Sweet potatoes on the other hand, have a lighter skin, with tapered ends, and a light yellow to deep orange flesh. And the same amount of white potatoes and sweet potatoes contain about the same amount of carbohydrates (1/2 cup = 15 grams of carbs). “If you are solely looking for vitamin A, then a sweet potato is your pick, hands down,” says Gans. It is the clear choice … The shade thrown at brown potatoes is typically for their higher rank on the glycemic index and greater amount of starch. Want to share this with family, friends, and clients? Click here to download the infographic and print it out, or save it on your tablet. You may be able to find the same content in another format, or you may be able to find more information, at their web site. Potato: Their Origins and History Overall, based on nutritional facts, the sweet potato comes out on top as the winner in potato versus potato, even though it does have a higher sugar content and lower potassium values. That doesn't mean you have to eat them raw. White potatoes score the highest at 75. The skin also helps preserve the vitamins that can leach out during boiling—yet another reason to leave it on. Potatoes are practical and delish, but they've gotten a bit of a bad rap, nutritionally speaking. Like a regular potato, the tuberous roots of the sweet potato plant are eaten as a vegetable. Here’s how these tubers compare — and why both deserve a place in your diet. And while sweet potatoes contain more vitamin A and vitamin C, white potatoes contain more protein and fiber. Both potatoes are a healthy carbohydrate source. Thanks for signing up. "Also, it works as a cell-protecting antioxidant. Sweet potatoes and potatoes also contain dietary fiber, indigestible carbohydrate that helps you feel full after a meal. “Sweet vs. regular potatoes: Which are really healthier?”. Some popular potato cooking methods, like frying, can diminish the heat-sensitive phytochemicals in the spuds. One group compared the glycemic index and load of sweet potatoes vs. potatoes. Japanese sweet potatoes, on the other hand, are reliable in their ability to brown and char: If you're going to make sweet potato oven fries, look no further. “The vitamin C content of potatoes will decrease since vitamin C is sensitive to heat and will degrade with higher temperatures,” says Angelone. Both contain vitamins with a head-to-toe impact and are covered in fiber-rich skin. These are the sweet potatoes that you roast for meal prep, use for Thanksgiving sweet potato pie or marshmallow-topped mashed potatoes, and … White potatoes do come out ahead on protein content, though. The next group kicks off shortly. So, when looking at all three types of potatoes, gram for gram, white potatoes will cause a sharper spike in blood sugar when eaten. Please note though, the type of vitamin A is betacarotene, and only a small percentage is actually converted to retinol, the usable form of vitamin A. Save up to 30% on the Precision Nutrition Level 1 Certification. (Sorry, loaded baked potato fans.) And, of course, the carbophobes had their own take: All potatoes should be avoided because they’re too high in carbs and all those carbs will mess with your insulin regulation and cause fat gain. What’s The Difference Between Ghee and Butter? Keri Gans, MS, RDN, nutrition consultant and author of The Small Change Diet, and Sonya Angelone, MS, RDN, spokesperson for the Academy of Nutrition and Dietetics, get to the root of this dietary dilemma. If you’d like to learn more about both, consider the Precision Nutrition Level 1 Certification. *Required. The hype is warranted though, as sweet potatoes contain an abundance of nutrients – many that you won’t find in traditional brown potatoes. True yams are another type of tuber (genus Dioscorea). The color largely determines how much beta carotene is in a sweet tuber, she adds: A brighter, deeper orange hue signals more of the nutrient, which your body turns into vitamin A. “A medium white potato has about 2 grams more per serving of protein than a sweet potato,” says Gans. Plus, potatoes actually top the satiety index (a handy measure of how full people feel after eating specific foods) as the number-one most filling food. It is simply a form of carbohydrate.” (Btw, sweet potatoes contain starch, too. What you do or don't do with spuds in the kitchen can actually negate all those health benefits in both sweet potatoes and potatoes. Women's Health may earn commission from the links on this page, but we