Sweet Potato

An antioxidant powerhouse (full of beta carotene, vitamin C), eating this hero ingredient may provide protection against cancer and inflammation.

You’ll find sweet potato in several of our meals including our award-winning British Fish Pie, Sweet Potato Kormas and our Smokey Chipotle Meatballs.

Interesting facts

• Sweet potato is a staple ingredient in ‘Blue Zones’ where the healthiest, elderly people live.
• Although both called ‘ potatoes’ sweet potatoes and Irish potatoes are not actually related. Botanically speaking, the sweet potato belongs to the morning glory family whereas the white, Irish potato sits in the nightshade family.

Rich in

• Vitamin A
• Vitamin C
• Manganese
• Vitamin B6
• Resistant starch
• Insoluble and soluble fibre

Key health benefits

• Antioxidant powerhouse. Beta-carotene which gives sweet potato their colour has potent antioxidant properties. In addition, vitamin A, C and chlorogenic acid acts as antioxidants. Antioxidants protect cells against aging and disease (1).

• Supports healthy digestion. Sweet potato contain both soluble, insoluble fibre and resistant starch which promotes the growth of good gut bacteria and contributes to a healthy gut (2,3).

• May help protect against cancer. Carotenoids & anthocynanins (purple sweet potato) found in sweet potato have been shown to have a protective effect against certain cancers like colon, stomach and bladder cancers (5).

• May reduce inflammation. Low grade inflammation raises the risk of many chronic disease like type 2 diabetes, heart disease and cancer. The antioxidants within sweet potatoes are thought to have anti-inflammatory effect (6).

• Doesn’t cause sugar spikes. When cooked sweet potatoes are low on the glycaemic index which means they won’t raise your blood sugar levels as quickly (7).

• Protects your eyes. Rich in beta-carotene and vitamin A, sweet potato improve eye health and prevent vision loss (8).

References

1. https://pubmed.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/20629859/
2. https://pubmed.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/20509611/
3. https://pubmed.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/29568082/
4. https://nutritionandmetabolism.biomedcentral.com/articles/10.1186/1743-7075-1-8
5. https://pubmed.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/23745032/
6. https://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/abs/pii/S0197018609003210?via%3Dihub
7. https://nutritionandmetabolism.biomedcentral.com/articles/10.1186/1743-7075-1-8
8. https://pubmed.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/27439630/