Contents
What is wild yam?
Wild Yam is a type of yam from the genus Dioscorea of the Dioscorea family. You can find another name for this plant in different countries and various medical reference books: shaggy Dioscorea, Mexican wild yam, etc.
Many yam varieties, the tubers of which are rich in starch and fiber, are cultivated in tropical and subtropical countries (Africa, Asia, Latin America, the Pacific Islands) as an agricultural crop. People use some types of yams as medicinal plants.
Not all dioscorea is yam. Not all yams are medicinal.
General information
Japanese, as well as Chinese yams, are not heat demanding. Because of their medicinal properties, gardeners cultivate both of these types of yams successfully in our country. Multiple projects appeared in the past, and the focus was on using domestic types of Dioscorea in the pharmaceutical industry.
The plan was to use medicinal herbs as Japanese Dioscorea, Caucasian Dioscorea, and Dioscorea types in our country. Unfortunately, these plans were not destined to come true due to the chemical industry’s rapid development.
Dioscorea shaggy, in Latin, Dioscorea is a perennial three and can be a four-meter liana with leaves with a shape of a heart and tubers that grow. People cultivate it widely in North America. It is a great medicinal plant.
Yams in medicine
In medicine, the rhizome is highly popular, in the biochemical composition of vitamins A, B, C, and K can be isolated, and from minerals – calcium, magnesium, sodium, potassium, phosphorus, copper, zinc. But most of all, people determine the beneficial properties of wild yam by the substances that it contains, which are plant analogues of human steroid hormones.
Content
Vitamins
Vitamin A (RE) Vitamin B1 Vitamin B3 Vitamin B6 Vitamin B9
Vitamin C Vitamin E Vitamin K Choline Vitamin PP (NE)
Macronutrients
Calcium Magnesium Sodium Potassium Phosphorus
Trace elements
Iron Zinc Copper Manganese Selenium
The benefits
The benefits for the human body are great. From time immemorial, numerous medicinal properties have been attributed to wild yam in different countries. For centuries, Mexican women have taken it as a contraceptive and as a means of preventing miscarriage.
In traditional American medicine, people used wild yam for intestinal colic, heart and lung diseases, hormonal and sexual problems to increase libido. Dioscorea shaggy for centuries has helped to increase vitality and endurance.
Scientists have discovered that its tubers contain phytoestrogens – natural compounds that are natural precursors of sex hormones with the development of science.
The main active ingredient that we may isolate from the root is phytoestrogen diosgenin. People use it to synthesize progesterone for the female body.
The level of sex hormones in the body decreases with age. This negatively affects the functioning of individual organs or systems, negatively affects various biochemical and metabolic processes.
Due to a violation of collagen synthesis, the skin withers, destructive changes in cartilage, and may appear connective tissue development. A decrease in the number of hormones leads to osteoporosis, obesity, heart disease, etc. Especially the changes associated with a decrease in the number of sex hormones that occur in women during menopause.
Wild yam extract restores the level of hormones in the body, slows down the aging process, prevents the development of several diseases in women and men.
Wild yam Health Benefits
The main properties of wild yam, which have a beneficial effect on the human body:
Fistly, the hormone-like property. Due to this property, wild yam normalizes the female body’s hormonal background, regulates the menstrual cycle, restores reproductive function, and relieves the symptoms of menopause and premenstrual syndrome. It is great to use when planning pregnancy and treating infertility. By maintaining hormonal balance, Dioscorea shaggy prevents osteoporosis development since a clear dependence of this disease’s progression on a decrease in hormone levels has been revealed.
Secondly, an anti-sclerotic property. The anti-sclerotic effect of wild yam people associates with the suppression of the absorption of cholesterol in the intestine, a decrease in cholesterol level in the blood, and a decrease in lipid deposits in arterial vessels. It is great to take for the prevention and the initial stages of atherosclerosis, hypertension, ischemic heart disease.
When taking drugs that contain wild yam, blood pressure normalizes, fatigue and irritability decrease. With its help, you may also relieve nervous tension, make headaches and tinnitus disappear, and improve sleep. It also has a massive antispasmodic property.
The vegetable has an antispasmodic effect, and people widely use it for intestinal cramps, stomach cramps, and cramps due to premenstrual syndrome to relax the muscles. The combination of antispasmodic and diuretic effects prevents vascular spasms and normalizes blood pressure.
Application for women
The active substances (diosgenin, dioscin, etc.) are not hormones but have a competitive effect on the corresponding receptor structures of target organs. Preparations containing wild yam (dietary supplements in capsules or tablets, wild yam oil, cream with wild yam extract) are popular in gynecology as adjuvant therapy for disorders due to hormonal imbalance.
Uses of wild yam for men
There’s a strong belief that wild yam is a female herb. Of course, this is so because it is people who widely use it primarily for pathologies of the female reproductive system. But, having a wide range of actions, it can be efficient to use by men, as it contributes to:
- lowering blood cholesterol levels;
- prevention of atherosclerosis of the vessels of the brain and heart;
- lowering blood pressure;
- preventing obesity and increasing muscle mass;
- prevention of osteoporosis;
- increasing testosterone levels and sexual activity, improving spermatogenesis.
Wild yam harm
Taking it from a reliable supplier in the optimal dosage cannot do any harm to your body.
Side effects
There are usually no side effects due to taking it. However, individual intolerance to this product, like any other, is possible.
How to take the vegetable? Dioscorea shaggy is good to take in courses up to 4 weeks, if necessary, with a second dose after a short break.
Wild yam contraindications
Contraindications to the use of dietary supplements such as Wild Yam NSP:
- childhood,
- individual intolerance to products,
- pregnancy,
- lactation.
Fried yams with feta cheese
Ingredients
- yam 300 g
- onion 1 pc.
- feta cheese 150 g
- turmeric pinch
- green onion several feathers
- salt to taste
- olive oil for frying
A very simple and cozy dish. The yams will definitely keep their shape and will not fall apart when frying, and the cheese melts so well on a hot dish!
- Peel the yams and cut them into cubes like French fries.
- Peel the onion and cut it into small cubes.
- Fry the yams with the onion in oil until golden brown, stirring for 15-20 minutes.
Serve the cooked yam, sprinkle with crumbled cheese and green onions. Enjoy your meal!
Learn more about wild yum from this video below:
NIKIUNGO KIZURI