Autumn and winter are the perfect time for sweet potatoes because it’s their season! Although often known for their copper hues, sweet potatoes come in a variety of sizes and colours, including orange, white and purple. So let’s take a look at what this root vegetable has to offer.

Part of your 5-a-day

Unlike white potatoes, one medium sweet potato - or 80g - counts as a portion of your 5-a-day! This is because sweet potatoes are usually eaten in addition to the starchy food part of the meal.

Dietary Fibre - gut health & digestion

Sweet potatoes are rich in fibre, especially if you keep the skin on! This means they help feed the good bacteria in our gut which is good for our gut health. Fibre also help us feel fuller for longer, bulks up and softens our stool decreasing constipation and reduces our risk of certain diseases - such as heart disease, type 2 diabetes, and bowel cancers.

Find out more on my previous blog post: Dietary Fibre.

Vitamin A - eyes, immunity & development

Sweet potatoes are a great source of beta-carotene, an antioxidant that is turned into vitamin A in the body and is responsible for giving colour to red, orange and yellow and fruits and vegetables.

Since beta-carotene is converted to vitamin A, it can perform the same jobs, such as supporting our vision, particularly adjusting to dim lighting, and helping our body’s defences against illness and infection. Vitamin A also helps keep our skin, bones and blood vessels healthy, and plays a role in cell growth and development, making it important for reproduction.

Vitamin C - skin health, immunity & plant-based iron absorption

Sweet potatoes are rich in vitamin C. We need to get vitamin C daily from our diet as it is an antioxidant that we cannot store in the body.

Vitamin C has different functions in the body including maintaining healthy skin, teeth, gums & bones as it is needed to make and maintain collagen - a protein that forms & keeps the structure of many tissues. It also protects our cells against oxidative damage caused by free radicals, which can affect our health & accelerate ageing.

We need vitamin C to support the healthy functioning of our immune system - helping fight against infection - and when we have a cold it can help reduce our symptoms as recover faster.

On top of these, vitamin C is an important part of a plant-based diet. It helps increase the absorption of plant-based iron. So add some kiwi with a source of plant-based iron (e.g. pulses, nuts & dark leafy greens) as it will help increase iron absorption.

Vitamin B6 - energy & red blood cells

Sweet potatoes provide vitamin B6 - also known as pyridoxine - a water-soluble compound from the B-vitamins family. 

Vitamin B6 is involved in many processes in our bodies including converting and storing energy from food, forming red blood cells - which carry oxygen around the body -, and supporting immune functions and brain health.

Potassium - heart health & fluid balance

Sweet potatoes provide potassium, a mineral that supports the proper functioning of our heart muscles and helps control & maintain normal blood pressure. 

Potassium also controls fluid balance in our bodies, meaning it regulates the water balance inside and outside our cells. This is important because maintaining equal fluid balance is crucial to avoid dehydration which in turn can affect our health.

The take-home:

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References

1. NHS. Rough guide - Fruit & vegetable portion sizes. Livewell. 2021. Retrieved December 11, 2023, from  https://www.nhs.uk/livewell/5aday/documents/downloads/5aday_portion_guide.pdf 

2. McCance & Widdowson. The Composition of Foods integrated dataset 2021. 2021. Retrieved December 11, 2023, from  https://www.gov.uk/government/publications/composition-of-foods-integrated-dataset-cofid 

3. British Nutrition Foundation. Vitamins and Minerals in our Food. Retrieved December 11, 2023, from  https://www.nutrition.org.uk/media/5xeeolog/vitamins-and-minerals-in-our-food-pdf.pdf 

4. NHS. Vitamins and Minerals - Other vitamins and minerals. NHS Sources. Retrieved December 11, 2023, from https://www.nhs.uk/conditions/vitamins-and-minerals/others/#beta-carotene 

5. NHS. Vitamins and Minerals - Vitamin C. NHS Sources. Retrieved December 11, 2023, from https://www.nhs.uk/conditions/vitamins-and-minerals/vitamin-c/ 

6. Carr AC, Maggini S. Vitamin C and Immune Function. Nutrients. 2017 Nov 3;9(11):1211. doi: 10.3390/nu9111211. PMID: 29099763; PMCID: PMC5707683.

7. Carr, Anitra; Maggini, Silvia (2017). Vitamin C and Immune Function. Nutrients, 9(11), 1211–. doi:10.3390/nu9111211 

8. NHS. Vitamins and Minerals - B Vitamins and folic acid. NHS Sources. Retrieved December 11, 2023, from  https://www.nhs.uk/conditions/vitamins-and-minerals/vitamin-b/