Wetin be di health benefits of sweet potato

Picture of sweet potato — Wetin we call dis foto, Sweet potato

- Author, Abubakar Maccido
- Role, Reporter
- Reporting from, Kano
12 July 2025
Read am in 4 mins

Sweet potato na dat sweet-sweet root wey plenty pipo for Nigeria like well.

E get different types: white one, yellow, orange-flesh, and even purple one.

But no be just say e sweet, sweet potato na correct food wey dem dey call "superfood sake say e too good for body", dietitian Saadatu Sulaiman tok.

"Sweet potato dey good for eye, e good for digestion and e good for pipo wey get diabetes" she tok.

She add say sweet potato no too cost and na why e make sense for many families wey wan chop better and still save money.

For di whole world, sweet potato na big deal. China na di biggest producer, and Naija dey among di top for Africa and di world.

Benefits of sweet potato for bodi

E good for eye and to fight sickness:

Sweet potato full with beta-carotene. Your bodi go turn am to Vitamin A, wey help your eye see well (especially for night) and make your immune system strong to fight sickness. Di darker di orange or purple colour, di more beta-carotene e get.

E dey help manage diabetes:

Even though sweet potato sweet, e no dey rush enter your blood. E get low glycaemic index, so e dey release sugar small-small.

Dis one dey help pipo wey dey manage diabetes or anybodi wey wan balance dia blood sugar.

E good for belle and digestion:

Sweet potato get plenty fiber wey help your digestion smooth. E go stop constipation and feed di good bacteria for your belle, dat one dey important for your health.

E dey help with weight control:

Because e get fiber and water, sweet potato go make you belle full for long. Dat one mean say you no go chop too much, and e go help you manage your weight.

E get antioxidants:

Apart from beta-carotene, sweet potato (especially di purple one) get anthocyanin – na strong antioxidant wey dey protect your bodi cells, reduce inflammation, and fit reduce risk of heart wahala and cancer.

You sabi say di skin of sweet potato get almost 10 times more of these antioxidants pass di inside?

E good for heart:

Sweet potato get potassium – na one nutrient wey help keep your blood pressure normal.

Healthy ways to chop Sweet Potato

Here be some better ways to chop am make you get all the health benefits:

Boil or steam am: Dis one na one of di best way to cook sweet potato because e dey keep all di nutrients. You fit chop am like dat or mash am.
Roast or bake am: Cut am into pieces, pour small healthy oil (like olive oil if you get) and your favourite spice, den roast am till e soft. Or just bake one whole sweet potato – e dey easy and sweet.
Mashed sweet potato: Afta you boil or steam am, you fit mash am into soft, sweet side dish. Add small healthy oil or spice to give am better taste.
No throway di skin: Di skin get plenty nutrients, especially antioxidants. So wash am well and chop am wit di skin if you fit.
Add am to soup and stew: Sweet potato pieces dey blend well for soup and stew. E go add natural sweetness, thickness, and nutrients.
No dey fry am deep-deep: Even though fried sweet potato dey sweet, deep frying dey add bad oil and reduce di health benefit. Boil, steam, bake or roast am instead.