The foods we consume on a regular basis play a crucial role in determining just how fit and healthy we really are. Some foods are considered healthier than others. When it comes to carb-rich foods, sweet potatoes are on top of the list, and they’re full of many important nutrients. That’s why many dieters like to include them in their meals. However, diets such as Keto or Atkins strictly advise limiting net carb intake.
Maybe we can try to find a sweet spot between net carb intake and the nutritional benefits that sweet potatoes can provide for us.
Let’s take a more detailed look at the humble sweet potato.
Net carbs in sweet potatoes
Net carbs are the total amount of carbs minus the fiber. Some experts suggest subtracting only insoluble fiber and leaving soluble fiber in the total carb amount. We will use a simplified approach and remove all fiber from carb content.
Here’s a quick look at how many net carbs sweet potatoes contain and popular sweet potato dishes:
- Medium raw sweet potato – 23.2g
- Serving (114 g) of baked sweet potato – 20.2g
- 10 sweet potato fries – 10.3g
- One serving (28 g) sweet potato chips – 13.5g
As you can see, net carbs vary from 10 to 20 grams per serving. On average, Keto dieters consume around 50g of net carbs every day. Hence, if you follow a very low carb diet, you can still include some amount of sweet potato in your eating regimen.
Keep in mind that net carb content is affected by other ingredients that you use in your meal. For example, if you top your dish with some sugary sauce it will increase the net carb amount.
What’s more, other veggies such as carrots, cauliflower, etc. contain carbs as well. Don’t forget to include them in your daily net carb balance!
Health benefits of sweet potatoes
What is it about sweet potatoes that makes them so healthy and beneficial for us? Well, as it turns out, there are lots of great things.
Very nutritious
One of the best things about sweet potatoes is the fact that they’re highly nutritious. Sweet potatoes contain vitamin C, beta-carotene, vitamin A, magnesium, potassium, B vitamins, iron, fiber, and more.
Low in calories and fat
One advantage of sweet potatoes is the fact that they are low in calories and are virtually fat-free. The benefits of this for weight loss are self-explanatory.
Versatile
Sweet potatoes are also very useful for dieters because they are versatile and can be used in many different ways. You can bake them, roast them, make fries and wedges from them, mash them, use them in soups, and even use them to make healthy desserts.
As we now know, you can include sweet potatoes in your Keto diet, but you should carefully control the serving size. Otherwise, it will be easy to overdose on net carbs.
Reference
- Sweet potatoe nutrition retrieved from: https://ndb.nal.usda.gov/ndb/
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