Sweet potatoes often have a healthier reputation than regular potatoes, but they still contain carbohydrates. If you have diabetes or want to prevent diabetes, you might be wondering whether or not even healthy carbs are OK for you to eat. Considering that nearly 1 in 3 U.S. adults have prediabetes, per the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, you may want to learn more about how to include foods like sweet potatoes in your diet.
Whether you’re eating it roasted, in soups or baked on their own, this starchy root vegetable offers vibrant nutrition to add to your plate. Packed with nutrients, high in fiber and loaded with antioxidants, we love the nutritious benefits of this starchy veggie. It’s true that sweet potatoes contain carbohydrates, so if you have diabetes, you might be interested in understanding how to incorporate them into your diet.
We spoke to dietitians and diabetes educators to learn exactly how sweet potatoes impact blood sugar levels and how to incorporate them into a healthy, balanced diet.
Pictured recipe: Maple-Roasted Sweet Potatoes
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Sweet Potato Nutrition
From Japanese sweet potatoes to North Carolina Orange varieties, there are dozens of varieties of sweet potatoes (not to be confused with yams!). Sweet potatoes are rich in vitamins A, B6 and C, potassium and fiber, sharesMary Ellen Phipps, M.P.H., RDN, LD, author of The Easy Diabetes Cookbook.
“Orange sweet potatoes contain more beta carotene, while purple sweet potatoes contain more anthocyanins. Both beta carotene and anthocyanins are health-promoting antioxidants,” Phipps comments. One medium sweet potato contains a moderate amount of starchy carbohydrates, is a good source of fiber and has an impressive vitamin and mineral profile.
According to the USDA, one cooked medium sweet potato (114 grams or about 4 ounces) with skin contains the following nutrition:
- Calories: 103
- Carbohydrates: 24 g
- Total sugars: 7 g
- Fiber: 4 g
- Protein: 2 g
- Fat: 0 g
- Sodium: 41 mg
- Potassium: 542 mg
- Vitamin C: 22 mg
- Vitamin A: 1,100 mcg RAE
Megan Huff, RD, LD, an Atlanta-based cardiac ICU dietitian, recommends boiling sweet potatoes instead of baking them, as boiling will result in less breakdown of starch, according to a 2022 study published in Food Chemistry. “To make a balanced meal, eat sweet potatoes with a protein and fat to further slow the digestion and absorption of sugars,” she adds.
How Do Sweet Potatoes Impact Blood Sugar?
Just like all foods that contain carbohydrates, sweet potatoes can raise blood sugar levels, Phipps tells us. How much your blood sugar levels rise is based on your total serving size, how you cook your sweet potatoes, and what you pair with them.
Experts agree that we shouldn’t cut out sweet potatoes simply because they contain carbohydrates, though. The CDC notes that no one size fits all, and how many carbs you should eat depends on your individual needs. Working with a dietitian or diabetes educator can help determine the right amount for you.
“Like many other starchy foods, sweet potatoes are naturally higher in carbohydrates and lower in protein and fat. This means that sweet potatoes are more likely to cause blood sugar spikes if eaten alone. However, if you pair them with other foods that contain fat and protein, this can make all the difference in the impact it has on your blood sugar,” says Carla Hernandez, nutrition and clinical program lead at Twin Health.
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Can People with Diabetes Eat Sweet Potatoes?
You can still eat sweet potatoes if you have diabetes, assures Huff. The fiber content in sweet potatoes, especially if you consume them with the skin on, can help reduce spikes in your blood sugar. Plus, how you cook your sweet potatoes can also help reduce the extent to which your blood sugar rises. For example, Phipps advises that boiled sweet potatoes have a lower glycemic index than those that are roasted or baked. The glycemic scale measures how quickly food can make your blood sugar rise. Thus, lower-glycemic foods tend to have a lesser impact on blood sugars.
Can People with Diabetes Eat Fruits?
Tips for Eating Sweet Potatoes in a Diabetes-Friendly Eating Plan
Phipps recommends pairing sweet potatoes with your favorite nonstarchy vegetables and protein sources. These foods take longer to digest, thus creating a “slow drip” of energy into your bloodstream and a slow, steady change in blood sugar.
Particular foods that would be great to pair sweet potatoes with include cheese, any type of protein such as chicken, seafood or steak and, of course, the more fiber, the better, recommends Hernandez. “Preferably, fiber should be coming from nonstarchy vegetables, such as broccoli, leafy greens, Brussels sprouts or green beans. As a bonus, adding fat to foods that contain large amounts of carotenoids increases its bioavailability as well as its conversion to the active form of vitamin A, which is a fat-soluble vitamin,” she adds. Some diabetes-friendly sweet potato recipes you can try are a No-Sugar-Added Sweet Potato Casserole, Anthony Anderson’s Sweet Potato Home Fries with Cranberry-Hazelnut Crumble or some simple yet delicious Roasted Sweet Potatoes.
The Bottom Line
Boiling sweet potatoes or pairing them with foods high in protein and fiber can help folks with diabetes better manage potential blood sugar spikes after eating. Although in moderation, any food can be part of a healthy, diabetes-friendly diet. Sweet potatoes are packed with nutrition and offer a high-fiber carbohydrate to any meal, which is important for a balanced plate whether you have diabetes or not.
