In the world of health and nutrition it seems as though our poor little white tator has been victimised and completely replaced by its sweet, orange counterpart. Perhaps this is because of the colour… as people may associate white with other sources of carbohydrates that are generally more refined and less nutrient-dense, such as white rice and white bread. However… remember that potatoes aren’t the only white plant out there, so there’s no need to view them any differently to cauliflower, mushrooms, garlic, onions, bananas and coconuts!
The great news is that neither sweet potatoes nor white potatoes are superior to one another! Both are wholesome, nutrient-rich plants which share many similarities in the macro and micronutrient department and are also nutritionally unique in their own ways. For example, sweet potatoes are a phenomenal source of Vitamin A, while white potatoes are a phenomenal source of resistance starch (a type of indigestible carbohydrate which can contribute to a healthy gut microbiome). Therefore, we encourage you to enjoy both as part of your dietary pattern.
Also, you may have noticed that sweet potatoes are actually slightly higher in calories than white potatoes per gram. This is simply because a larger component of white potatoes is water, therefore sweet potatoes are slightly more dense with macronutrients.
This information is based off values from USDA and Chronometer for raw and unpeeled sweet and white potatoes.