Yacon is an Andean root originally from Peru that grows at altitudes less than 9,300 feet high, in climates that are warmer and more humid than those in which other tubers usually grow. Yacon is a distant relative of the sunflower with edible tubers and leaves and usually grows in small farm orchards in mountains valleys. Locally, the tuber is often chopped and added to salads, but also consumed boiled or baked.

The plant is tall, leafy with tiny yellow sunflowers; the tuber grows underground and has white or yellowish transparent flesh. The root is very sweet, rich in oligofructose (also called fructo-oligosaccharide), a dietary sugar, which the human body does not metabolize; hence its potential use for diabetics and in body weight control. Moreover, increased intake of oligofructose has been associated with improved gut health because of the stimulation of (beneficial) bifidus bacteria in the colon.




Ancient Peruvians discovered the Yacon's oligofructose properties for diabetes and also to relief gastro-intestinal problems as well as kidneys problems. Modern medicine recognized Yacon as an effective agent in the treatments against the obesity as it avoids the accumulation of fats in the organism.