Sweet potato is not just a wonderful comfort food, its also a nutrient powerhouse containing very high levels of mineral manganese and exceptional levels of immune supporting Vitamins A as well as decent amounts of Vitamin C
Recipe ideas
Sweet potato partners really well with pumpkin seeds and my favourite way of eating this is to drizzle it with pumpkin seed oil before serving or to mash it with some pumpkin seed butter – yum!
| PRIMARY MICRO NUTRIENTS | Manganese, Vitamin A, Vitamin C, Copper, Potassium, Vitamins B1, B3, B5, B6 |
| SECONDARY MICRO NUTRIENTS | Iron, Magnesium, Phosphorus, Vitamin E |
| NUTRITIONAL HIGHLIGHTS | Incredibly rich in beta-carotene, which is converted to vitamin A to support good vision and your immune system – note that the darker the colour, the higher is the carotene content
Glutathione rich Anti-cancer properties – in orange sweet potatoes and sweet potato peels (study1, study2). Anthocyanins — phytonutrient antioxidants found in purple sweet potatoes that have been found |
| FUNCTIONAL BENEFITS | |
| NUTRITIONAL NOTES | Plant family = Convolvulaceae (Morning Glory) and related to Jicama
Dangers
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| Sweet potato, cooked, baked in skin, without salt | RDA | 1x medium Sweet potato = 130g | % RDA | |
| Nutrient | Unit | per 100g | ||
| Water | g | 75.78 | ||
| Energy | kcal | 2600 | 90 | 3.5% |
| Protein | g | 90 | 2.01 | 2.2% |
| Total lipid (fat) | g | 87.1111 | 0.15 | 0.2% |
| Carbohydrate, by difference | g | 224 | 20.71 | 9.2% |
| Fiber, total dietary | g | 3.3 | ||
| Sugars, total | g | 6.48 | ||
| Minerals | ||||
| Calcium, Ca | mg | 1000 | 38 | 3.8% |
| Iron, Fe | mg | 8 | 0.69 | 8.6% |
| Magnesium, Mg | mg | 420 | 27 | 6.4% |
| Phosphorus, P | mg | 700 | 54 | 7.7% |
| Potassium, K | mg | 470 | 475 | 101.1% |
| Sodium, Na | mg | 36 | ||
| Zinc, Zn | mg | 11 | 0.32 | 2.9% |
| Copper, Cu | mg | 0.9 | 0.161 | 17.9% |
| Manganese, Mn | mg | 2.3 | 0.497 | 21.6% |
| Selenium, Se | µg | 55 | 0.2 | 0.4% |
| Vitamins | ||||
| Vitamin C, total ascorbic acid | mg | 90 | 19.6 | 21.8% |
| Thiamin | mg | 1.2 | 0.107 | 8.9% |
| Riboflavin | mg | 1.3 | 0.106 | 8.2% |
| Niacin | mg | 16 | 1.487 | 9.3% |
| Pantothenic acid | mg | 5 | 0.884 | 17.7% |
| Vitamin B-6 | mg | 1.7 | 0.286 | 16.8% |
| Folate, total | µg | 400 | 6 | 1.5% |
| Choline, total | mg | 13.1 | ||
| Betaine | mg | 34.6 | ||
| Vitamin B-12 | µg | 2.4 | 0 | 0.0% |
| Vitamin A, IU | IU | 5000 | 19218 | 384.4% |
| Vitamin A, RAE | mcg | 900 | 960.9 | 106.8% |
| Vitamin E, total | mg | 15 | 0.72 | 4.8% |
| Vitamin D | IU | 600 | 0 | 0.0% |
| Vitamin K (phylloquinone) | µg | 120 | 2.3 | 1.9% |
RDA – Recommended Dietary Amount recommendations are based upon calculations for a 40 year old very active man that I have adapted from USDA’s Dietary Intake Guidelines. Using this link you can make your own calculations
Adapted from:
Murray, M. (2005). Encyclopedia of Healing Food. New York, N.Y.: Atria Books
USDA food database: http://ndb.nal.usda.gov/ndb/
Other information sources:
World’s Healthiest Foods – an excellent online food and nutrition encyclopedia
Self Nutrition Data: an online nutrient breakdown of foods
Dr axe.com Sweet potato nutrition benefits
15 Health Benefits of Sweet Potatoes, According to Science
