Sweet vs. Regular Potatoes: Which Is Healthier?
- InShapeMD
- Dec 11, 2024
- 4 min read
Updated: Feb 27
Sweet vs. Regular Potatoes: Which Is Healthier?
Of all the essential carbs, potatoes might just be the most impressive. Not only are they delicious, but they’re also wonderfully versatile: You can eat them baked, fried, boiled, mashed, roasted, or pureed; you can season them with everything from butter to spices to cheese. They are also diverse—there are literally thousands of varieties.
Potatoes are also, of course, immensely nutritious. They’re filled with fiber, vitamins, minerals, and immune-strengthening properties. But when it comes to which type of potato has the most nutritional benefits, one type of potato stands out. The winner? Sweet.
The mighty sweet potato
Sweet potatoes are a quintessential fall and winter food, but thanks to their numerous health benefits, they’re worth eating all year long. They’re also worth eating instead of classic potatoes whenever you want. Although similar in size, shape, and cooking methods, sweet potatoes have slightly superior health benefits and nutritional properties.
Native to South America, sweet potatoes are mainly grown in China and Japan. They are also not technically “potatoes” or tubers, but rather tuberous root vegetables. You probably think of them mostly as being orange, but they can have yellow, purple, or white flesh, depending on the variety.
Sweet potatoes vs. regular potatoes
While all types of potatoes are definitely nutritious—you can’t make a wrong choice!—sweet potatoes have a slight advantage for a couple of reasons. Mostly, it’s their abundance of cancer-fighting beta carotene and vitamin A that makes them such amazing nutritional powerhouses. They also have a lower glycemic index (GI) than ordinary potatoes, which means they release sugars more slowly into the bloodstream, helping the body to avoid glycemic spikes and crashes. Regular potatoes, on the other hand, have a higher GI, which could lead to rapid increases of insulin levels.
Many people prefer the sweet taste of sweet potatoes—and, let’s not forget that they are also aesthetically pleasing thanks to the bright color of their flesh, which is typically orange but can also range from purple to creamy white, depending on the variety. Regular potatoes have a more neutral taste and are most generally white or yellow—though some non-sweet potato varieties also have blue or purple flesh.
Nutritional properties of sweet potatoes
Sweet potatoes are an excellent source of complex carbohydrates, fiber, vitamins and minerals. Unlike traditional potatoes, which are richer in simple starch, sweet potatoes contain a type of carbohydrate that is digested more slowly, helping to keep blood sugar levels stable. The notable nutritional properties of sweet potatoes include:
Carbohydrates: They are rich in complex carbohydrates, which provide lasting energy. 100 grams (about ⅔ cups) of raw sweet potato contains about 20 grams of carbohydrates.
Fiber: Sweet potato is a good source of dietary fiber, which helps improve digestion and prevent constipation. 100 grams of sweet potato contains about 3 grams of fiber.
Vitamin A: Sweet potatoes are particularly rich in vitamin A in the form of beta-carotene, an antioxidant that helps protect the skin, eyesight, and immune system. 100 grams of sweet potato can provide up to 100 percent of the daily requirement of vitamin A.
Other vitamins and minerals: In addition to vitamin A, sweet potatoes are a good source of vitamin C and B6, as well as manganese, potassium, and iron.
The health benefits of sweet potatoes
Sweet potatoes offer several health benefits thanks to their nutritional composition. A medium-sized sweet potato has around 100 calories, and about 4 grams of fiber which can help prolong satiety and avoid glycemic spikes and the sudden feeling of hunger. Other health benefits of sweet potatoes include:
Eye health: Thanks to their beta-carotene content, sweet potatoes are a powerful ally for visual health. Beta-carotene is a precursor to vitamin A, which is essential for proper retinal function and for preventing eye diseases such as macular degeneration.
Immune system: The abundance of vitamin C and beta-carotene in sweet potatoes plays an important role in strengthening the immune system and helping the body better defend itself against infection and disease.
Cardiovascular health: Sweet potatoes are a good source of potassium, a mineral that helps regulate blood pressure and helps reduce the risk of heart disease. In addition, the fiber helps keep blood cholesterol levels low.
When not to eat sweet potatoes?
It’s important to note that any healthy food can be made less healthy when eaten with a ton of butter, cheese, or bacon—and, it is tempting to add those to any kind of potato, including sweet. But when prepared healthfully and consumed as part of a well-rounded diet, both sweet and regular potatoes shouldn’t be skipped unless the following contraindications and potential side effects are an issue:
Eating sweet potatoes could have troublesome effects for people suffering from gastrointestinal disorders, due to the large presence of fiber
Could interfere with the action of diuretic drugs
Could cause problems in people predisposed to the development of kidney stones, thanks to high levels of oxalic acid
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