"Banana-cue! Camote-cue!"

A ten-year-old girl calls with her high-pitched voice a few hours after lunch carrying a bilao containing different meriendas, usually the popular banana-cue, camote-cue, turon, pichi-pichi and other kakanin that we Filipinos love to delve our taste buds to in the mid-afternoon. When out of the more popular banana-cue buyers would often find camote-cue in the bilao, a fried sweet potato coated in brown sugar and put on a barbecue stick.

But not only is sweet potato a snack, recent studies show that it is rich in antioxidants and nutrients useful in maintaining a healthy body. Commonly known as camote, sweet potato is one of the popular root crops in our country, which has become an alternative among Filipinos during the Second World War when food was scarce and most have to rely on food that can easily ease their hunger and are easy to cultivate.

This crop is a native of South America domesticated at least 5000 years ago. In Asia it is widely cultivated in China for human and livestock consumption and was then introduced to other parts of the Pacific. In the country, the camote root is commonly boiled or fried, which serve as a snack or an alternative to staple food. It is reliable in cases of crop failure of other staple foods due to typhoon flooding or other natural phenomena.

Recent studies conducted by South Korea's Rural Development Administration shows that camote contains antioxidants and nutrients that are best for our health. Among antioxidants found in camote crops are: chlorogenic acid that slows the release of glucose into the bloodstream after a meal which contributes to the prevention of Type 2 Diabetes Mellitus; isoclorogenic acid; and caffeic acid shown to act as a carcinogenic inhibitor.

Higher amount of antioxidants in camote are found in the leaves than the tips, while the amount of antioxidants in the tips have higher amount than in the roots and petioles. These antioxidative compounds may protect the human body from oxidative stress that is associated with many diseases such as cancer and cardiovascular diseases.

All parts of the camote plant, especially in the leaves and tips, ranked highest in nutritional value among other commercial vegetables. It contains protein, lipids, carbohydrates, calcium, iron, phosphorus, vitamins A and C, and other nutrients needed by our body.

Rumors about camote tops juice as a cure for dengue have circulated recently, but there have been no further studies that can prove the claim. It is said to boost the platelet counts of dengue patients upon drinking the juice.

With the recent and continuing crisis over the rise of prices of basic commodities, most especially of staple foods, and the recommendation of camote and other root crops as an alternative to rice, Secretary Domingo Panganiban of the National Antipoverty Commission (NAPC) advices farmers to “grab the economic opportunity offered by the current food crisis to go back to their hometowns and farms to start planting camote and other crops to supply the needs of urban areas like Metro Manila where food costs continue to rise.”

Planting these root crops will allow farmers to earn more than what most minimum-wage earners get, without the expense of daily commute to poor-paying jobs in the urban areas.