# Orange fleshed sweetpotato: Eradicating vitamin A deficiency

Do you love potatoes? Do you know that apart from sweet and Irish potatoes there is another variety that is even more nutritious? Yes! Orange fleshed sweetpotato is super-nutritious and has tremendous benefits.

Orange fleshed sweetpotato

Orange fleshed sweetpotato is a root crop, a new variety of sweetpotato that is orange in colour and is biofortified with beta carotene. Beta carotene is a precursor of vitamin A. When consumed, it is converted to vitamin A in the body.

Orange fleshed sweetpotato was developed in 2012 to combat vitamin A deficiency. Vitamin A is an important nutrient that is required by the eyes for certain functions. Lack of adequate vitamin A in the body leads to deficiency and this causes different levels of visual problems which range from night blindness to total blindness.

Vitamin A deficiency

Different sweetpotato varieties have different concentrations of beta-carotene. Vitamin A content is higher in orange-fleshed sweetpotato roots than in white- or cream-fleshed sweetpotato roots . This can be indicated by the deep orange colour of the sweetpotato flesh, which is related to the higher beta carotene.

Sweetpotato varieties

The recommended daily amount of vitamin A for young children and non-breastfeeding women can be gotten from one medium boiled root of most orange-fleshed sweetpotato.

This is particularly important in Sub-Saharan Africa and Asia where vitamin A deficiency is among the leading causes of blindness, disease and premature death among children under five and pregnant women.

Consumption of orange-fleshed sweetpotato during the seasons when it is available builds up the body’s stores of vitamin A.

If more vitamin A is consumed than can be immediately utilised, excess vitamin A is stored in the liver for several months. This enables the body to build up a reserve to avoid vitamin A deficiency during the times when access to vitamin A rich foods is limited.

There are other benefits of orange fleshed sweetpotato. The next article will explore the nutritional benefits in details.

Happy Sunday. Have a beautiful and nutritious week ahead.

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