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Nutrition of Yams

There are over 200 varieties of yams; each variety is equally nutritious. The following nutritional information is based upon one cup--or 136 grams--of an orange-fleshed, cooked and unsalted yam. A yam is 95 percent water.

  1. Vitamins

    • Each yam contains more than five percent of your daily value of vitamin C, folate and choline. It also has trace amounts of vitamins A, B6, E, K, thiamin and niacin.

    Minerals

    • Potassium is abundant within a yam; it offers 26 percent of your daily value of potassium per serving. Other minerals found in yams include calcium, iron, magnesium, phosphorus, sodium, zinc, copper, manganese and selenium.

    Protein and Amino Acids

    • Yams contain 18 of the 22 possible amino acids, including lysine, phenylalanine, serine, valine, alanine and aspartic acid. There are two grams of protein in each yam.

    Carbohydrates

    • One cup of yam supplies 12 percent of your daily value for carbohydrates, and it provide 21 percent in the form of dietary fiber. There are trace amounts of sugar.

    Lipids

    • There is less then one gram of fat per serving. There are 12.2 milligrams of omega-3 fatty acids and 68 milligrams of omega-6 fatty acids in each yam.

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