Sweet Potato Leaf: Weight Loss & Inflammation – Who Shouldn’t Eat It?

Dr. Luo Peilin said that she would order two portions of hot vegetables and one portion of meat when eating out at night clinics, one of which must be sweet potato leaves, and paired with braised meat juice to help absorb fat-soluble vitamins. She also said that she would eat it at least three times a week, and she has not had any defecation problems since she started eating sweet potato leaves.

Sweet potato leaves are the first choice for high fiber and low calorie weight loss meals

Sweet potato (sweet potato) actually originated from the tropical regions of South America and was introduced to China from Fujian during the Ming Dynasty. It is an exotic crop. The roots of sweet potato are sweet and cool in nature, and are mainly used to produce body fluids and quench thirst. The leaves of sweet potato are mild in nature, cool to taste, and sweet in taste. They are classified into the lung, stomach, and large intestine meridians and have the effects of “clearing away heat, detoxifying, moistening the intestines, and laxative”. She pointed out that every 100 grams of sweet potato leaves contains about 3.1 grams of dietary fiber and only 22 calories, which is very beneficial to people who control their weight and maintain their body shape.

Rich in antioxidants that help fight inflammation and prevent cancer

Dr. Luo’s sweet potato leaves are rich in polyphenols, anthocyanins, flavonoids and chlorogenic acid, which have anti-inflammatory and antioxidant effects. Studies have pointed out that polyphenols and anthocyanins can inhibit the proliferation of colorectal cancer, breast cancer, lung cancer and other cancer cells and promote cell apoptosis, achieving anti-cancer effects. Chlorogenic acid can also improve blood sugar response and stabilize blood sugar in diabetic patients.

Sweet potato leaves also help with skin inflammation

In addition, sweet potato leaves are also helpful for skin inflammation. In vitro research in the MDPI journal in 2025 pointed out that sweet potato leaf extract has antibacterial effects against Staphylococcus aureus, Pseudomonas aeruginosa, etc., can inhibit the formation of bacterial film, is safe for skin stratum corneum cells, and has the potential to be developed into a natural antibacterial topical drug in the future. Traditional Chinese medicine also believes that sweet potato leaves can relieve inflammatory skin problems such as blood heat and bleeding, skin abscesses, eczema, and urticaria, and achieve the effects of “clearing heat and detoxifying” and “relieving itching and reducing redness.”

This is how to eat sweet potato leaves to be healthy

However, she also reminded that sweet potato leaves are a “cooling” vegetable and are not recommended for eating cold or raw. Patients with chronic kidney disease or those who need a low-potassium diet should avoid ingesting large quantities of sweet potato leaves because sweet potato leaves are a high-potassium vegetable. If you want to supplement sweet potato leaves but are worried about excessive potassium ions, you can boil them first before eating them. And because it contains vitamin K, which helps blood coagulation and may affect the efficacy of anticoagulant drugs, people who are taking anticoagulant drugs should also be cautious.