Food & Drinks

Is sweet potato healthier than regular?

. And I love to make fries from it with a huge dollop of homemade mayo. Yehes. But I also have a book full of too delicious healthy recipes. The taste of sweet potato is sweet and somewhat spicier, which gives your dish more flavor. In addition, this tuber (because no, it is not a potato) is packed with fiber. And that fiber is good for your intestines. In short, the perfect alternative to the carbohydrate bomb.

Say wine, snacks or haute cuisine and the gourmands at online food magazine FavorFlav know where to drink, how to eat it and what to cook. This time our cheffies serve you: sweet potato versus the regular potato.

Baked in the oven, in the curry, as soup or as crispy fries: you can make delicious things from sweet potato. But is the sweet potato actually healthier than the regular potato or not?

Sugar
Nutritionist Manon Wouters explains in an interview to the AD how it is. Firstly, both potatoes contain about the same amount of carbohydrates, with the sweet potato having just a bit more than the regular one. In terms of sugar, the sweet potato scores significantly higher. It contains 4.2 grams of sugar per 100 grams. ‘That's quite a difference, but not very surprising. Sweet potato actually tastes sweeter and that is due to the extra sugars that the tuber contains,’ says Manon.

Glycemic index
But while the sweet potato contains more sugar, the regular potato has a higher glycemic index (GI), which means that the carbohydrates in the potato are absorbed into the blood more quickly. This can lead to blood sugar spikes and fluctuating blood sugars. The sweet potato has a much lower glycemic index. This means fewer high blood sugar spikes and less fluctuation. This is also because the sweet potato is a tuber crop, and thus not related to the potato. Tuber crops contain more dietary fibers, which help to keep your blood sugar levels from rising too quickly.

Vitamins
In terms of vitamins, the two also differ. The sweet variant contains a lot of beta-carotene. Manon explains that beta-carotene is mainly found in orange-colored products such as carrots, bell peppers, and thus also the sweet potato with orange flesh. Beta-carotene is converted into vitamin A in the body. Sweet potato also contains more calcium and vitamin C. The regular potato also contains many vitamins, such as magnesium and vitamin B6.

Conclusion
All in all, it is difficult to say outright that one is healthier than the other. The sweet potato contains healthier substances than the regular potato, but the reverse is also true.