Today’s Micronutrient Monday focus is the Yacon Root. What the heck is it you ask? It looks kind of like a sweet potato, but has many hidden talents that come alive inside your body! It BANISHES bad digestions, regulates regularity and activates absorption of nutrients. It’s a powerful antioxidant, and studies show that yacon may help support ideal blood sugar levels and healthy cardiovascular function.

Yacon is a tuber grown in the Northern and Central Andes from Ecuador to Argentina. It’s become a star with diabetics due to its sweet but low glycemic substance called inulin.

Now I’m going to throw some REAL SCIENCE at you! C,mon, don’t click off the page! Read up buttercup and feel educated about the properties that lie in this root that YOU NEED!

• Yacon contains fructooligosaccharides, an indigestible natural sweetener.
• Fructooligosaccharides (or FOS) taste sweet, but break down slowly, passing through the digestive tract unmetabolized, and thus have very low caloric value. As an additional nutrition bonus, these FOS have a prebiotic effect, meaning that they are used by “friendly” bacteria (probiotics) that favor colon health and digestion.
• Probiotics are the good, healthy bacteria strains that live in your intestines, help to digest food, and help keep you “regular.” These healthy bacteria need special nutrients called prebiotics to grow and thrive.
• A study published in the European Journal of Nutrition, conducted by the Institute of Organic Chemistry, suggested that four different components of yacon each provide their own “potent antioxidant activity” and have been shown to reduce blood glucose levels in rats. Read more here.

Now that you know all about the Yacon Root, are you ready to give it a try? Every single glass of Shakeology is filled with this wonder of mother nature. Get yours now – you owe it to yourself :-)