Be The Healthy U!
  • Healthy Blog
  • Healthy Recipes
  • Online Cooking Classes
  • I Can Help
  • 28-Day Program
  • Healthy Dog Blog
  • About Terri
  • Resources
  • Ask Dr. Terri
  • Testimonials

Sweet Potatoes and Yams

10/14/2013

0 Comments

 
Picture
Orange flesh, starchy, sweet, delicious, satisfying. Is it a sweet potato? Is it a yam? It could be either. We use the names interchangeably here in the U.S. So what is the difference between a sweet potato and a yam?

Sweet potatoes are yellow or orange tubers that taper to a point on both ends. One type has a paler, thin, light yellow skin with a pale yellow flesh that is not sweet and has a dry, crumbly texture similar to a white baking potato. The other type has a darker, thicker, orange to reddish skin with a sweet, deep orange flesh with a moist texture. This darker type is often mistakenly called “yam”.

A true yam is a tuber of Dioscorea batatas, a tropical vine. Yams are in no way related to the sweet potato. Yams are generally sweeter than sweet potatoes, and can also be much larger.

While both are great sources of fiber and other nutrients, there are differences in terms of nutrition. Both are assumed to be rich in vitamin A due to their orange flesh, an indicator of foods rich in beta-carotene, a precursor to vitamin A. One hundred fifty grams (g) of sweet potatoes (about one cup diced) has 18,866 IU of vitamin A, well over three times the daily requirement for vitamin A. Here’s a surprise: the same amount of yams (150 g) has only 207 IU of vitamin A, only about 4% of the daily requirement.

That same 150 g of yams have 1,224 milligrams (mg) of potassium, over one third of the daily requirement. Compare that with 150 g of sweet potatoes, which has 448 mg of potassium. Yams have more vitamin C than sweet potatoes with 25.6 mg (43% of the daily requirements) compared to only 3.2 mg in sweet potatoes. Yams have 600 micrograms of manganese, 30% of the daily requirements and twice the amount of sweet potatoes. Yams also pack more calories and total carbohydrates than sweet potatoes. One hundred fifty grams of yams have 177 calories and 42 g total carbohydrate compared to sweet potatoes, with 114 calories and 27 g total carbohydrate.

Whether you are eating a sweet potato or a yam, you are getting fiber plus many great nutrients and phytonutrients. Serve your potatoes with a variety of other vegetables, including leafy greens, to be sure you’re getting all your daily nutritional requirements.

I love roasted sweet potatoes (or yams?). What is your favorite way to prepare sweet potatoes or yams?

Resources
  • http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Sweet_potato
  • http://homecooking.about.com/od/howtocookvegetables/a/sweetpotatodiff.htm
  • http://nutritiondata.self.com/

0 Comments



Leave a Reply.

    Terri Quenzer, PhD

    Terri has a passion for good health and for helping others find happiness in themselves through better health! Through her scientific and life experiences, her goal is to help you reach your healthy goals!

    ​Be The Healthy U!: nominated for San Diego's Best Nutrition/Cooking Classes of 2016!

    Picture
    Catch Terri's interview about plant-based nutrition on KCQB 1170 AM - click here.

    How Not to Die: Terri interviews New York Times Bestselling Author Michael Greger, MD. Listen below.
    Terri speaks with Jordan Hoffman of Jordan Hoffman Acupuncture about what to eat and East vs West.
    Picture

    Click Here To Sign Up For Your Free Newsletter

    RSS Feed

    Archives

    September 2017
    May 2017
    January 2017
    December 2016
    November 2016
    October 2016
    September 2016
    August 2016
    June 2016
    November 2015
    October 2015
    September 2015
    May 2015
    April 2015
    February 2015
    January 2015
    November 2014
    October 2014
    August 2014
    July 2014
    June 2014
    May 2014
    April 2014
    March 2014
    February 2014
    January 2014
    December 2013
    November 2013
    October 2013
    September 2013
    August 2013
    July 2013
    June 2013
    February 2013
    January 2013
    December 2012
    November 2012
    October 2012

    Categories

    All