Sweet potato
Sweet potato: high in oxalates; moderate in salicylate; low in FODMAPs and oligosaccharides. If you're sensitive to any of these, check it against your profile before eating.
Intolerances
- OxalatesHigh
Sweet potato holds its oxalate throughout the flesh rather than in the skin, so peeling does little. Boiling and draining is what works, and it is exactly what nobody does with a sweet potato - baking and roasting keep every milligram.
Sources· 2
- Chai W & Liebman M, J Agric Food Chem 53 (2005), 3027-3030, which measured 30-87 % loss of soluble oxalate on boiling against 5-53 % on steaming
- Noonan SC & Savage GP, Asia Pac J Clin Nutr 8 (1999)
- SalicylateModerate
Sweet potato: nearly all of its salicylate is in the skin, so peeling makes a real difference — the opposite of the usual nutrition advice to keep the skin on.
Sources· 1
- Scotter M.J. et al., Food Chemistry 105 (2007), free and acetyl salicylic acid in foods by GC-MS, and Venema D. et al., J Agric Food Chem 44 (1996), acetylsalicylic and salicylic acid in foods by HPLC
- FODMAPsLow
Sweet potato is low at a normal serving and stops being low above one - the threshold is around about half a cup. That is the shape of this whole axis: it publishes serving limits rather than verdicts, because the fructan or polyol load scales with how much you eat and there is no amount that is free.
Sources· 1
- Muir J et al., J Agric Food Chem 55 (2007) 6619-6627 and 57 (2009) 554-565, fructans and short-chain carbohydrates measured in Australian vegetables and fruit
- OligosaccharidesFODMAPsLow
Sweet potato stores starch, not fructans - a polysaccharide hundreds of units long rather than a chain of three to ten. Its FODMAP level comes from mannitol at larger servings, which is a polyol and a different letter of the acronym.
- Histamine (+liberators / DAO inhibitors)None
- TyramineNone
- SucroseNone
- LactoseFODMAPsNone
- SorbitolFODMAPsNone
- FructoseFODMAPsNone
- NickelNone
- GlutenNo
Intolerance levels are based on our documented scientific sources. See sources →
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Frequently asked questions
Which intolerances does sweet potato affect?
Sweet potato is notable for oxalates, salicylate, FODMAPs and oligosaccharides. Clear on histamine, tyramine, sucrose, lactose, sorbitol, fructose, nickel and gluten.
Does sweet potato contain oxalates?
Yes — sweet potato is high in oxalates. Sweet potato holds its oxalate throughout the flesh rather than in the skin, so peeling does little. Boiling and draining is what works, and it is exactly what nobody does with a sweet potato - baking and roasting keep every milligram.
Does sweet potato contain salicylate?
Sweet potato contains moderate levels of salicylate. Sweet potato: nearly all of its salicylate is in the skin, so peeling makes a real difference — the opposite of the usual nutrition advice to keep the skin on.
Does sweet potato contain FODMAPs?
Sweet potato contains only low levels of FODMAPs. Sweet potato is low at a normal serving and stops being low above one - the threshold is around about half a cup. That is the shape of this whole axis: it publishes serving limits rather than verdicts, because the fructan or polyol load scales with how much you eat and there is no amount that is free.
Does sweet potato contain oligosaccharides?
Sweet potato contains only low levels of oligosaccharides. Sweet potato stores starch, not fructans - a polysaccharide hundreds of units long rather than a chain of three to ten. Its FODMAP level comes from mannitol at larger servings, which is a polyol and a different letter of the acronym. Amounts vary by brand and recipe, so always check the label of the exact product.
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