Pumpkin vs. Sweet Potato — Health Impact and Nutrition Comparison

by Victoria Mazmanyan | Last updated on July 03, 2023

Medically reviewed by Astghik Baghinyan

Summary

Sweet potatoes are over 3 times higher in calories and carbohydrates, mostly due to a higher content of starch and dietary fiber. Sweet potatoes are also 2 times richer in protein.

Sweet potatoes are the winner in the vitamin and mineral categories. Although a single serving of both pumpkins and sweet potatoes contains enough vitamin A to fill up the daily need, sweet potatoes are a better source of vitamin A, containing around 3 times more of it than pumpkins.

Sweet potatoes are also an adequate source of many other vitamins, which pumpkins contain only very little of. Sweet potatoes contain 6 times more vitamin B6, 4 times more vitamins C and B5, and 3 times more vitamins B1 and B3.

Pumpkins are a better fit for weight loss or low glycemic index diets. However, both of these foods have ample nutrients and beneficial effects on health.

Introduction

Pumpkin and sweet potato are two vegetables with abundant nutrients, vitamins, and beneficial qualities. So between the two, which is the healthier choice?

In this article, we will look into this question, comparing the nutritional compositions and health impacts of pumpkins and sweet potatoes.

Classification

Pumpkins and sweet potatoes don’t have much in common from a botanical point of view.

Pumpkins (Cucurbita pepo) are a cultivar of winter squash belonging to the Cucurbita genus and the Cucurbitaceae family. Pumpkins share this genus with other vegetables, such as gourds and squash.

Pumpkins are botanically classified as berries known as pepo, much like watermelons. Pepo is a modified berry with a hard and thick outer rind.

Sweet potatoes (Ipomoea batatas) are root vegetables that belong to the Ipomoea genus and the Convolvulaceae family. This family is also known as the morning glory or bindweed family, which includes various ornamental flowers as well as vegetables.

Appearance

These two vegetables have distinct and easily distinguishable appearances.

Pumpkins have thick skin, usually in shades of yellow or orange, although there are also green and white pumpkin cultivars. The flesh is a lighter color and filled with seeds.

Sweet potato skins are much thinner, in colors of brown, orange, or red. Depending on the cultivar, the flesh of sweet potatoes can also come in various colors, such as white, gold, red, or purple.

The yellow coloring of these vegetables is determined by a pigment called beta-carotene, which is turned into vitamin A inside the body.

Taste and Use

These two vegetables are often compared in taste, as they have similar flavors. Sweet potatoes are said to taste sweeter, as the name suggests. Darker-colored sweet potatoes taste more sugary compared to pale yellow or white-fleshed sweet potatoes.

Both pumpkins and sweet potatoes are popular all across the globe, playing an important role in the cuisines of many cultures.

Growing Conditions

Both pumpkins and sweet potatoes thrive in warm climates under the sun. However, pumpkins can grow well in the shade as well, as opposed to sweet potatoes.

Sweet potato plants also prefer the pH of the soil to be more acidic when compared to pumpkins.

Varieties

There are hundreds of cultivars and varieties of pumpkins and sweet potatoes, all with slightly differing tastes, nutritional compositions, and appearances.

Varieties of classic orange pumpkins are Autumn Gold, Harvest Moon, and Captain Jack. Some pumpkins, such as Sugar Pie and Cinderella, are often used for pies. Baby-Boo and Munchkin are cultivars of the miniature pumpkin kind. Other popular types of pumpkins are blue, white, and warty pumpkins (1).

The most common varieties of sweet potatoes are Beauregard, Jewel, Garnet, Covington, White, and Japanese.

Sweet potatoes are often called yams; however, true yams are distinctly separate vegetable species.

Nutrition

The nutritional values in this article are presented for 100g of boiled pumpkins, without salt, and boiled sweet potatoes, baked with flesh and skin, without salt.

Macronutrients and Calories

Sweet potatoes are denser in nutrients overall, containing 76% water and 24% nutrients, whereas pumpkins consist of 94% water.

The average serving size of both of these foods is one cup, chopped into cubes.

As sweet potatoes are denser, they weigh slightly heavier, resulting in a slightly larger serving size. One cup of pumpkin is around 245 grams, while one cup of sweet potatoes weighs 200 grams.

