Potatoes and sweet potatoes may share a name, but they actually come from very different plant families. Here's what you need to know about the health differences between potatoes and sweet potatoes and the best ways to eat them.
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The nutritional content of potatoes and sweet potatoes
Both potatoes and sweet potatoes are rich in nutrients, including many different vitamins and minerals. Here's how they compare in their nutritional content:
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Which one is healthier?
While both types of potatoes can be a healthy part of your diet, sweet potatoes are higher in nutrients like vitamin A that may offer extra benefits for your overall health.
There are many similarities between potatoes and sweet potatoes. They have roughly the same amount of calories, carbohydrates, and protein —and they are both good sources of vitamin B6, magnesium, and potassium.
Plus, both potatoes and sweet potatoes also contain resistant starch, a type of starch that is digested more slowly and has many health benefits.
Still, there are a few key differences that give sweet potatoes the edge when it comes to your health. Here's why:
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Sweet potatoes are lower on the glycemic index
An important area where potatoes and sweet potatoes differ is in their glycemic index (GI), a scale from 0 to 100 that rates how quickly a food will cause your blood sugar to rise.
A boiled potato has a high GI around 78, while a boiled sweet potato has an intermediate GI of 63. This means that potatoes break down more quickly into sugar in your digestive tract, causing your blood sugar to spike.
These measures are important because eating foods with a generally lower glycemic index may help lower your blood sugar and manage your weight.
Many of the nutrients in potatoes and sweet potatoes contain compounds that act as antioxidants, which protect the cells in your body against oxidative stress. This is important because oxidative stress is linked to heart disease, cancer, and brain diseases like Alzheimer's.
Sweet potatoes have higher levels of key vitamins that act as antioxidants, including vitamin A and vitamin C. Sweet potatoes also contain antioxidant plant pigments that aren't present in regular potatoes – for example, orange sweet potatoes are high in beta-carotene and purple sweet potatoes have more anthocyanins.
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How to fit both types of potatoes into a healthy diet
In general, most preparation methods for potatoes and sweet potatoes are healthy, including baking, microwaving, boiling, or steaming, says Adelia C. Bovell-Benjamin, Ph.D., a professor of food and nutritional sciences at Tuskegee University. All of these methods preserve much of the nutritional value of both types of potatoes, says Bovell-Benjamin.
Eating potatoes with the skin on may also provide extra nutrients like fiber, iron, and potassium, but for sweet potatoes, the skin may be too tough to eat.
Frying any type of food is generally a less healthy option, as it adds extra calories and fat, but for potatoes, frying may be especially bad. A 2017 study found that, while eating potatoes has no negative health effects, eating fried potatoes at least twice a week more than doubled the risk of death.
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Insider's takeaway
Both potatoes and sweet potatoes are healthy foods that can fit well into most diets. However, if you are looking for extra health benefits like regulating blood sugar and more vitamin A and antioxidants, sweet potatoes are a better option. There are many healthy ways you can cook potatoes and sweet potatoes, but try to avoid fried potatoes as much as possible.
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Madeline Kennedy
Madeline Kennedy is a health writer for Insider covering a wide range of topics including reproductive and sexual health, mental health, nutrition, and infectious disease. Before joining Insider, Madeline worked as a health news writer for Reuters, and a domestic violence therapist. She has a master's degree in social work from UPenn and is interested in the intersection of health and social justice.
Though they can both be part of a healthy diet, sweet potatoes are generally healthier than regular potatoes, partly because of their incredibly high vitamin A content. Sweet potatoes are also lower on the glycemic index, meaning that they are less likely than regular potatoes to make your blood sugar spike.
Though they can both be part of a healthy diet, sweet potatoes are generally healthier than regular potatoes, partly because of their incredibly high vitamin A content. Sweet potatoes are also lower on the glycemic index, meaning that they are less likely than regular potatoes to make your blood sugar spike.
Sweet potatoes are known to be high in fiber and have a low glycemic index, which results in a less immediate impact on blood glucose levels. This can help people with diabetes keep their blood sugar levels in check.
