Which tropical root is full of B-complex vitamins?

If you’ve been searching the Internet for recipes free of gluten, you have no doubt come upon the mention of arrowroot.

Arrowroot is an easily digestible starch used in gluten-free cooking as a stabilizing and thickening ingredient.

Arrowroot is grown primarily in the Caribbean Islands, the Philippines, and South America. As a fresh root, this tuber is eaten roasted, raw, or steamed. It has little in the way of flavor to offer, but it’s pretty close in look and taste to the cooked white potato.

If you manage to find fresh arrowroot, try slicing it thinly and baking it into chips!

Unlike many other starchy foods, arrowroot is high in protein and several other minerals and vitamins:

Folate: 100 grams of arrowroot will give you almost all of the folate you need in your diet for the day. Folate, of course, is essential for expectant mothers, but it’s also necessary for cell division and DNA synthesis, so the rest of us need it as well.

Minerals: Iron, manganese, copper, zinc, magnesium, potassium, and phosphorous are among the minerals found in arrowroot.

B-complex vitamins: Arrowroot contains niacin, pantothenic acid, thiamin, riboflavin, and pyridoxine—a B-complex group of vitamins necessary for fat metabolism in the body.

Do note that when arrowroot is refined into flour, it loses some of its nutritional value, so look for the actual root. Your best bet to find fresh arrowroot would probably be the local Asian food store.

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0 Responses

  1. Very interesting information. I’ve been arrowroot flour for paleo baked goods but I was not aware of the source.

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