Macronutrient Comparison

Macronutrient breakdown side-by-side comparison

Sweet potato

Protein: 2.01 g

Fats: 0.15 g

Carbs: 20.71 g

Water: 75.78 g

Other: 1.35 g

Pumpkin

Protein: 0.72 g

Fats: 0.07 g

Carbs: 4.9 g

Water: 93.69 g

Other: 0.62 g

Contains more ProteinProtein	+179.2%
Contains more FatsFats	+114.3%
Contains more CarbsCarbs	+322.7%
Contains more OtherOther	+117.7%

Contains more WaterWater

+23.6%

Calories

Sweet potatoes contain over four times more calories compared to pumpkins. A 100-gram serving of sweet potatoes has 90 calories, while the same serving of pumpkin contains only 20 calories.

Carbohydrates

Sweet potatoes are 4 times higher in carbohydrates.

Sweet potato also contains 3 times more dietary fiber compared to pumpkins. However, more than half of the carbohydrate content consists of sugars for both of these foods.

Pumpkin has a slightly more preferable sugar-to-dietary fiber ratio, consisting of 22% dietary fiber and 78% net carbs.

The sugars found in sweet potatoes contain mostly starch, as well as sucrose, glucose, and fructose.

Protein and Fats

Sweet potatoes are over 2 times richer in proteins. Both of these foods have low amounts of all essential amino acids. Sweet potatoes are relatively richer in all of those, tryptophan and threonine in particular.

Sweet potatoes and pumpkins contain very little fat. Nevertheless, pumpkins are a little higher in fats compared to sweet potatoes.

By contrast, sweet potatoes are richer in polyunsaturated fatty acids, also known as healthy fats, while the predominant fats found in pumpkins are saturated fatty acids.

Fat Type Comparison

Fat type breakdown side-by-side comparison

Sweet potato

Saturated fat: Sat. Fat 0.052 g

Monounsaturated fat: Mono. Fat 0.002 g

Polyunsaturated fat: Poly. Fat 0.092 g

Pumpkin

Saturated fat: Sat. Fat 0.037 g

Monounsaturated fat: Mono. Fat 0.009 g

Polyunsaturated fat: Poly. Fat 0.004 g

Contains more Poly. FatPolyunsaturated fat

+2200%

Contains less Sat. FatSaturated fat	-28.8%
Contains more Mono. FatMonounsaturated fat	+350%

Pumpkins and sweet potatoes contain no cholesterol.

Vitamins

Pumpkins and sweet potatoes are both ample in vitamins; however, sweet potato is the winner in this category.

The predominant vitamin in both sweet potatoes and pumpkin is vitamin A. One cup of pumpkin (245 grams) provides 706µg of vitamin A, while one cup of sweet potatoes (200 grams) provides 1920µg of vitamin A.

Hence, sweet potatoes contain around 3 times more vitamin A than pumpkins; however, considering the fact that the daily need for vitamin A is 600-700µg, both pumpkin and sweet potatoes are excellent sources of the vitamin, and one cup serving is enough to fill up the daily need completely.

Both pumpkins and sweet potatoes are completely absent in vitamin D and vitamin B12.

Vitamin Comparison

Vitamin comparison score is based on the number of vitamins by which one or the other food is richer. The "coverage" charts below show how much of the daily needs can be covered by 300 grams of the food.

Sweet potato

Pumpkin

Contains more Vitamin CVitamin C	+317%
Contains more Vitamin AVitamin A	+233.7%
Contains more Vitamin B1Vitamin B1	+245.2%
Contains more Vitamin B2Vitamin B2	+35.9%
Contains more Vitamin B3Vitamin B3	+260%
Contains more Vitamin B5Vitamin B5	+339.8%
Contains more Vitamin B6Vitamin B6	+550%
Contains more Vitamin KVitamin K	+187.5%
Contains more CholineCholine	+111.3%

Contains more Vitamin EVitamin E	+12.7%
Contains more FolateFolate	+50%

~equal in Vitamin D ~0µg

~equal in Vitamin B12 ~0µg

Minerals

Both pumpkin and sweet potato contain a good amount of minerals; however, sweet potatoes are relatively richer in almost all of these.

