kamote, on the other hand, is high in fiber and is one of the best foods for cancer prevention, Garin said.
She said too much rice might make one sick, as data shows that one in 14 Filipino adults live with diabetes. Some studies have already identified that eating white rice regularly can increase diabetes risk by up to 1.5 percent.
"Our fondness for rice draws from our having been eating it since childhood and our meals having been designed to complement rice, but it’s high time we changed our attitude towards both rice and root crops," Garin explained.
"Kamote can bring back health and keep some health problems at bay. As medical studies have shown, kamote lowers hypertension, bad cholesterol, and even blood sugar when taken as a substitute for rice," she added.
The lady solon believed that if there is a food alternative on restaurant menu, particularly when it comes to rice, people will quickly adapt to it.
Garin noted countries such as South Korea, Japan, and the United States that consider sweet potatoes to be superfoods and incorporate them into their daily diet, in contrast to the Philippines, where root crops are seen as inferior foods, causing people to reject them.
She clarified, though, that she is not promoting to abandon rice completely but to include root crops as part of one's diet as root crops are beneficial to overall nutrition.