How do sweet potatoes affect your glucose levels?

With sweet potatoes a common ingredient on menus around the world, you may be wondering how they could impact your glucose levels. Compared with white potatoes, which are quickly digested and can cause a sharp spike in glucose, sweet potatoes may have a different effect.

A glucose spike (and the crash that often follows) can lead to hunger,¹ cravings,² and fatigue³ while also affecting your mood⁴ and sleep quality.⁵ So, there are many potential benefits to limiting how many spikes you experience each day.⁶

In this article, we’ll take a look at the impact sweet potatoes can have on your glucose, and how you might want to prepare them if you’re looking to include them in your diet while keeping your glucose steady.

What is the glycemic index of sweet potatoes?

The glycemic index (GI) is a measure of how foods containing carbohydrates affect your blood glucose. Higher GI means faster digestion and a quicker rise in glucose.

The GI of sweet potatoes can vary by cooking method:⁷

• Steamed: between 54.6 and 71.4

• Baked: between 54 and 74

• Microwaved: between 52.7 and 79.3

• Dehydrated: between 31.8 and 48.2

• Raw: between 20.7 and 35.3

Heating sweet potatoes breaks down the starch they contain, making it more easily digestible and increasing their GI score.

There are three primary GI score categories:⁸

• Low GI: 0 to 55

• Moderate GI: 56 to 69

• High GI: 70 and above

Low-GI foods generally produce a slower rise in blood glucose compared to high-GI foods, which are more likely to cause rapid spikes.

When cooked, sweet potatoes tend to have a moderate GI score. Uncooked, they have a low GI score.

Why both GI and GL matter

GI reflects how quickly a food raises blood glucose, but it doesn’t account for how much you eat. Glycemic load (GL) combines GI with portion size to give a more realistic picture of a food’s overall impact.

Considering both GL and GI helps you understand not just the speed of glucose rise, but the total effect on your glucose levels and overall metabolic health.

Key points to keep in mind:

• GI measures how quickly a food raises blood glucose, while GL accounts for portion size.

• A cup of steamed sweet potato has a high GL (22-29), even though its GI is moderate.

• Sweet potato is often eaten as part of a meal alongside other foods, and these can alter the effect it has on your glucose levels.

• Individual responses vary—what spikes one person’s glucose may not affect another the same way.

So, while GI scores can be a useful guide for how a food might affect your glucose, they’re not the full story.

Are sweet potatoes better than regular potatoes for your glucose levels?

Regular potatoes and sweet potatoes have different GI scores. Regular potatoes have varying ranges depending on potato type and preparation but overall score higher on the GI scale than sweet potatoes.

Here are the GI scores for a range of different potatoes:⁹

• Potato, white, boiled (average): 82

• California white potato, roasted: 64.1 to 80.5

• Boiled red potato, hot: 82.2 to 96.6

• Boiled red potato, cold: 50.9 to 61.5

Since sweet potatoes typically have lower GI scores, they may be better than regular potatoes for people trying to maintain steady glucose levels.

However, it’s important to note that both sweet potatoes and regular potatoes have the potential to spike your glucose levels. Plus, the difference between them can vary depending on what you’re eating them with as well as your personal glucose response to them.

Using a continuous glucose monitor (CGM) can show you how different foods affect your glucose in real time. Lingo is a CGM that’s designed to help you see the impact of your eating and exercise habits, providing glucose data to help you find foods that work for you.

Tips for keeping your glucose steady when eating potatoes

To reduce the risk of a glucose spike when eating sweet or regular potatoes, consider combining them with good sources of fiber, protein, and fat—ideally all three.

One way you can do this is by replacing some of your potato with lentils. In one study, researchers found that using lentils as an ingredient instead of potato flakes resulted in meals that produced smaller glucose responses.¹⁰

Another approach would be to eat some high-fiber vegetables or protein before your potato. Research shows that eating these foods before carbs can help to slow your digestion and prevent your glucose spiking while also keeping you full.^11,12

If you’re looking to create a balanced plate, one way to do it is to follow this formula:

• Fill ½ of your plate with non-starchy vegetables, such as peppers or asparagus.

• Fill ¼ of your plate with complex carbs, such as sweet potato.

• Fill ¼ of your plate with a source of healthy protein, such as chicken, fish, or tofu.

Include some healthy fats across all three parts of your plate too, like avocado, seeds, or olive oil.

Note: people’s tolerances for carbs vary, so you may need to experiment a little to find out what amount of carbs works for your “balanced plate.”

Another way to reduce glucose spikes when eating potatoes is to let them cool down before you eat them. Cooling converts some of the easily digestible starch into resistant starch, which doesn’t have the same impact on your glucose levels.¹³

Sweet potato nutritional information

Nutritionally, sweet potatoes are an excellent source of vitamin A (in the form of beta-carotene), vitamin B6, vitamin C, potassium, and fiber.

One cup (176 grams) of cooked sweet potato contains:¹⁴

• 176 calories

• 3 grams (g) of protein

• Less than 1 g fat

• 41 g carbohydrates

• 3 g fiber

A final note from Lingo

Sweet potatoes generally have a moderate-to-high GI, so portion size and what you pair them with matter for keeping glucose levels balanced.

While they’re often considered a healthier choice than regular potatoes, what you choose to eat alongside sweet potatoes will determine how much impact they have on your glucose.

To make your potato of choice more glucose-friendly, try eating it alongside sources of fiber, protein, and/or healthy fat.

Using Lingo can help you understand how sweet potatoes and other foods might impact your glucose levels, providing personal insight that can help you work toward limiting spikes.

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