Carbohydrates in Sweet Potatoes Vs. White Potatoes

The white potato and the sweet potato each have about 21 grams of carbs per 100-gram serving.
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People who are following a low-carb diet tend to avoid potatoes because they're starchy vegetables. But you may be wondering if sweet potatoes make a better choice, carb-wise, than white potatoes. We're here to break it down.

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Carbs in Potatoes

Potatoes aren't low-carb foods, but as it turns out, both sweet potatoes and white potatoes have about the same number of carbs per serving. Sweet potatoes are a better source of fiber and vitamins, however, and have a lower glycemic index, so they're a more nutritious choice overall.

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Potatoes on Low-Carb Diets

Potatoes pack a big carb punch, given that a 100-gram serving of baked sweet potato and a 100-gram serving of baked white potato both have around 21 grams of carbs. When you count carbs on a low-carb diet, you might be more interested in net carbs, which are the digestible carbs. Net carbs are calculated by subtracting the fiber from the total carb count.

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Sweet potatoes have 3 grams of fiber per 100 grams, and white potatoes have 2 grams, so their net carbs are equal to 18 grams and 19 grams, respectively. Overall, there's not too much difference carb-wise, and either potato may be a tough fit if you're following a plan that limits carbs to 20 to 50 grams a day.

Read more: Healthy Low-Carb Eating Plan

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Potatoes and Glycemic Index

In addition to being slightly lower in net carbs, sweet potatoes also have a lower glycemic index, or GI, than white potatoes — 63 for boiled sweet potatoes versus 78 for boiled white potatoes.

The GI is a scale that measures how carbs in food affect blood sugar. Foods with a high GI cause a fast increase in blood sugar, while foods with a low GI cause only a small increase in blood sugar over a longer period of time. Maintaining more even blood sugar helps with hunger control. Baked sweet potatoes have a lower GI than baked white potatoes, and boiled white potatoes are considered a high-GI food, whereas boiled sweet potatoes are considered a low-GI food.

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Read more: The Glycemic Index Table of Fruits & Vegetables

Comparing the Micronutrients

Both sweet and white potatoes may be high in carbs, but a sweet potato is the more nutrient-dense choice. A 1/2-cup serving of sweet potato provides more than 300 percent of the daily value for vitamin A and 33 percent of the daily value for vitamin C. By comparison, the white potato contains no vitamin A and has only 21 percent of the daily value for vitamin C. Both vitamin A and vitamin C support immune health and act as important antioxidants to protect your body against oxidation from free radicals.

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The white potato, however, is a better source of folate, meeting 10 percent of the daily value, while sweet potatoes contain 2 percent of the vitamin. Folate supports red blood cell production and plays a pivotal role in the prevention of neural tube defects such as spina bifida during pregnancy. Both types of potatoes are a good source of the mineral potassium, while sweet potatoes have more manganese than white potatoes.

Low-Carb Sweet Potato Recipes

With nearly 20 grams of net carbs per serving, neither sweet nor white potato works on a very low-carb diet. But if you're consuming up to 50 to 150 grams of net carbs a day, you can fit the high-carb veggie into your diet. Mix potatoes with low-carb foods to help keep total carbs low.

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Try sautéing a handful of diced sweet potatoes seasoned with paprika and cayenne. Top with fried eggs and diced avocado and you've got yourself a delicious plate of sweet potato hash that you can enjoy for breakfast or at any time of day.

Low-Carb Potato Recipes

At lunch, add sliced, cooked and cooled white potatoes to your salad greens and toss with vinegar and oil to create your own healthy, low-carb salad. Or roast quartered potatoes with brussels sprouts to serve as a semi-low-carb side dish with your broiled salmon at dinner.

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