Real World Nutrition Podcast Episode 7: Five Real World Nutrition Thanksgiving Tips

Sweet potatoes are among the richest sources of beta-carotene and other yellow, orange, and green leafy fruits and vegetables.

Sweet Potatoes: Yes, or No? And they aren’t YAMS.

While I don’t think it is a “new” trend, sweet potatoes are eaten and seen more than just from Thanksgiving and Christmas on the menu. For example, we can order sweet potato fries or baked sweet potatoes over “regular” fries or a baked Russet potato. We can even get frozen sweet potato options in the grocery store, including fries. While these sweet potato fries are excellent (opinion), they are not healthier than regular fries. I address the ongoing discrimination of “white potatoes.” in a post, Big Bad Potatoes, earlier this year. But here, I want to compare a baked sweet potato and what changes when we “corrupt” them as we like to do in this country. And address that YAM issue.

SWEET POTATOES (are NOT YAMS)

Sweet potatoes are among the richest sources of beta-carotene and other yellow, orange, and green leafy fruits and vegetables.

Sweet potatoes provide us with our daily vitamin A – no problem. Adults need 700-900 mcg of vitamin A daily, and a medium-baked sweet potato has nearly twice that. And sweet potatoes also have vitamin C, over 500 mg of potassium, almost 4 g of fiber, about 2 g of protein, and no fat, all for a total of about 100 calories in a medium-sized potato (about the size of a computer mouse).

Now julienne and fry them – some of those great numbers change. Calories go up, and other nutrients go from “low” or “none” to “uh-oh.” The equivalent potato now cut up into fries becomes 190 calories, has 9 grams of fat, and is high in sodium (from previously very little). And these are not healthier than the other fries – just different. Not healthier.

But even if you don’t do the fries, depending on the recipe, sweet potato casserole, sweet potato pie, and other sweet potato treats have added sugar, milk, eggs, and other ingredients. These additional ingredients turn the sweet potato super-food into a calorie-laden side dish.A basic baked sweet potato or mashed sweet potatoes are a healthy side dish to meals year-round. And if you want some topping or mix-ins, go easy.

So, what are yams?

It is doubtful that anyone makes yams this Thanksgiving or any holiday, despite what people may say. Call them candied yams; buy canned yams, but it probably isn’t.

While in the U.S., sweet potatoes and yams are often confused as the same or interchangeable, if you are in North America, you are very likely eating sweet potatoes – even if they are more yellow or light orange.

Yams come from other parts of the world, including Asia and West Africa. These are usually MUCH larger than sweet potatoes, less sweet, and starchier. While they are also tubers (like sweet potatoes and other white potatoes), they are different plants.

Some sources suggest that the confusion in the naming comes from the early days of the U.S. and its ugly history of slavery, that people thought sweet potatoes looked like “nyami” from their home country.

So, if a relative insists they have brought or made yams this holiday, choose whether you want to correct this. Unless they recently traveled and brought those tubers from another country, the served dish is likely sweet potato, even if the label stated yams. That is okay. You know.