Butternut squash or sweet potato: similar carotene raw, far apart once baked

Both vegetables are orange for the same reason, and nearly every human trial of what that orange does was run on sweet potato. In a randomized trial of 120 Bangladeshi women with low vitamin A, orange sweet potato six days a week for 10 weeks raised blood beta-carotene from 0.10 to 0.18 umol/L but did not raise the body vitamin A pool. That was a low-status population from a resource-poor community. Raw, the two carry similar carotene per 3.5 oz (100 g) in UK tables built on one record of each, 3630 micrograms in butternut against 3930 in sweet potato, though orange and white sweet potatoes differ hugely in carotene. Energy differs even raw: 36 calories against 87. Baked, they part ways. Baked sweet potato records 115 calories, 5.2 g of fiber and 5140 micrograms of carotene per 3.5 oz (100 g), baked butternut 39 calories, 2.1 g and 744 micrograms. The baked and raw records come from different samples, so the drop in butternut mixes sample and cooking effects. For butternut itself we have lab chemistry and one observational link.

How much is actually in it

• Raw, 3.5 oz (100 g) of butternut squash has 36 calories and 8.3 g carbohydrate against 87 calories and 21.3 g for sweet potato, with similar carotene, potassium and vitamin C. — CoFID 2021 records Squash, butternut, raw (13-355) and Sweet potato, raw, flesh only (13-463) (n = 2 records) Evidence E source
  Per 100 g butternut vs sweet potato: 36 vs 87 calories, carbohydrate 8.3 vs 21.3 g, sugars 4.5 vs 5.7 g, carotene 3630 vs 3930 ug, potassium 350 vs 370 mg, vitamin C 21 vs 23 mg
• Baked, 3.5 oz (100 g) of sweet potato has 115 calories, 5.2 g fiber and 5140 ug carotene against 39 calories, 2.1 g fiber and 744 ug carotene for baked butternut squash. — CoFID 2021 records Squash, butternut, baked (13-644) and Sweet potato, baked (13-672) (n = 2 records) Evidence E source
  Per 100 g baked butternut vs sweet potato: 39 vs 115 calories, carbohydrate 8.4 vs 27.9 g, sugars 8.4 vs 14.5 g, fiber 2.1 vs 5.2 g, carotene 744 vs 5140 ug, potassium 242 vs 480 mg, vitamin C 1 vs 23 mg
• Across 8 US samples of raw orange sweet potato, calcium ranged from 12.6 to 35.6 mg per 3.5 oz (100 g). — USDA Foundation Foods samples of Sweet potatoes, orange flesh, without skin, raw (n = 8 samples) Evidence E source
  Calcium mean 22.33 mg (12.6-35.6), iron 0.398 mg (0.343-0.437), magnesium 19.14 mg (13.7-26.1) per 3.5 oz (100 g)

What a real portion looks like

• In US survey data a medium sweet potato weighs 5.3 oz (150 g) and a cup of raw winter squash 140 g. — FNDDS portion records for Sweet potato, NFS and Winter squash, raw (n = 2 foods) Evidence E source
  Sweet potato: small 80 g, medium 150 g, large 235 g, 1 cup mashed 250 g; winter squash raw: 1 cup 140 g

What your body absorbs

• In 10 healthy men, beta-carotene from deep-fried sweet potato was 37% as bioavailable as purified beta-carotene, more than from carrots at 33%. — 10 healthy men, single ingestion of each test food (n = 10) Evidence C source
  Relative bioavailability: sweet potato 37%, carrot 33%, water convolvulus 26%
• In an RCT of Bangladeshi women with low vitamin A, 60 days of orange sweet potato raised plasma beta-carotene but did not raise body vitamin A stores. — Bangladeshi women with low vitamin A status, 30 per group, 6 days a week for 10 weeks (n = 120) Evidence B source
  Plasma beta-carotene 0.10 to 0.18 umol/L, higher with OFSP (P < 0.0001), fried marginally above boiled (P = 0.07), body vitamin A pool not different by group