only feature products we believe in. Current popular sweet potato varieties include Goldrush, … In this health food face off, find out which is healthier: a white potato or a sweet potato. Both white and sweet potatoes, when eaten as part of a balanced and intentional diet, provide a fantastic array of nutrients while contributing to the satiety and deliciousness of any meal. There are about 4,000 known varieties of white potatoes and about 1,000 more varieties of sweet potatoes grown worldwide. A yam … The Orange Sweet Potatoes are harder in nature while the White Sweet Potato is very soft in nature. But sweet potatoes have a slight edge on fiber and really shine on vitamins A and C. They also tend to be more expensive than white potatoes. says Gans. This content is imported from {embed-name}. Women's Health participates in various affiliate marketing programs, which means we may get paid commissions on editorially chosen products purchased through our links to retailer sites. “White potatoes meet more than 10% of the recommended daily allowance for vitamin C, B6, folate, niacin, magnesium, phosphorus, potassium, and manganese,” says Gans. Orange Sweet Potato is produced in massive amounts all over the world while White Sweet Potato are not the readily available. Potatoes are a starch, which may give you a knee-jerk negative reaction—but it's time to get over that once and for all, according to the nutritionists I spoke with. Sweet potatoes (they are not yams) pack a lot of nutrients to back up their superfood status. Vitamins Sweet potatoes are loaded with vitamin A, packing almost 700% of the recommended daily value in one medium potato; all the others have none. This content is created and maintained by a third party, and imported onto this page to help users provide their email addresses. “Just because a food has starch, that certainly doesn’t make it unhealthy. Sweet potatoes are also loaded with potassium and vitamin B6. The darker-skinned variety (which is most often and incorrectly called a yam) has a thicker, dark orange to reddish skin with a sweet, vivid orange flesh and a moist texture. ), The starch in potatoes is a resistant starch, which helps regulate blood-sugar levels and contributes to satiety. Also, Angelone recommends pairing sweet potatoes with a little fat to help your body absorb more of the all-star antioxidant beta carotene. So in case you've ever been tempted, take care not to substitute a sweet potato for an Idaho willy nilly; in some cases it may work … Surprisingly, sweet potatoes are only remotely related to potatoes. “Boiling sweet potatoes has been shown to have a more positive impact on blood-sugar regulation.” Still, water-soluble folate and B vitamins can leach into boiling water, which means you won't be consuming them. Sweet potatoes vs. potatoes: A nutritional debate fueled by misinformation, baseless ‘superfood’ obsessions, and carbohydrate phobias. “Steaming or boiling sweet potatoes seem to preserve the nutrients,” says Angelone. “Starch can be a concentrated source of calories, and it is important to avoid eating more calories from starch or any other food than you burn through activity and exercise, if you want to avoid weight gain.”. In fact, a medium potato contains twice as much potassium as a medium banana. Both come in colors ranging from white to orange to purple. On today's episode of Live Lean TV, I'm comparing the sweet potato vs white potato and answering the question: are white potatoes good for you? Another group suggested that sweet potatoes are a vitamin A ‘superfood’, putting them way ahead of their white potato competitors. Nutrients in a Sweet Potato Vs. a Regular Potato Vs. a Red Skin Potato. It takes 50% less time to make white sweet potatoes as compared to orange ones and also have a softer peel. Each potato variation has different vitamins and minerals. Sweet potatoes also have about twice the vitamin C of Russet Burbank and red potatoes. Sweet potatoes have a medium-to-high GI, around 60, and yams have a lower GI at about 50. But back then, the sweet potato … This content is imported from Instagram. You may be wondering if there are more carbs in sweet potatoes as opposed to white potatoes and what the nutritional differences are between the two. Sweet potatoes have swooped in as a trendy tater alternative, and … “Purple potatoes have different phytonutrients, which have been shown to lower blood pressure,” says Angelone. 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