Benefits of Sweet Potatoes

Sweet potatoes or known in botanical term as ipomoea batatas is a root vegetable. The tuber of this potato plant is eaten boiled, baked and fried. The dried tubers are available as chips, puffs and mashed potatoes. And you can also get potato puree to add flavor to biscuits, muffins and pancakes. It is also sold as dog treats.

In Malaysia it is called ubi keledek and is added to savory dishes or used as fillings. The most popular way it is eaten is sliced and fried. A common dessert called pengat ubi is cooked by boiling the diced potatoes with yam in coconut milk and sugar. The leaves are cooked in coconut milk and served as a savory side dish.


sweet-potatoes


Nutrition Facts for 100g or Raw Sweet Potatoes

Nutrients Units
Water 77.28g
Energy 86 kcal
Protein 1.57g
Total lipid (fat) 0.05g
Carbohydrate 20.12g
Dietary Fiber 3.0g
Total Sugars 4.18g
Starch 12.65g
Calcium 30mg
Iron 0.61mg
Magnesium 25mg
Phosphorus 47mg
Potassium 337mg
Sodium 55mg
Zinc 0.30mg
Copper 0.151mg
Manganese 0.258mg
Selenium 0.6µg
Vitamin C 2.4mg
Thiamine 0.078mg
Riboflavin 0.061mg
Niacin 0.557mg
Pantothenic acid 0.800mg
Vitamin B6 0.209mg
Folate 11µg
Choline 12.3mg
Vitamin A 14187IU
Vitamin E 0.26mg
Beta Carotene 8509µg
Alpha Carotene 7µg
Vitamin K 1.8µg

The health benefits of sweet potatoes come from the nutrients such as carbohydrates, protein, dietary fiber, vitamins and minerals. It contains a high amount of vitamin A in the form of beta carotene. The ones with the pinkish, yellowish and dark orange flesh have the higher amount of carotene compared to the white flesh.


Beta carotene is a powerful antioxidant and it helps destroy free radicals that can damage the human tissues. Among its health benefits are repairing body tissues, beneficial for vision and eye health and protect from infections.


Some of the important vitamins and minerals present are vitamin B5, vitamin B6, folate or vitamin B9, vitamin C, iron, calcium, magnesium, phosphorus and potassium. Because of its wholesome nutrients, it is also available as baby food.


The benefits of eating sweet potatoes include:

  1. Having the potential to reduce the risk of certain cancers because of the presence of beta carotene, folate and vitamin C.


  2. Benefit the arteries and may lower blood pressure with the help of beta carotene, folate, vitamin C, vitamin B6 and potassium.


  3. Studies on animals found that this root vegetable has the potential to stabilize blood sugar levels and lower insulin resistance. This could be due to its low glycemic index.


  4. Another one of the benefits of this tuber vegetable is it doesn't contain fat. If you are concerned about your weight, the best way to eat it is to bake or grill it. A baked potato which is about 3oz contains 90 calories.

You can bake or grill the tuber with the skin and remove it once it is cooked. It is easy to peel it off. But for other methods of cooking, it's better to remove the skin.




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