Sweet potatoes are loaded with vitamin A, packing almost 700% of the recommended daily value in one medium potato; all the others have none. Sweet potatoes also have about twice the vitamin C of Russet Burbank and red potatoes. They all are great sources of potassium, with red potatoes leading the pack.
Red potatoes contain the most of all three phytochemicals examined. They possess the most quercetin, a flavonoid found to possess some anti-cancer and anti-inflammatory properties.
If you enjoy sweet potatoes, you can absolutely enjoy them daily. However, eating multiple sweet potatoes every day could cause a harmless condition called carotenodermia, where your skin turns yellow-orange. You may also want to be cautious about your sweet potato intake if you have a history of kidney stones.
Research shows that sweet potatoes can lower your LDL "bad" cholesterol, which may lower your odds of heart problems. Macular degeneration. Large amounts of beta-carotene and vitamin A, which are in sweet potatoes, can lower your chances of getting this eye disease, which is the most common cause of vision loss.
Eating potassium-rich sweet potatoes helps promote a healthy heart. Higher potassium intake allows you to excrete more sodium lower your blood pressure and reduce your risk for heart disease according to the American Heart Association.
Bananas are a delicious, nutritious and affordable food for everyone, including those with diabetes. Eating this healthy fruit can help stabilize blood sugar levels, improve insulin sensitivity and improve heart health.
“Sweet potatoes are great sources of potassium, magnesium, and calcium to help you relax,” nutrition director Jaclyn London told Good Housekeeping. She suggests swapping a baked sweet potato for whatever you eat right before going to bed.
How to tell if sweet potatoes have gone bad. If your sweet potato is soft in spots, smells rotten, or oozes a mysterious liquid, that potato should be discarded. Another sign that sweet potatoes have taken a turn for the worse is if they start growing stalky purplish sprouts.
Sweet potatoes with orange flesh are richest in beta-carotene. Sweet potatoes with purple flesh are richer in anthocyanins. Beta-carotene and anthocyanins are naturally occurring plant “phyto” chemicals that give vegetables their bright colors.
You can eat sweet potato skin. It's a good source of fiber, a nutrient that may help lower the risk of heart disease and keep you feeling full for longer periods of time. The next time you make a sweet potato dish, whether it's a roasted side dish or a hearty, cozy casserole, leave the peel on.
Sweet potatoes are often touted as being healthier than white potatoes, but in reality, both types can be highly nutritious. While regular and sweet potatoes are comparable in their calorie, protein, and carb content, white potatoes provide more potassium, whereas sweet potatoes are incredibly high in vitamin A.
For bodybuilding, it's ideal because it's packed with good carbs, calories, and potassium that your body needs to put on muscle mass. Sweet potatoes taste great with or without anything added to them, and they're super easy to make. One baked sweet potato contains 4 g protein, 41 g carbohydrates, and 6 g fiber.
Nightshade vegetables, like peppers, potatoes, and eggplant, are are controversial, because many claim they can cause inflammation, according to Cynthia Sass, a registered dietician. This can lead to some pretty serious complications down the line: heart disease, cancer, and diabetes, to name a few.
Weight Loss Because of High Fibre Content of Sweet Potatoes
Sweet potatoes are high in fiber, which might aid in weight loss and belly fat reduction. Sweet potatoes' high fiber content makes you feel 'full' after a meal, which helps you keep to a calorie-restricted diet.
Of the thousands of vegetables available today, sweet potatoes are considered one of the most nutritious. The orange- (or sometimes purple) fleshed vegetables are loaded with minerals and A, B, and C vitamins. This has led to sweet potatoes being called a superfood by many.
Sweet potatoes contain the “good” kind of carbs – often called “complex carbohydrates.” Complex carbohydrates are considered healthier than simple carbohydrates. They take longer to digest and create more lasting energy.
Introduction: My name is Kelle Weber, I am a magnificent, enchanting, fair, joyous, light, determined, joyous person who loves writing and wants to share my knowledge and understanding with you.
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