Everyone thinks that sweet potato intestines are very nutritious, but this ‘waste’ part is equally valuable

When preparing dishes from sweet potatoes, many people ask the question: “Is it possible to eat the potato skin?”. The answer from the experts of the Eatingwell, UK health site is yes. You can eat yellow, white or purple sweet potato skins. Eating the whole potato skins not only saves you time in preparation and adds ingredients to the dish, but also provides the body with nutritional benefits.

Potatoes are good for health

Sweet potatoes are known to be a rich source of vitamin A, vitamin C and fiber. Research shows that the peel provides high amounts of fiber. A 2021 study published in the journal Agronomy examined the nutritional value of unpeeled and peeled purple sweet potatoes, while also analyzing the skins themselves. They found that peeling the sweet potato resulted in a 64% loss of fiber compared to the unpeeled variety. The researchers concluded that keeping the sweet potato skins was the best way to maintain a high fiber content.

A 2022 study published in the journal Food Research looked at the health benefits of incorporating sweet potato peel powder into cookies. Research shows that the fiber content of foods increases significantly when orange peel powder or purple sweet potato skin powder is added to the cookie dough. In fact, cookies with sweet potato skin flour are more than twice as high in fiber as cookies without potato skin flour.

So what does fiber do? Studies show that fiber has a host of health benefits, including helping to reduce your risk of heart disease, promoting healthy gut bacteria, and helping you maintain a normal, healthy state. In addition, fiber can help you feel full for a longer time, which in turn is very beneficial for weight loss. The 2020-2025 Dietary Guidelines for Americans recommend eating at least 25 grams of fiber per day for women and 31 grams of fiber for men. Compared with this number, it can be seen that one sweet potato provides about 5 grams of fiber. Therefore, it is one of the top dietary fiber foods.

You can make many delicious dishes from whole sweet potatoes

How to eat sweet potato skin safely?

Sweet potato skins are safe to eat both raw and cooked. However, sweet potatoes are underground tubers, so it’s important to wash the outer skin properly to remove any remaining dirt and pesticide residue (if any). To wash sweet potatoes, place them under running water and scrub them with a brush.