sweet potato- too much sugar?

mary190136
mary190136 Posts: 44 Member
in Food and Nutrition
Sometimes for lunch I will microwave a sweet potato and eat it plain. I'm reading that this contains a lot of sugar / starch.

Does anyone know if a sweet potato has a lot of sugar?

Is the starch content in this really significant?

Will sweet potatoes (a couple a week) be a real detriment to weight loss?

Thank you!

Replies

  • Strong78
    Strong78 Posts: 2 Member
    I am not sure about how much it has compared to a plain white potato but I do know that it better for you because it doesn't cause your blood sugar to spike any where near as much as a white potato, but I am sure someone else can explain that better than I. Sweet potatoes have a much lower glycemic index than those of white potatoes. From the little bit of searching I just did, it appears they are pretty close in nutritional facts, but the big difference is how they treat your blood sugar.
  • lemonsnowdrop
    lemonsnowdrop Posts: 1,298 Member
    Why are you so concerned about the sugar in a sweet potato? Are you diabetic? How much sugar you consume has little to do with weight loss. I definitely wouldn't stress about it. I prefer my sweet potatoes with brown sugar, but to each their own.
  • baconslave
    baconslave Posts: 7,018 Member
    Depends on if you are on a low-carb diet or not.

    If you aren't low-carb, then just eat to your calorie deficit.

    If you are, then a medium baked sweet potato is 23g carbs (19g net carbs.) Depending on your carb intake level, this could or could not be a problem for you. If you are diabetic, some complex carbs act differently than others for different people. When I had gestational diabetes with my youngest, flour and potatoes spiked my blood sugar, whereas pasta (which has more carbs) did not. My diabetic mother has trouble with pasta herself, and less with other starches. So theoretically, it would be better than a white potato, but it really depends on how you personally react.

    HTH.
  • erickirb
    erickirb Posts: 12,294 Member
    Stop looking at a single food as good or bad (esp a veggie) look at your diet as a whole. Are you able to get enough fat and protein, vitamins and minerals while consuming said food (in this case sweet potato) if the answer is yes, then eat it if you want it.
  • DopeItUp
    DopeItUp Posts: 18,771 Member
    You are way overthinking this. There is nothing wrong with sweet potatoes. They will not hinder weight loss.
  • SonicDeathMonkey80
    SonicDeathMonkey80 Posts: 4,489 Member
    Sweet potatoes are a nearly-perfect food. Eat away, and when you feel like it, try one with some marshmallows and/or brown sugar on it. The only thing that will hinder weight loss is eating at a caloric surplus.
  • kshadows
    kshadows Posts: 1,315 Member
    Sweet potatoes are a nearly-perfect food. Eat away, and when you feel like it, try one with some marshmallows and/or brown sugar on it. The only thing that will hinder weight loss is eating at a caloric surplus.

    Yessir.

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