Sweet Potatoes vs. Yams | What’s the Difference? | Healthy Foods

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Sweet Potatoes vs. Yams | What’s the Difference? | Healthy Foods

Sweet Potatoes vs. Yams | What’s the Difference? | Healthy Foods | Thomas DeLauer… If you've been around in the health space for a while, you know that sweet potatoes are all the rage, but I wanted to do this video because I want to talk about what the difference between a sweet potato and a yam is, because we seem to use these terms interchangeably but the simple fact of the matter is they are two entirely different foods. I get asked all the time about the difference between sweet potatoes and yams. You see, sweet potatoes are actually a root coming usually out of Central America, whereas yams are actually the bulb of a vine coming generally out of Africa or South America, so two entirely different foods altogether, and I wanted to do this video to sort of set it straight.

Now, when it comes to sweet potatoes, you cut them open, they're bright orange. They've got a lot of rich color to them, and that's great because it means they're high in vitamin A and beta-carotene, much higher than that of a yam, because when you cut open a yam, you're going to see that it's really pretty pale, there's not a lot of color to it. Generally speaking, when you talk about nutrient density, usually the deeper and richer a color, the more nutrient-dense it is. Now, the other thing we have to look at is sweet potatoes contain a little bit more protein than yams, but where yams really have the sweet potatoes beat is when it comes down to that glycemic index, that glycemic load.

You see, sweet potatoes have a much higher glycemic index level than their counterpart, the yam. The yam is usually sitting around a 40 to 50 glycemic index, whereas a sweet potatoes is sitting closer to a 60 or 65. This means that it's going to spike your blood sugar more and it's more apt to rise you up and drop you later in the day than say a yam would. Now, the hard part is, a lot of the times you're going to have to go to a specialty store to ultimately find a yam. There's not a whole lot of them out there, and a lot of times you can find them in a can, but they're loaded with BPAs and there are so many other additives, a lot of times there's sugar added to it.

You generally want to avoid that, but the big kicker is, the sodium content. Sweet potatoes have four times the sodium content of a yam, so though yams may not have the total nutritional density that you may get out of a sweet potato, you're definitely going to have less in the way of sodium that may cause hypertension and may cause a little bit of water retention, so what do you do? You mix them both. If you can get your hands on both, you get the qualities of both of them. Cut them up, mash them up together, that way you get the beta-carotene and you get the vitamin A out of the sweet potato, but then you're also getting the lower sodium values, and of course, getting the lower glycemic load that's going to round out the sweet potato.

As always, keep it locked in here on my channel for more quick nutrition tips to set you straight. I'll see you in the next one.

Click here to learn about exclusive 1 on 1 consults with Thomas!

[vasavi_kakkat]

I recently moved to Canada I see stores selling sweet potatoes for yams. I was so confused thanks for clearing this. I miss yams!

[prinzikenna.o]

Yam in Africa are absolutely different from what you posted here as well as the sweet potatoes are of many varieties of up to 3 that I know of, it is mainly white or pale white for either when cut open.

[youwhatmadeidk]

Sodium in sweet potatoes does not matter as it's such a low amount. If you eat no processed foods as I do, more sodium is welcome as using the chrono meter app I'm always low in sodium - unless I add some Himalayan pink salt every day.

[luisgutierrez]

Not true about the sodium sweet potato are high on potassium balancing the effects of the first one, whi8is needed for atp or energy.

[VitaminJ]

Is this a joke? Choosing yams for its lack of sodium?

We just end up adding salt to it anyways why would we want to cut that out?

[ciprianolopez]

But 10oz of sweet potatoes is way lower in carbs then 10 oz of a yam that why bodybuilder prefer sweet potatoes

[diminett]

Why did you not speak about Japanese purple sweet potatoes

[peacelovejoy]

I've never been so dang confused about a food!
Seriously though, I've read contradiction after contradiction about sweet potatoes V yams
I mean how can it get so misconstrued?
Even Rachael Ray says the wrong thing in her video😮

Who are we supposed to believe if we can't trust Rachael Ray 😉🤭

[OneWhoDreamsAwake]

I had NO idea they were different.
I was told that they were southern (sweet potatoes) vs northern (yams) terms for the same thing.
😲
You learn something new everyday. 😊
Good video, thanks.

[Bizzare]

I was shopping at Kroger and came across " Jewel Yams Sweet Potatoes." Well is it a sweet potato or it a yam? How can they put both names in one food??

[studiosingyourstyle]

I’ve never seen yams that look like the ones you pictured....so I’m not clear after watching this

[earth]

Great explanation! I wanted to hear this. Greetings from San Francisco, CA.

[naseemakamara]

We called them coco yam in west Africa.

[ladyJustis]

Employees at supermarkets don't even know the difference. They've had me confused for years

[barbaralong]

Both sweet potatoes and yam come in different colors including bright orange, yellow, white and purple. Sweet potato vines provide a nutritious cooked green. Yams are starchier. Purple sweet potatoes often used made into deserts.

[annettegarcia]

Thanks so much for sharing I need to start eating more healthy much love and Blessings to you and your family

[augustomariano]

I love when I search for something health related, and Thomas comes as one of the first resulta

[latman]

I would love to hear the different glycemic index of the actual sweet potatoes different colored ones? Yellow sweet potato versus orange sweet potato.🤔

[unpavedexplorer]

Great information. Thanks. Are puréed foods a healthy approach to eating your foods?

[mutintamuyuni]

Not all sweet potatoes are orange. They're many varieties of sweet potatoes