Compounds in Yams Are Health Beneficial
Yams are one of the most delicious vegetables you can eat, but you may not be aware that, as a root vegetable that’s been around for eons, they also have a long history of use as an alternative medicine.
Modern researchers are examining possible health benefits of wild yams that include relief from muscle cramps, rheumatoid arthritis and symptoms of menopause and diabetes prevention.
Over centuries, yams have gleaned a few other names, including China root, rheumatism root or colic root, which makes sense according to the potential aforementioned uses. The roots and rhizomes are what are typically used in natural medicine.
Many people believe differentiating the root vegetables yams and sweet potatoes is simply a matter of semantics, but the two are not even the same type of plant.
Yams are part of the Dioscoreae family, which includes morning glories, while sweet potatoes belong to a genus called Convolvulaceae.
Carnegie Museum of Natural History
Yam is a common name for several vine species in the genus Dioscorea (plant family: Dioscoreaceae). They are monocots (related to grasses and lilies). Yams are widely cultivated worldwide, especially in West Africa, where 95% of the crop is harvested.
Yams can be stored for very long periods of time, making them an important crop for seasons when food is in short supply. Yam tubers can be as large as five feet long!
Yams, from the Senegalese word “nyami,” means “to eat.” They have only one embryonic seed leaf, while sweet potatoes have two. Wild yams, unlike sweet potatoes, are rough, scaly and usually longer, but they’re more moist and less starchy in comparison.
The outer bark of the wild yam (Dioscorea rotundata) root is high in a compound called saponin, which research shows may help lessen inflammation and balance your gut flora.
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Thank you …Not found in sweet potatoes, saponins include dioscin, diosgenin and dioscorin, the latter of which one study, among other things, says “They exhibit antioxidant, antihypertensive, immunomodulatory, lectin activities and can protect airway epithelial cells against dust mite allergen destruction.”
Tradit Complement Med. 2012 January-Mar; 2(1): 41–46
Wild yam is collected in the wild and cultivated throughout Mexico to supply the pharmaceutical industry with diosgenin, this substance is used to treat sex hormone problems, to produce contraceptives, menopause, premenstrual syndrome, sexual problems, high blood pressure, prostate hypertrophy, testicular deficiency, impotency, just to name a few.
From this herb the pharmaceutical industry also indirectly produces cortisones and hydrocortisones for Addison's disease, some allergies, bursitis, contact dermatitis, psoriasis, rheumatoid arthritis, sciatica and is used in the treatment of brown recluse spider bites, insect stings etc.”
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Are the Compounds in Yams Health Beneficial or Not?
Traditional medicine acknowledges yams as containing compounds said to be particularly advantageous for such issues as menopause and premenstrual syndrome for women, and testicular and prostate problems in men.
Diosgenin is also said to “influence” the production of several useful hormones, including oestrogen and DHEA (dehydroepiandrosterone). Medical News Today mentions several possible health benefits from eating yams, including:
Medical News Today July 10, 2018
- Rheumatoid arthritis relief
- Blood sugar regulation
- Relief of cramps and muscular pain
The U.S. Food and Drug Administration (FDA) has yet to acknowledge any benefits connected to the safety or effectiveness of wild yams.
The “Handbook of Herbs and Spices” identifies diosgenin as the main steroid contained in saponin that may suppress inflammation and proliferation and induce apoptosis in a variety of tumor cells.
The Handbook of Herbs and Spices (Second Edition) Vol. 1, 2012
· Saponin was reported in a Korean study as a “promising bioactive biomolecule with diverse important medicinal properties.” Anal Methods Chem. 2016; 2016: 4156293
- Another cited yam and its active constituent allantoin as having the potential to modulate oxidative stress, antioxidant activities and lipid profiles; improve kidney and liver function; promote the release of GLP-1; and improve the function of β-cells, thereby maintaining insulin and glucose levels
- A comprehensive review involving researchers from the U.S., Vietnam, Singapore, Australia and India noted the ability of diosgenin to “prevent carcinogenesis by acting as an antioxidant and anti-inflammatory agent, and its ability to induce apoptosis of cancer cells, suggests that it can be useful as an anti-carcinogenic agent.”
- The diosgenin in yams (as well as fenugreek was shown in another study to increase milk flow and make childbirth easier.
Journal of the Saudi Society of Agricultural Sciences April 2018
- Diosgenin has been noted as exerting antidiabetic effects as well as hypolipidemic, hypoglycemic, antioxidant, anti-inflammatory and anti-proliferative (cancer cell-inhibiting) activities.
Journal of Analytical Methods in Chemistry November 17, 2016
The outer bark of the wild yam (Dioscorea rotundata) root is high in a compound called saponin, which research shows may help lessen inflammation and balance your gut flora.
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Saponins have properties that combat inflammation and apparently help relax and otherwise treat a number of conditions involving your abdominal and pelvic muscles, as well as arthritic and rheumatic conditions, according to The Natural Path.
In addition: “Diosgenin was first identified in 1936 by scientists in Japan. This paved the way for the synthesis of progesterone and of such corticosteroid hormones such as cortisone. Diosgenin was also the starting point in the creation of the first contraceptive pill, despite the fact that there is no suggestion that the plant was used as a contraceptive in the past.
Over 200 million prescription drugs a year are sold that contain derivatives of this herb in them.
Are the Compounds in Yams Health Beneficial or Not?
Traditional medicine acknowledges yams as containing compounds said to be particularly advantageous for such issues as menopause and premenstrual syndrome for women, and testicular and prostate problems in men.
Diosgenin is also said to “influence” the production of several useful hormones, including estrogen and DHEA (dehydroepiandrosterone). Medical News Today mentions several possible health benefits from eating yams, including:
- Rheumatoid arthritis relief
- Blood sugar regulation
- Relief of cramps and muscular pain
Yams are eaten cooked and in this form the carotenoids are more available. Boiling or steaming minimises their oxalate levels.
Serve whole or mashed.
Use sliced in stir fries.
The natural sweetness of yams is enhanced with ginger, orange or sweet and sour sauces, and not leaving out honey.
Cooking Methods
Bake, braise, boil, steam, microwave, roast, stir fry, stew.