Sweet Potato vs White Potato vs Pumpkin: What’s The Difference? — The Bodybuilding Dietitians

Who else loves their starchy vegetables?

These vegetables can provide the carbohydrate backbone to your meal while also providing a wealth of nutrients. We’ve included sweet potato, butternut pumpkin, and white potato in this post as these are the more readily available options in Australian stores. However, there are plenty of other starchy vegetables to try and experiment with such as parsnips, taro and beans! If you’ve been struggling with variety for your carbohydrate options, these are such a great addition and will even contribute towards your daily vegetable intake.
The great news is that none of these options are superior to one another, just different! It’s like comparing apples to oranges, they are two different types of fruit. They are all wholesome, nutrient-rich plants which share many similarities in the macro and micronutrient department and are also nutritionally unique in their own way. For example, sweet potatoes are a phenomenal source of Vitamin A, while white potatoes are a phenomenal source of resistance starch (a type of indigestible carbohydrate which can contribute to a healthy gut microbiome). Butternut pumpkin on the other hand is a lower carbohydrate option which is great if you’re trying to increase satiation on a lower calorie budget. We encourage you to enjoy all of these and more as part of your dietary pattern.
We want to know what your favourite starchy vegetable is and how you prepare it?
This information is based off values from the FSANZ food nutrient database.