Sweet Potato for Eye Health

Research suggests that sweet potato, as a source of beta-carotene and vitamin A, is recognized in public health contexts as a dietary contributor to eye health, particularly in relation to night blindness and vitamin A deficiency. The available evidence here consists of a cross-sectional survey from rural Bangladesh, which found that community awareness of vitamin A's role in eye health was common but that actual consumption of vitamin A-rich foods including sweet potato remained low, and two neutral studies focused on unrelated topics — one examining seed potato crop microbiomes and another exploring laboratory-scale beta-carotene production in yeast — neither of which bears directly on sweet potato consumption and human eye health outcomes. No clinical trials, randomized controlled studies, or direct intervention studies linking sweet potato intake to measurable improvements in eye health outcomes are represented in this set of studies. Readers interested in the broader scientific literature on beta-carotene, vitamin A, and eye health would need to consult studies beyond what is presented here, as the current evidence base is too limited and indirect to draw meaningful conclusions about sweet potato specifically.