Although a single serving of pumpkin or sweet potatoes does not fill up the entire daily need for these minerals, sweet potatoes still contain relatively more manganese, copper, and potassium, as well as iron and phosphorus, when compared to pumpkins.

Mineral Comparison

Mineral comparison score is based on the number of minerals by which one or the other food is richer. The "coverage" charts below show how much of the daily needs can be covered by 300 grams of the food.

Sweet potato

Pumpkin

Contains more MagnesiumMagnesium	+200%
Contains more CalciumCalcium	+153.3%
Contains more PotassiumPotassium	+106.5%
Contains more IronIron	+21.1%
Contains more CopperCopper	+76.9%
Contains more ZincZinc	+39.1%
Contains more PhosphorusPhosphorus	+80%
Contains more ManganeseManganese	+458.4%

Contains less SodiumSodium

-97.2%

~equal in Selenium ~0.2µg

Glycemic Index

The glycemic index of these foods can be different depending on the variety, growing conditions, and cooking methods.

Boiled butternut pumpkin has a glycemic index of 51±6. The glycemic index of cubed, peeled, and boiled pumpkin from Jamaica is 66±4, while this index for a pumpkin from South Africa, boiled in salt water, is 75±9. The average of these three studies makes the glycemic index of pumpkins equal to 64 (2).

Based on the mean of nine studies, the glycemic index of cooked sweet potato falls in the range of 70±6. However, this number can range from 44 to 94. Harvard Health Publishing puts the glycemic index of boiled sweet potatoes around 63±6 (3).

This shows us that while both pumpkins and sweet potatoes have a medium-to-high glycemic index, this index tends to be lower for pumpkins.

Insulin Index

The insulin index demonstrates how much the given food increases insulin levels in the blood.

Butternut pumpkin has been researched to have an insulin index value of 77, while this value for orange sweet potatoes is 96 (4).

Thus, pumpkins have lower average insulin and glycemic index values.

Acidity

Pumpkin and sweet potato both have an acidic pH value. The pH of sweet potatoes falls in the range of 5.3 to 5.6 (5). Pumpkins have a very similar acidity with a pH value of 5.26 to 5.77 (5).

The potential renal acid load or the PRAL value is an alternative way of evaluating the acidity of foods. This value demonstrates how much base or acid the given food produces inside the body.

Pumpkins and sweet potatoes have the exact same PRAL value, equal to -5.6. The negative value shows us that these foods are alkalizing and therefore produce more bases in the organism.

Weight Loss & Diets

Sweet potatoes contain a moderate level of calories, while pumpkins are low in calories.

The calorie content of these foods also depends on the cooking method. Naturally, sweet potato fries are a lot higher in calories when compared to boiled sweet potatoes.

Between these two, pumpkins are the better choice for low-calorie and low-carb diets. Both fit well into a low-fat diet but not into a low glycemic index diet.

Pumpkin extract has been researched to express anti-obese qualities, alleviating oxidative stress and dyslipidemia in obese rats (6).

Pumpkin seeds have also demonstrated numerous health benefits. High in fiber and healthy fats, they can play a role in weight loss and prevent overeating (7).

White sweet potatoes can be used as meal replacements to aid weight loss, resulting in decreased body weight, body fat, body mass index, and glycated hemoglobin levels (8).

Purple sweet potato extract has also been researched to have anti-adipogenic and lipolytic activities, meaning it can prevent fat tissue formation and aid its breakdown process (9).

Health Impact

In this section, we will look at how the accumulation of all these nutrients found in pumpkins and sweet potatoes actually affects our health.

Health Benefits

Cardiovascular Health

As a good source of healthy nutrients, such as beta carotene, phenolics, and polyunsaturated fats, pumpkin flesh has been researched to reduce blood pressure in animals (10).

In one study, pumpkin extract decreased triglyceride, low-density lipoprotein (also known as “bad” cholesterol) levels, and liver enzymes while increasing high-density lipoprotein levels (also known as “good” cholesterol) (6).

The pumpkin seed oil also exhibits blood pressure-lowering effects, as well as cardioprotective effects, potentially through nitric oxide generation (11).