What cooking and storage change

• By the USDA retention table for baked root vegetables, baking keeps about 75% of vitamin C and 80% of folate, and all of the potassium. — USDA retention factor for Vegetables and Vegetable Products, roots, baked Evidence E source
  Vitamin C 75%, folate 80%, thiamin 90%, potassium 100% retained
• Microwave cooking of butternut squash pulp cut beta-carotene by 28.6% and alpha-carotene by 34.1%. — Butternut squash variety Cosmo F1 at three maturity stages, raw and microwave-cooked pulp Evidence D source
  Beta-carotene -28.6%, alpha-carotene -34.1%, no difference between maturity stages
• A systematic review of 67 studies found biofortified orange sweet potato and other provitamin A crops keep high amounts after post-harvest handling. — 67 studies of micronutrient retention in seven biofortified crops (n = 67 studies) Evidence D source
  Provitamin A crops maintain high amounts vs non-biofortified

What it does to your health

• In an RCT of 58 overweight office workers, the group given a white sweet potato meal replacement of 132 g a day for 8 weeks lost 5% of body weight and 3.5% of HbA1c. — Overweight white-collar workers aged 30-50 in Taiwan, 8 weeks (n = 58) Evidence B source
  5% decrease in body weight, body fat and BMI, 3.5% decrease in HbA1c (p < 0.05)
• In 177,148 UK Biobank adults, liking butternut squash was linked to 25% lower all-cause mortality over 3.4 years. — 177,148 UK Biobank participants with a food preference questionnaire, mean follow-up 3.4 years (n = 177148) Evidence C source
  HR 0.75 (95% CI 0.68 to 0.83) for high vs low preference

Safety, limits and interactions

• A meta-analysis of vegetables from thallium-polluted soil lists sweet potato among crops that pose potential health risk there. — Vegetables from 35 species grown in thallium-contaminated soils (n = 35 species) Evidence C source
  Sweet potato among vegetables posing potential risk in contaminated areas

What people believe that the data does not support

• A 4 g daily sweet potato extract, Caiapo, lowered HbA1c from 7.21% to 6.68% over 12 weeks in 61 diet-treated type 2 diabetes patients, while placebo stayed at 7.04 to 7.10%. — 61 diet-treated type 2 diabetes patients, 4 g Caiapo (n = 30) or placebo (n = 31) daily for 12 weeks (n = 61) Evidence B source
  HbA1c 7.21 to 6.68% with Caiapo vs 7.04 to 7.10% with placebo

Who this works differently for

• In an RCT of 180 primary schoolchildren, 4.4 oz (125 g) of boiled orange sweet potato on 53 school days improved liver vitamin A stores against white sweet potato. — Children aged 5-10, 90 per group, 125 g boiled mashed OFSP (1031 RAE/day) for 53 school days (n = 180) Evidence B source
  DR:R intervention effect -0.008 (95% CI -0.015 to -0.001)
• Promoting orange sweet potato to pregnant Kenyan women cut the odds of low retinol-binding protein by 45% at 9 months postpartum. — 505 pregnant and lactating women in Western Kenya, 8 health facilities, followed to 9 months postpartum (n = 505) Evidence B source
  Vitamin A intake +297 RAE (95% CI 82 to 513), OR for low RBP 0.55 (0.33 to 0.92)
• Introducing orange sweet potato to Ugandan farm households over 2 years cut low serum retinol in young children by 9.5 percentage points. — Ugandan children aged 3-5 with complete confounder data, 2-year program (n = 396) Evidence B source
  Prevalence of serum retinol <1.05 umol/L -9.5 percentage points (P < 0.05)

