Like many orange foods, baked sweet potatoes are high in vitamin A. They are also an excellent source of many vitamins and minerals, providing more than 20 percent dietary reference intake, or DRI, of many of these nutrients, such as potassium. DRI percentages listed are for an adult under age 50 consuming one medium baked sweet potato with skin.
Calories and Carbohydrates
One medium sweet potato contains 103 calories, nearly all of which come from the 23.6 g of carbohydrates. Of these 23.6 g of carbohydrates, 8 g are starch and 7.4 g are sugar. Most of the sugar in a sweet potato is either sucrose or maltose. One baked sweet potato also contains 3.8 g of fiber, which is 14 percent of the DRI.
Protein
Sweet potatoes contain a small amount of protein. One potato contains 2.3 g of protein, which is only 5 percent of the DRI for women and 4 percent for men. This protein is made up of 18 different amino acids, but all are present in only trace amounts.
Fat
Sweet potatoes are very low in fat. One medium baked potato contains only 0.17 g of fat. One potato also contains no cholesterol.
Minerals
Baked sweet potatoes contain many minerals, some in small amounts and some in larger amounts. One potato contains 542 mg of potassium, which is 27 percent of the DRI. Potassium is important for proper heart function and helps to control the balance of acids and bases in the body. One medium sweet potato also supplies 32 percent of the DRI for manganese for women and 25 percent for men as well as 20 percent of the DRI for copper. All other minerals are present in smaller amounts, with one sweet potato providing less than 10 percent of each mineral, including iron and calcium.
Water-Soluble Vitamins
Sweet potatoes also contain varying amounts of the water-soluble vitamins. One baked potato provides 30 percent of the DRI for vitamin C for women and 25 percent for men. One baked sweet potato also supplies 20 percent of the DRI for pantothenic acid and 25 percent of the DRI for B-6. Additionally, one potato provides approximately 10 percent of the DRI for thiamin, riboflavin and niacin. One potato contains less than 5 percent of the DRI for the rest of the water-soluble vitamins -- folate, choline and B-12.
Fat-Soluble Vitamins
Unlike other types of potatoes, sweet potatoes are high in vitamin A. One sweet potato contains 1096 mcg of vitamin A, which is more than 100 percent of the DRI. One potato contains less than 6 percent of vitamins D, E and K.
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