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Sweet Potatoes

W

woody38

New Member
Relationship to Diabetes
Type 2
Can any body help me with this, not really had much support from my doctors, no dietary help nothing. Everything I hear is on the Internet, One vegetable that I keep hearing is that sweet potatoes are good for Diabetes 2, others say to much starch and you should stay away from it.
I have been down this route before, thinking something is good for me and it turns out the complete opposite.
 
Hi @woody38 and welcome to the forum - sweet potatoes do contain lots of fibre so don't cause such big BG spikes in my experience, but still have a fair few carbs - check the Diabetes UK page regarding them...

What's in season: Sweet potato

An alternative to regular potatoesMashed, boiled, roasted or baked, sweet potatoes are quite possibly one of the most versatile vegetables around.
www.diabetes.org.uk www.diabetes.org.uk
 
woody38 said:
Can any body help me with this, not really had much support from my doctors, no dietary help nothing. Everything I hear is on the Internet, One vegetable that I keep hearing is that sweet potatoes are good for Diabetes 2, others say to much starch and you should stay away from it.
I have been down this route before, thinking something is good for me and it turns out the complete opposite.
Click to expand...
I think this is a case of it all depends but as a substitute for normal potatoes they are very little different in the carbohydrates. It will come down to whether your body tolerates sweet potatoes better than potatoes.
If you want a lower carb alterative then butternut squash is lower as is celeriac or swede.
 
Do you have a BG meter @woody38 ?

That can be a way of checking whether a particular source of carbohydrates works well for you.

Controlling portion size of things like sweet potatoes can be helpful in terms of reducing the glucose raising potential of meals.
 
In ome dishes (eg with mashed pot) you may well be able to sub in cauliflower
 
Diabetes can be quite individual and testing is the only way to know for sure.

I was advised to eat smaller portions of potatoes (and wholewheat pasta/rice) when I was first diagnosed. That might be good advice for some - its not for me. My blood sugars go high with any amount of any type of potato, pasta or rice (except egg noodles - I can eat small portions of those without my blood sugar objecting!)

So, for me - personally, I don't touch white potatoes or sweet potatoes any more. I, fortunately, really like celeriac and find it a lovely substitute so I haven't missed them.
 
In terms of carbs sweet potato and regular potato are similar. However sweet potato has more nutrients. I will use it as part of a mixed root mash with celeriac and swede to reduce the overall carbs.
 
@woody38 the challenges are not just potato v sweet potato. You also need to consider how you cook the potatoes - mashed, jacket, boiled (new) potatoes....can all impact your blood glucose differently. As per @everydayupsanddowns we are dependent on the glucose monitor to test and identify impacts we are able to replicate and live with.
 
@woody38 I found sweet potato did not give any advantage over ordinary, so did not include it in my list of things to eat.
If anything my levels after a meal with sweet potato were a point or so higher than with ordinary potato, and a lot higher than I wanted.
 
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