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  6. Sweet potato vs. Yam

Sweet potato vs. Yam — In-Depth Nutrition Comparison

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How are sweet potatoes and yam different?

  • Sweet potatoes are higher in vitamin A, vitamin B5, vitamin B3, and vitamin B2; however, yam is richer in potassium.
  • Daily need coverage for vitamin A for sweet potatoes is 382% higher.
  • Sweet potatoes contain 13 times more sugar than yam. While sweet potatoes contain 6.48g of sugar, yam contains only 0.5g.
  • Yam has a lower glycemic index (51) than sweet potatoes (70).

Sweet potato, cooked, baked in skin, flesh, without salt and Yam, raw are the varieties used in this article.

Infographic

Sweet potato vs Yam infographic
Infographic link

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.
Magnesium Magnesium Calcium Calcium Potassium Potassium Iron Iron Copper Copper Zinc Zinc Phosphorus Phosphorus Sodium Sodium Manganese Manganese Selenium Selenium 19% 11% 42% 26% 54% 8.7% 23% 4.7% 65% 1.1%
Yam
Yam
4
Magnesium Magnesium Calcium Calcium Potassium Potassium Iron Iron Copper Copper Zinc Zinc Phosphorus Phosphorus Sodium Sodium Manganese Manganese Selenium Selenium 15% 5.1% 72% 20% 59% 6.5% 24% 1.2% 52% 3.8%
Contains more MagnesiumMagnesium +28.6%
Contains more CalciumCalcium +123.5%
Contains more IronIron +27.8%
Contains more ZincZinc +33.3%
Contains more ManganeseManganese +25.2%
Contains more PotassiumPotassium +71.8%
Contains more CopperCopper +10.6%
Contains less SodiumSodium -75%
Contains more SeleniumSelenium +250%
~equal in Phosphorus ~55mg

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.
Vitamin C Vit. C Vitamin A Vit. A Vitamin E Vit. E Vitamin D Vit. D Vitamin B1 Vit. B1 Vitamin B2 Vit. B2 Vitamin B3 Vit. B3 Vitamin B5 Vit. B5 Vitamin B6 Vit. B6 Vitamin B12 Vit. B12 Vitamin K Vit. K Folate Folate 65% 320% 14% 0% 27% 24% 28% 53% 66% 0% 5.8% 4.5%
Yam
Yam
1
Vitamin C Vit. C Vitamin A Vit. A Vitamin E Vit. E Vitamin D Vit. D Vitamin B1 Vit. B1 Vitamin B2 Vit. B2 Vitamin B3 Vit. B3 Vitamin B5 Vit. B5 Vitamin B6 Vit. B6 Vitamin B12 Vit. B12 Vitamin K Vit. K Folate Folate 57% 2.3% 7% 0% 28% 7.4% 10% 19% 68% 0% 5.8% 17%
Contains more Vitamin CVitamin C +14.6%
Contains more Vitamin AVitamin A +13628.6%
Contains more Vitamin EVitamin E +102.9%
Contains more Vitamin B2Vitamin B2 +231.3%
Contains more Vitamin B3Vitamin B3 +169.4%
Contains more Vitamin B5Vitamin B5 +181.5%
Contains more FolateFolate +283.3%
~equal in Vitamin D ~0µg
~equal in Vitamin B1 ~0.112mg
~equal in Vitamin B6 ~0.293mg
~equal in Vitamin B12 ~0µg
~equal in Vitamin K ~2.3µg

All nutrients comparison - raw data values

Nutrient Sweet potato Yam DV% diff.
Vitamin A 961µg 7µg 106%
Vitamin B5 0.884mg 0.314mg 11%
Potassium 475mg 816mg 10%
Vitamin B2 0.106mg 0.032mg 6%
Vitamin B3 1.487mg 0.552mg 6%
Manganese 0.497mg 0.397mg 4%
Folate 6µg 23µg 4%
Vitamin C 19.6mg 17.1mg 3%
Fiber 3.3g 4.1g 3%
Starch 7.05g 3%
Carbs 20.71g 27.88g 2%
Calcium 38mg 17mg 2%
Iron 0.69mg 0.54mg 2%
Copper 0.161mg 0.178mg 2%
Vitamin E 0.71mg 0.35mg 2%
Calories 90kcal 118kcal 1%
Protein 2.01g 1.53g 1%
Magnesium 27mg 21mg 1%
Zinc 0.32mg 0.24mg 1%
Sodium 36mg 9mg 1%
Selenium 0.2µg 0.7µg 1%
Vitamin B6 0.286mg 0.293mg 1%
Choline 13.1mg 16.5mg 1%
Fructose 0.5g 1%
Fats 0.15g 0.17g 0%
Net carbs 17.41g 23.78g N/A
Sugar 6.48g 0.5g N/A
Phosphorus 54mg 55mg 0%
Vitamin B1 0.107mg 0.112mg 0%
Vitamin K 2.3µg 2.3µg 0%
Saturated fat 0.052g 0.037g 0%
Monounsaturated fat 0.002g 0.006g 0%
Polyunsaturated fat 0.092g 0.076g 0%
Tryptophan 0.04mg 0.012mg 0%
Threonine 0.107mg 0.054mg 0%
Isoleucine 0.07mg 0.052mg 0%
Leucine 0.118mg 0.096mg 0%
Lysine 0.084mg 0.059mg 0%
Methionine 0.037mg 0.021mg 0%
Phenylalanine 0.114mg 0.071mg 0%
Valine 0.11mg 0.062mg 0%
Histidine 0.039mg 0.034mg 0%

Macronutrient Comparison

Macronutrient breakdown side-by-side comparison
2% 21% 76%
Protein: 2.01 g
Fats: 0.15 g
Carbs: 20.71 g
Water: 75.78 g
Other: 1.35 g
Yam
Yam
2
28% 70%
Protein: 1.53 g
Fats: 0.17 g
Carbs: 27.88 g
Water: 69.6 g
Other: 0.82 g
Contains more ProteinProtein +31.4%
Contains more OtherOther +64.6%
Contains more FatsFats +13.3%
Contains more CarbsCarbs +34.6%
~equal in Water ~69.6g

Fat Type Comparison

Fat type breakdown side-by-side comparison
36% 63%
Saturated fat: Sat. Fat 0.052 g
Monounsaturated fat: Mono. Fat 0.002 g
Polyunsaturated fat: Poly. Fat 0.092 g
Yam
Yam
2
31% 5% 64%
Saturated fat: Sat. Fat 0.037 g
Monounsaturated fat: Mono. Fat 0.006 g
Polyunsaturated fat: Poly. Fat 0.076 g
Contains more Poly. FatPolyunsaturated fat +21.1%
Contains less Sat. FatSaturated fat -28.8%
Contains more Mono. FatMonounsaturated fat +200%

References

All the values for which the sources are not specified explicitly are taken from FDA’s Food Central. The exact link to the food presented on this page can be found below.

  1. Sweet potato - https://fdc.nal.usda.gov/fdc-app.html#/food-details/168483/nutrients
  2. Yam - https://fdc.nal.usda.gov/fdc-app.html#/food-details/170071/nutrients

All the Daily Values are presented for males aged 31-50, for 2000-calorie diets.

Data provided by FoodStruct.com should be considered and used as information only. Please consult your physician before beginning any diet.