The bottom line

The strongest human evidence is about fixing vitamin A shortage, and it comes from places where that shortage is common. In 180 schoolchildren aged 5 to 10, 4.4 oz (125 g) of boiled orange sweet potato on 53 school days improved liver vitamin A stores against white sweet potato (effect -0.008, 95% CI -0.015 to -0.001), while the share of children with normal status only trended up. In Western Kenya, a program that gave pregnant and breastfeeding women vines and counseling cut the odds of low retinol-binding protein at 9 months postpartum to 0.55 (0.33 to 0.92) in 505 women. A two-year farm program in Uganda lowered low serum retinol in 396 children aged 3 to 5 by 9.5 percentage points. These are program effects in low-status groups, and they say nothing about a well-fed adult. Absorption was measured once, in 10 healthy men eating single meals of fried sweet potato balls in a non-randomized study, where beta-carotene was 37 percent as available as the purified form against 33 percent for carrots. Cooking costs some carotene. Microwaving butternut pulp cut beta-carotene by 28.6 percent and alpha-carotene by 34.1 percent in a lab study of one variety and one method. The USDA group factor for baked roots keeps about 75 percent of vitamin C, 80 percent of folate and all the potassium, a 1975 estimate that was not measured on these two foods and leaves carotenoids out. A medium sweet potato weighs 5.3 oz (150 g) in US survey data. A cup of raw winter squash is 140 g, and it stands in for butternut, which has no code of its own there. The diabetes reputation of sweet potato rests on an extract. Caiapo, 4 g a day of an extract of white sweet potato, lowered HbA1c from 7.21 to 6.68 percent over 12 weeks in 61 people with diet-treated type 2 diabetes, while placebo stayed at 7.04 to 7.10. That is a capsule, and the cooked vegetable was never tested this way. The trial was in people treating diabetes by diet alone, and we have no card on the safety of the extract, on an upper dose or on its use alongside diabetes medicines. Anyone taking medicine for diabetes should not add the extract without their doctor. In the US, supplements do not go through FDA approval the way medicines do, so anyone who takes medication, is pregnant or has a chronic illness should talk to a doctor before taking one. In an open-label trial of 58 overweight office workers in Taiwan, a white sweet potato meal replacement formula group lost 5 percent of body weight and 3.5 percent of HbA1c over 8 weeks, and both groups lost weight. For butternut, 177,148 UK Biobank adults who said they liked it had lower all-cause mortality over 3.4 years (hazard ratio 0.75, 0.68 to 0.83), a link with stated preference rather than measured intake, with residual confounding likely. The only safety card concerns soil. A meta-analysis lists sweet potato among crops that pose a potential health risk when grown on thallium-polluted land, mainly in China, which matters only for such soils. We found no card on allergy or medicines for either vegetable, and the pregnancy data above concern vitamin A status, not safety.

