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Sweet Potatoes: Superfood Superhero or Myth

By Daily Harvest
Updated: February 2024

No sweet surprise here: this root vegetable is a serious standout that deserves to be your meal-time staple. Sweet potatoes are actually as healthy as they are delicious. This delightfully creamy and flavorful tuberous root is beloved for its almost dessert-like sweetness. But it also boasts of many health benefits that makes this vegetable all-around-good and good for you.

Sweet potatoes are vitamin-rich.

When you dig into your bowl of sweet potato fries, you’re not just satisfying a craving but you’re also getting your fill of much-needed vitamins that are vital for good health. One medium-size sweet potato offers 100% of the daily value for vitamin A, which is essential for your eyes and immune system. Sweet potatoes are also packed with vitamins B5 and B6 (aka pantothenic acid and pyridoxine) both needed for the metabolism of carbohydrates and fats.

They’ve got plenty of minerals, too.

When we hear “potassium,” we associate this important mineral with bananas. But sweet potatoes are a reliable source of potassium too, which is key to maintaining heart and muscle function. So when you’re tired of bananas, try snacking on a steamed sweet potato instead. Additionally, sweet potatoes are loaded with manganese, which aids energy metabolism. And they’re full of copper, which supports energy production, nervous system function, and gene regulation. Feeling beat after that intense workout? Make sweet potatoes the centerpiece of your post-workout indulgence and replenish your energy levels.

And they’re also full of fiber?

Most people could use a lot more fiber in their diets. It’s the stuff of a good digestive and heart health. Sweet potatoes are packed with it. One medium sweet potato offers 4 grams of fiber, which is 14% of the daily amount required. Sneak in some sweet potatoes into your meals everyday and you’ll reach your dietary goals easily (and deliciously).

But wait, there’s more: phytonutrients

Like all consumable plants, sweet potatoes have phytonutrients aka phytochemicals that give plants their color and give us additional health benefits. Orange sweet potatoes have beta-carotene (often associated with carrots) which gives them their bright orange hue. Beta-carotene also converts into vitamin A which is the super vitamin of this super vegetable. Check out The Dirt™ on Sweet Potatoes for even more deets.

And finally, how do we consume more sweet potatoes?

It goes without saying that we can all use some sweet potatoes in our diets. It’s not just healthy but it’s desirable in taste and really easy to prepare too. You can also add more sweet potato goodness into your day with our Sweet Potato + Wild Rice Harvest Bowl.

We take care of food so food can take care of you. Stock up on our deliciously nourishing sweet potato bestsellers on daily-harvest.com.

Unless otherwise noted, nutrition information is sourced from USDA FoodData Central and reflects the reference amount customarily consumed. These are standardized servings and not necessarily the amount present in the highlighted Daily Harvest recipes. Nutrition information for Daily Harvest products can be found on packages and under "Nutrition Facts" for each product at "dailyharvest.com". Vitamin and mineral functions are sourced from Linus Pauling Institute Micronutrient Information Center.