Nutritional Facts of Sweet Potato

100 grams of Sweet Potato has about 86 calories.Originating in Mexico, Sweet potatoes are tubers popular around the world and are naturally nutritious & carbohydrate-rich. While most of the calories in sweet potatoes come from carbohydrates, it also has a fair amount of fat, protein, and sugar. Compared to other vegetables, sweet potatoes have a higher amount of calories. It can be used in different ways and is used in different forms across the world. Sweet potato is rich in fibre and helps in improving the digestive process. In this article, we’ll take a look at the health benefits, nutritional composition, and calories in sweet potatoes. 

About Sweet Potato

Sweet potatoes are a type of underground tubular vegetable, similar to potatoes or carrots. Botanically known as Ipomoea Batatas, they originated in Mexico and slowly spread across the world. Sweet potatoes are naturally nutritious, providing a whole variety of nutrients as well as vitamins and minerals needed by the human body to sustain and grow. Sweet potatoes are also rich in fibre, which is used by the body to improve the digestive process and also reduce the risk of serious illnesses.

 

The majority of calories in sweet potatoes come from their high carbohydrate content. In this article, we’ll take a look at calories in sweet potatoes, their nutritional composition and health benefits.

 

As a vegetable rich in carbohydrates, sweet potatoes contain about 86 calories in 100 grams. While most of the calories in sweet potatoes come from carbohydrates, it also has some amount of protein, fat and sugar. About 77% of the vegetable consists of water content. Let’s take a detailed look at the calories in sweet potato and its nutritional breakdown:

While highly nutritious, sweet potatoes contain more calories than most other vegetables. It’s important to know the level of calories in different quantities of sweet potatoes, so you can create a diet plan accordingly to maintain your fitness or reach certain fitness goals. Let’s take a look at calories in sweet potatoes for different quantities. 

Calories of Common Foods Containing Sweet Potatoes

Sweet potatoes can be cooked and eaten in a very large variety of ways. Different cultures around the world have their own way of cooking and eating this vegetable. However, using sweet potatoes in different ways also increases its calorie count as other foods, vegetables and spices are added in to make a variety of dishes. Let’s take a look at the calories of common foods that contain sweet potatoes: 

Health Benefits of Sweet Potatoes

Sweet potatoes are well known for their number of benefits. They are a cheap and excellent source of fibre, vitamins and minerals as well as contain fibre which is highly helpful in aiding the digestive system. Let’s take a look at the various health benefits that you can get by incorporating benefits of sweet potatoes into your diet:

 

1. Sweet potatoes are rich in antioxidants. As per studies, antioxidants are responsible for getting rid of toxic free radicals from the body. If left unchecked, these free radicles can damage the DNA of cells, cause inflammation or even cancer in extreme cases. Thus antioxidants in sweet potatoes can help reduce the risk of cancer.

2. Sweet potatoes are rich in fibre. Fibre is one of the most important sources that the body needs to keep its digestive system healthy. Multiple studies have also proven that consuming fibre regularly reduces the risk of developing chronic illnesses like diabetes, heart disease, etc.

3. A single sweet potato contains about 20-25 grams of carbohydrates. Carbohydrates are the main source of energy that the human body uses for day to day activities. Thus, sweet potatoes are also an excellent source of energy to get through the day.

4. Sweet potatoes contain a good amount of Vitamin A, which is very beneficial to the body. Vitamin A is responsible for improving eyesight, boosting immunity and strengthening bones.

5. Sweet potatoes also contain trace elements of other vitamins like Vitamin B, C as well as minerals like manganese, potassium, copper and niacin. These vitamins and minerals are used by the body for various different health purposes such as upkeep and maintenance.

6. An average sweet potato contains 3-4 grams of protein. Proteins are the building blocks of muscles and tissues and are used by the body to repair and replace damaged cells and tissues.

It is important to note that while preparing sweet potatoes for any dish, they must not be overcooked, as overcooking can destroy the nutrient content of the vegetable.

How Many Sweet Potatoes Should You Consume in a Day?

While there is no set limit on how many sweet potatoes can be consumed in a day, you should ideally not eat more than 3 or 4 pieces of sweet potatoes in a single day. As sweet potatoes contain a lot of carbohydrates and sugar, consuming too many of it on a daily basis can lead to quick weight gain. Try to eat sweet potatoes once or twice during the week and also add other fruits and vegetables to get a full nutritious diet.

To Conclude

Although sweet potatoes are incredibly healthy, they cannot protect you against unexpected illnesses and accidents. If you want to remain truly protected against unexpected health complications, it is a good idea to look into getting a health insurance plan. A health insurance plan will provide you financial cover for most conditions, so you can focus on recovering and not worry about the hospital bills. With health insurance plans from Bajaj Markets, you can enjoy cashless claims, a wide network of hospitals and easy claim settlements in health insurance.

 

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