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Sweet Potato Nutrition
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The
Healthiest Vegetable
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Vegetable
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Score
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Sweetpotato
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100%
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Carrot
|
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70%
|
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Spinach
|
 |
41%
|
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Broccoli
|
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25%
|
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Baked
potato
|
 |
12%
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Cabbage
|
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8%
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Beets
|
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5%
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Mushrooms
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2%
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When
rated on their content of Vitamin A, Vitamin C, fiber, folate,
calcium, iron and copper, the sweet potato is the healthiest vegetable
you can eat.
See the relative health value of other popular vegetables to see how they stack up with "Nature's Health Food" - sweet potatoes. |
If you were to design the world’s most perfect food, what would you put in it? In addition to great taste, you’d be sure it contained a powerhouse of nutrients. Of course, you’d also make it a good source of dietary fiber. And, since the sky’s the limit here, why not make it fat-and cholesterol-free, low sodium, and easy to prepare. Sound like too much to ask from a single food? Mother Nature didn’t think so. She’s already provided us with a perfect food in the form of a very unassuming vegetable: the sweet potato.
Sweet
potatoes hide a veritable treasure trove of vitamins and minerals. They
are a first-rate provider of vitamin A and beta carotene (a compound
your body converts into vitamin A), both of which promote healthy skin,
hair, and eyesight. In fact, a serving of sweet potatoes has 4 times
the recommended daily allowance for beta carotene. Believe it or not,
1 cup of cooked sweet potato provides so much beta carotene that it
would take 23 cups of broccoli to provide the same amount!
Sweet potatoes also contain significant amounts of vitamins C and are a good source of vitamin E. Along with beta carotene, these vitamins make up the terrific trio of antioxidant nutrients scientists believe may help prevent heart disease and cancer, bolster the immune system, and even slow the aging process. One medium sweet potato provides nearly half of your daily requirement of vitamin C. And, the fact that sweet potatoes are fat-free makes them a healthy sourse of vitamin E. Vitamin E is a fat-soluble vitamin, meaning that it is usually found in foods rich in fat, such as vegetable oils, nuts and avocados. But one sweet potato provides a healthy dose of vitamin E with no fat at all. As if all this weren’t good enough, sweet potatoes are also a great source of dietary fiber. When eaten with the skin, they offer more fiber than oatmeal! With all this and only about 120 calories per medium sweet potato, you’ve got to admit the sweet potato has it all!
North Carolina SweetPotato Commission Nutrition page