Rooting for good health

Chinese yams, sweet potatoes, carrots, radishes - these are the roots of autumn and winter. How can you enjoy them best? Pauline D. Loh has some adventurous suggestions.

If you've been eating out often at Chinese restaurants, you may have tried this popular appetizer: a little platter of slightly sticky, crunchy cubes covered with a blueberry sauce. Meet the Chinese yam, or dioscorea, the latest food fad in the wellness movement. It is said to promote circulation, clear toxins, reduce blood lipids and is generally beneficial to diabetics. It is also a delicious root vegetable that is immensely versatile. That's great news to most diabetics, who got there in the first place because they had enjoyed a tad too many good meals.

Chinese yams come in all shapes and sizes, but they are most commonly seen as long tap roots that can be less than half a meter long to giant sticks about a meter tall. They are more often about 3 to 5 cm in diameter but can be a lot thicker. If they are of the chunky variety, they may also have a bulky tail that's shaped like the end of a large marrow bone.