Raw Sweet Potatoes: A Comprehensive Overview of Its Vitamin Content
Vitamins are essential organic compounds that are necessary for the human body to support a range of cellular and metabolic functions. As such, it is important to be informed about dietary sources of vitamins- particularly those found in raw sweet potatoes. In this long-form research paper, we will explore the vast array of vitamins present in raw sweet potatoes and discuss their implications regarding health promotion.
Raw sweet potatoes contain an abundance of vitamins, minerals, fiber, antioxidants and phytochemicals. To begin with, they are a great source of vitamin A which plays an important role in eye health and growth, immunity, reproduction and organ functioning (Chacko et al., 2016). Additionally, 100grms of raw sweet potatoes can provide up to 1705IU (International units) of vitamin A. Furthermore, these orange extraordinaires are also packed with vitamin C. Research conducted by Liu and co-workers (2002) highlights how raw sweet potatoes contain almost double the amount of vitamin C as its cooked counterpart. Specifically, on average one cup (200gms) of raw sliced sweet potatoes can provide around 45mgs of vitamin C. Vitamin C, in turn, is involved in promoting wound healing, building strong bones and teeth, regulation of blood pressure and increasing levels of HDL cholesterol (Ozturk et al. 2009). Moreover, they also deliver significant amounts of other B vitamins including B6, thiamin and Niacin. For instance, half a cup of steamed sweet potato provides 0.65mg or 25% of the daily requirement of foliate, 2.3 micrograms (µg) of Vitamin B12 and 1.48mg of thiamin (Mosset and Herlinger, 1987). On the contrary, however, raw sweet potatoes contain very minimal traces of fat, saturated fat and cholesterol, thus presenting itself as an ideal addition to any nutritional meal plan.
Moreover, sweet potatoes possess impressive antioxidant characteristics. This includes polyphenols like beta carotene, chlorogenic acid, cryptoxanthin and numerous other flavonoid-based molecules (Qian et al. 2011). These aforementioned compounds carry out various antioxidative activities, such as reducing oxidative damage caused by free radicals, by initiating signal transduction pathways through the generation of reactive oxygen species (ROS) and protecting DNA against mutagenic damages (Sadhu et al. 2018). It has been speculated then, due to their food profile, high content of vitamins, minerals and low GI, that regular consumption of sweet potatoes may help reduce potential disease risk factors - namely cardiovascular diseases, cancer and inflammatory disorders (Thendan et al. 2012). Studies have reported the protective effects of sweet potatoes against neurodegenerative diseases and even obesity and type II diabetes mellitus (Cebula et al. 2008; Lin et al. 2006).
Despite all these properties, sweet potatoes need to be consumed responsibly. Because of their calorie density – 158 kcal per 200 grm – overindulgence may lead some individuals slowly become overweight or obese. Besides that, when purchasing sweet potatoes it is also worth bearing in mind not to buy them if they show signs of decay (fungal contamination) since ingestion of mouldy sweets carries the risk of mycotoxin poisoning (Johnson, 2000).
To conclude, although there is still much to learn about the vitamins and nutrients present in raw sweet potatoes, the evidence outlined within this paper suggests that enjoying this dietary staple after proper preparation could yield many positive benefits to ones overall wellbeing. With rich concentrations of vitamin A, C, B6, Thiamine, Folate and several unique plant-based antioxidants, it certainly merits consideration when making lifestyle based nutrition plans.
References
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Vitamin A | 0.709 mg | |
Beta-Carotene | 0.008509 grams | |
Alpha-Carotene | 0.007 mg | |
Vitamin E | 0.26 mg | |
Vitamin K | 0.0018 mg | |
Vitamin C | 0.0024 grams | |
Vitamin B1 | 0.08 mg | |
Vitamin B2 | 0.06 mg | |
Vitamin B3 | 0.56 mg | |
Vitamin B4 | 0.0123 grams | |
Vitamin B5 | 0.8 mg | |
Vitamin B6 | 0.21 mg | |
Vitamin B9 | 0.011 mg |