When it comes to carbs, potatoes are unrivaled. French fries, potato chips, mashed potatoes, you name it, potatoes are the bees’ knees as far as preparation and taste. Fueled by misinformation and carbo-phobias, potatoes are often criticized, due to their starch and carbohydrate content. Nutritionally, potatoes and sweet potatoes are much more similar than you may think with no real sound evidence to support claims professing otherwise. We’re going to discuss the differences between sweet potatoes vs. potatoes and examine their glycemic index, nutrition, and carbs to settle this debate once and for all.

Potato Vs Sweet Potato - Nutrition 

Both potatoes and sweet potatoes are tuberous root vegetables, which include thousands of different varieties, coming in all shapes, colors, and sizes. Despite both being similar in name and classification, potatoes and sweet potatoes are actually somewhat distantly related and come from different families.

Potatoes are higher on the Glycemic Index meaning they affect blood sugar differently than sweet potatoes, which is partially why sweet potatoes have been regarded as the healthier choice. Both however fall in the middle to high range of the glycemic index, despite the common misconception.

Glycemic load, is simply a measure of how a certain type of food will affect blood sugar, created for diabetics. There is no evidence how the glycemic load of a food effects appetite, body weight, or inflammation. When comparing potatoes vs sweet potatoes, GI is also irrelevant to health and how lean you are, since blood sugar response to food varies, dependent upon the time of day, use of medications, cooking method, sleep quality and quantity, genetics, your protein, fat, and fiber content, and activity level.

Both potatoes and sweet potatoes provide an amazing array of nutritional benefits and nutrients, despite a negligible difference in glycemic load.

The biggest difference amongst potatoes and sweet potatoes, is the Vitamin A content. Sweet potatoes contain

Potato Vs Sweet Potato – Carbs Content 

When comparing strictly on carb content, both potatoes and sweet potatoes both have the exact same amount of carbs at 21g. Yet how those carbs are broken down are where the real differences can be interpreted.

Potatoes and sweet potatoes are mainly composed of complex carbohydrates which come from starch, and fiber. The difference between starch and fiber is that starch is composed of many sugar molecules and is broken down easily and converted into glucose. Fiber is a bundle of sugar molecules as well but does not spike blood sugar. The human digestive system cannot break fiber down until it nears the end of the digestive tract, and is therefore considered to be a non-digestible carbohydrate.

Complex carbohydrates are the preferred choice of carbs, to help keep you lean and healthy.  Complex carbs slow the absorption of sugars, which remove cholesterol and slows down your digestion to keep you fuller for longer. 

Sweet potatoes have 5.3 more grams of sugar, 1 more gram of fiber, and 4g coming from other carb sources. Potatoes are mainly composed of starch, with 17.3g of its total 21g of total carbs. Potatoes also contain beneficial resistant starch which like fiber, passes directly through the GI tract benefiting gut health and minimally affecting blood glucose. 

Potato Vs Sweet Potato – Takeaway 

It’s another common misconception, that potatoes are healthier than sweet potatoes. Both potatoes and sweet potatoes are composed of complex carbohydrates, despite a negligible difference in how they affect blood sugar levels. Complex carbohydrates are the preferred type of carbohydrates when you’re looking to improve body composition, enhance weight loss, and increase muscle gain. Both are also an excellent source of fiber contributing to better digestive health, reducing the risk of chronic disease, and aiding in weight loss.

Ready To Add Some Complex Carbs To Your Diet?

Your body needs carbohydrates for optimal performance and recovery during high-intensity and endurance training. But, not all carbohydrates are created equal. Swolverine's Clean Carbs is made with 100% natural whole-foods from complex carbohydrates, including Sweet potatoes, Yams, Oats, and Blueberries to provide the long-lasting and sustained energy your body needs to fuel performance and optimize recovery. Delicious and rich you can add it to your smoothies, shakes, or mix with water, for a rich and tasty treat.

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We believe that everyone can optimize not only their athletic performance but their human potential. The way we believe we can optimize performance is through transparency, clinically effective doses, and clinically proven ingredients with evidence-based outcomes. We provide the nutrients you need to power your active lifestyle.