Potatoes tend to get a bad rap since this vegetable is processed in so many different ways (think French fries and potato chips). However, there are some redeeming nutritional values provided by potatoes
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Nutrition Faceoff: Sweet Potato vs. Potato
Sweet Potato Potato
Serving Size: 1 cup baked, skin on 1 cup baked, skin on
Calories: 180 kcal 188 kcal
Fat: 0.3 g 0.3 g
Protein: 4 g 4.2 g
Total Carbohydrates: 41.4 g 42.2 g
Fiber: 6.6 g 4.2 g
Potassium: 950 mg 1088 mg
Vitamin A: 128% DV <1% DV
Vitamin C: 65% DV 42% DV
Vitamin B6: 29% DV 21% DV
As far as nutrition goes, the sweet potato does contain more and greater quantities of certain vitamins and minerals when compared to the white potato (and vice versa). Both are rich in Vitamin C, B6, and potassium. However, sweet potatoes are a great source of Vitamin A and beta carotene whereas the white potato is rich in folate. It also has more dietary fiber, which is great for the digestive system. There have been studies from Africa have shown that some sweet potatoes meet 35% of all vitamin A needs and others meet over 90% of vitamin A. Here is an interesting tidbit without a little bit of fat (about 3-5 grams) there isn’t as much beta-carotene absorption. I am bummed to say that both the white and sweet potato have similar calorie, fat, carbohydrate, and protein contents.
As far as glycemic index (GI) goes, it all depends on how you cook them. When boiled, both have just about the same GI. The GI increases for both when baked. If I were to pick one over the other, I’d choose the sweet potato purely for taste. But the best thing to do (probably) is to eat a variety of potatoes.
Both sweet and white potatoes can decimate your waistline if you add marshmallows, sugar, butter, sour cream, and over-salt to them. So here are couple ideas for cutting the high calorie additives in your holiday sweet potatoes. In fact, one serving adds up to about 300-450 calories (ccoked the traditional way)
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