Sources

1. bnsp-r1-01 · CoFID 2021, dataset
   Squash, butternut, raw (CoFID 13-355): energy 36 kcal, carbohydrate 8.3 g, total sugars 4.5 g, protein 1.1 g, potassium 350 mg, carotene 3630 µg, retinol equivalent 605 µg, vitamin C 21 mg per 100 g; Sweet potato, raw, flesh only (CoFID 13-463): energy 87 kcal, carbohydrate 21.3 g, total sugars 5.7 g, protein 1.2 g, potassium 370 mg, carotene 3930 µg, retinol equivalent 655 µg, vitamin C 23 mg per 100 g
   CoFID 2021 (Public Health England, OGL v3.0), codes 13-355 and 13-463 · checked 2026-09-30
2. bnsp-r1-02 · CoFID 2021, dataset
   Squash, butternut, baked (CoFID 13-644): energy 39 kcal, carbohydrate 8.4 g, total sugars 8.4 g, AOAC fibre 2.1 g, protein 1.4 g, potassium 242 mg, carotene 744 µg, retinol equivalent 124 µg, vitamin C 1 mg per 100 g; Sweet potato, baked (CoFID 13-672): energy 115 kcal, carbohydrate 27.9 g, total sugars 14.5 g, AOAC fibre 5.2 g, protein 1.6 g, potassium 480 mg, carotene 5140 µg, retinol equivalent 855 µg, vitamin C 23 mg per 100 g
   CoFID 2021 (Public Health England, OGL v3.0), codes 13-644 and 13-672 · checked 2026-09-30
3. bnsp-r1-03 · USDA Foundation Foods, dataset
   Sweet potatoes, orange flesh, without skin, raw (Foundation Foods, 8 samples): calcium 22.33 mg (range 12.6-35.6); iron 0.398 mg (range 0.343-0.437); magnesium 19.14 mg (range 13.7-26.1) per 100 g
   USDA FoodData Central, Foundation Foods, release 2026-04-30, Sweet potatoes, orange flesh, without skin, raw · checked 2026-09-30
4. bnsp-r1-04 · USDA FNDDS, dataset
   Sweet potato, NFS (FNDDS 73401000, FDC 2709697): 1 small = 80 g; 1 medium = 150 g; 1 large = 235 g; 1 cup, mashed = 250 g; Winter squash, raw (FNDDS 73302010, FDC 2709693): 1 cup = 140 g; Quantity not specified = 70 g
   USDA FNDDS 2021-2023, food codes 73401000 (FDC 2709697) and 73302010 (FDC 2709693) · checked 2026-09-30
5. bnsp-r1-07 · clinical trial, non-randomized
   Accordingly, the bioavailability was 65% for beadlets + radish, 33% for carrots, 26% for water convolvulus leaves and 37% for sweet potatoes.
   J Nutr, 2000 · checked 2026-09-30
6. bnsp-r1-08 · RCT
   Despite an increase in plasma β-carotene concentration, the impact of OFSP on VA status appears to be limited in Bangladeshi women residing in a resource-poor community.
   J Nutr, 2012 · checked 2026-09-30
7. bnsp-r1-05 · USDA R6, dataset
   USDA-RETN-R6:3451 VEG,ROOTS,ETC,BAKED, group Vegetables and Vegetable Products: vitamin_c_mg 75% retained, folate_total_ug 80%, thiamin_mg 90%, riboflavin_mg 95%, vitamin_b6_mg 95%, potassium_mg 100%
   USDA Table of Nutrient Retention Factors, Release 6 (2007), code 3451 · checked 2026-09-30
8. bnsp-r1-06 · laboratory study
   The percentage reduction by the effect of cooking, both β-carotene (28.6%) and α-carotene (34.1%) had no statistical difference (p = 0.7701, p = 0.6507) between the states of commercial maturity.
   Foods, 2015 · checked 2026-09-30
9. bnsp-r1-15 · systematic review
   Provitamin A crops maintain high amounts compared with non-biofortified counterparts.
   Nat Food, 2023 · checked 2026-09-30
10. bnsp-r1-12 · RCT
    Moreover, the WSP-MR group demonstrated a 5% decrease in body weight, body fat, body mass index, and mid-arm circumference and a 3.5% decrease in glycated hemoglobin levels (p < 0.05).
    Nutrients, 2019 · checked 2026-09-30
11. bnsp-r1-14 · prospective cohort
    Higher preference for asparagus (hazard ratio (95% confidence interval)): 0.69 (0.62, 0.77)), aubergine (0.79 (0.72, 0.87)), black pepper (0.72 (0.64, 0.81)), broccoli (0.69 (0.61, 0.79)), butternut squash (0.75 (0.68, 0.83)), and extra virgin olive oil (0.67 (0.58, 0.78)) was linked to lower all-cause mortality, whereas higher preference for regular fizzy drinks (1.38 (1.24, 1.54)) was linked to higher mortality across all analyses.
    Sci Rep, 2026 · checked 2026-09-30
12. bnsp-r1-16 · meta-analysis
    Ingestion of kale, beet, sweet potato, potato, taro, pepper, turnip, Chinese cabbage, eggplant and carrot poses potential health risks.
    Sci Total Environ, 2024 · checked 2026-09-30
13. bnsp-r1-13 · RCT
    After treatment with Caiapo, HbA(1c) decreased significantly (P < 0.001) from 7.21 +/- 0.15 to 6.68 +/- 0.14%, whereas it remained unchanged (P = 0.23) in subjects given placebo (7.04 +/- 0.17 vs. 7.10 +/- 0.19%).
    Diabetes Care, 2004 · checked 2026-09-30
14. bnsp-r1-09 · RCT
    The estimated intervention effect for the ratio of 3,4-didehydroretinol to retinol (DR:R) was -0.008 (95% CI: -0.015, -0.001; P = 0.0203), which indicated a greater improvement in vitamin A liver stores in the treatment group than in the control group.
    Am J Clin Nutr, 2005 · checked 2026-09-30
15. bnsp-r1-10 · cluster RCT
    By 9 mo postpartum, intervention women had significantly higher intakes of VA [adjusted difference = 297.0 retinol activity equivalent (RAE) units; 95% CI: 82, 513 RAE units; P = 0.01; n = 206], greater consumption of VA-rich fruit and vegetables in the previous 7 d (difference-in-difference estimate: 0.40 d; 95% CI: 0.23, 0.56 d; P < 0.01), and a 45% reduction in the odds of RBP <1.17 μmol/L (OR: 0.55; 95% CI: 0.33, 0.92; P = 0.01).
    J Nutr, 2017 · checked 2026-09-30
16. bnsp-r1-11 · RCT
    There was a 9.5 percentage point reduction in prevalence of serum retinol <1.05 μmol/L for children with complete data on confounding factors (n = 396; P < 0.05).
    J Nutr, 2012 · checked 2026-09-30