Darker fleshed sweet potatoes, such as purple sweet potatoes, are abundant in anthocyanins, which can potentially reduce the risk of coronary disease due to their antioxidant qualities (12).

Similarly, purple sweet potato beverage has shown a trend toward lowering systolic blood pressure (13).

It’s difficult to compare the effects of pumpkins and sweet potatoes on cardiovascular health, as there is little research about white sweet potatoes. However, among different varieties of sweet potatoes, purple sweet potatoes have stronger cardiovascular protective effects.

Diabetes

Depending on the variety and cooking methods, pumpkins and sweet potatoes have a medium-to-high glycemic index. Pumpkins tend to have a lower glycemic index.

Most studies to date about the impact of pumpkin and sweet potato consumption on diabetes have been carried out on animals.

Daily pumpkin consumption has demonstrated a mildly positive impact on glycemic control. Pumpkin extract has also expressed positive effects on pancreatic beta cells, which produce insulin (14).

Other studies have also found that pumpkin consumption may potentially ameliorate type 2 diabetes mellitus (15, 16).

Research has found that incorporating white sweet potatoes into a diet may improve nutrition status and glycemic control in elderly diabetic patients (17). Sweet potatoes have also been demonstrated to have glucose-lowering effects (18).

At the same time, more research is necessary overall to prove the use of sweet potatoes for type 2 diabetes (19).

Cancer

Pumpkins and sweet potatoes both have potential anti-cancer effects due to their plentiful beneficial nutrients.

All parts of the pumpkin plant have been researched to have anti-cancer effects, especially against gastrointestinal cancers (20).

Pumpkin seed extract, in particular, has been found to inhibit the cell growth of prostate, breast, and colon cancers (21).

Sweet potatoes have potential protective qualities against colorectal, breast, and gastric cancers and colorectal adenocarcinoma (22, 23, 24).

References

Author name: Victoria Mazmanyan

Education: General Medicine at YSMU

Last updated: July 03, 2023

Medically reviewed by Astghik Baghinyan

Infographic

Infographic link

All nutrients comparison - raw data values

Nutrient			DV% diff.
Vitamin A	961µg	288µg	75%
Vitamin B6	0.286mg	0.044mg	19%
Manganese	0.497mg	0.089mg	18%
Vitamin C	19.6mg	4.7mg	17%
Vitamin B5	0.884mg	0.201mg	14%
Fiber	3.3g	1.1g	9%
Copper	0.161mg	0.091mg	8%
Vitamin B3	1.487mg	0.413mg	7%
Potassium	475mg	230mg	7%
Vitamin B1	0.107mg	0.031mg	6%
Carbs	20.71g	4.9g	5%
Calories	90kcal	20kcal	4%
Magnesium	27mg	9mg	4%
Starch	7.05g		3%
Phosphorus	54mg	30mg	3%
Protein	2.01g	0.72g	3%
Sodium	36mg	1mg	2%
Iron	0.69mg	0.57mg	2%
Calcium	38mg	15mg	2%
Vitamin B2	0.106mg	0.078mg	2%
Fructose	0.5g		1%
Vitamin K	2.3µg	0.8µg	1%
Polyunsaturated fat	0.092g	0.004g	1%
Choline	13.1mg	6.2mg	1%
Zinc	0.32mg	0.23mg	1%
Folate	6µg	9µg	1%
Vitamin E	0.71mg	0.8mg	1%
Fats	0.15g	0.07g	0%
Net carbs	17.41g	3.8g	N/A
Sugar	6.48g	2.08g	N/A
Selenium	0.2µg	0.2µg	0%
Saturated fat	0.052g	0.037g	0%
Monounsaturated fat	0.002g	0.009g	0%
Tryptophan	0.04mg	0.009mg	0%
Threonine	0.107mg	0.021mg	0%
Isoleucine	0.07mg	0.023mg	0%
Leucine	0.118mg	0.034mg	0%
Lysine	0.084mg	0.039mg	0%
Methionine	0.037mg	0.008mg	0%
Phenylalanine	0.114mg	0.023mg	0%
Valine	0.11mg	0.025mg	0%
Histidine	0.039mg	0.011mg	0%

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