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Dioscorea villosa popularly known as Wild Yam has long been celebrated for its potential health benefits that it boasts. It is also known by various other names like colic root, American yam, four leaf yam, or the devil’s bones.
The roots and bulbs of these plants have been used as a medical herb and have gained some attention regarding their potential effectiveness in hormone related therapy. What makes this plant special is the natural presence of diosgenin, a steroid responsible for the synthesis of DHEA and estrogen.
There are further claims regarding the health benefits of wild yam, including improvement in digestion, arthritis, regulation of blood sugar, prevention of cancer, cholesterol levels, and improved fertility in women.
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Through this article, we will look more into the potential health benefits of wild yam, its side effects, and the precautions to be taken before considering it in our lives.
Potential benefits of Wild Yam
Blood sugar regulation
There has been research that says that it may help in managing blood sugar levels. The presence of a chemical called dioscoretine may facilitate this. Upon testing on animals, it did perform well and significantly reduced blood sugar levels.
Alternative to hormone therapy
The most trending thing about wild yams is their ability to replace hormone therapy. Many consume these steroids in order to produce progesterone and estrogen, however, our body is not capable of doing so. Thus, these have to be produced in a lab.
Moreover, it is also believed that wild yams can effectively improve menopausal symptoms. As it is known that, with the arrival of menopause, estrogen levels in women significantly fall. With the belief that the consumption of wild yams can provide an estrogen like effect on the body.
Better digestion
There is no research claiming this but many herbalists believe that it can definitely improve the functioning of organs like the gall bladder and the liver. By doing so, they effectively improve the process of digestion as an improved liver and gall bladder effectively stimulates the generation of bile facilitating digestion.
Arthritis
The root of this plant being anti inflammatory in nature may help in providing relief from arthritis. There is some research that claims that diosgenin, which is extracted from the roots may help in protection from osteoarthritis and rheumatoid arthritis. However, more research is needed especially human trials to check the validity of this.
Improve skin health
Many skin care products have yams as a common ingredient. Again, the presence of diosgenin is responsible for all this. It is believed that this steroid can possibly encourage the growth of new skin cells in turn contributing to anti-aging or photoaging effects.
Moreover, another potential skin benefit yams can provide is its depigmenting effect. However, there is not much research that backs this claim.
Relief from Diverticulosis
Due to the presence of anti-inflammatory properties in these pants, they can provide relief from diverticulosis, a condition where tiny pouches develop on the colon wall. Wild yam may provide relief from the discomfort caused by the inflamed region.
Cholesterol level regulations
The consumption of the roots of these plants can effectively help in reducing cholesterol levels in the body. The presence of diosgenin aids in regulating the low density lipoprotein also known as bad cholesterol and improves the high density lipoprotein in the body.
Prevent cancer
It has been found that the rhizome of wild yams has the capability to hinder the cell growth of leukemia cells. Further, its extract may also contribute to prevent the growth of breast cancer.
Just like the positives, there are negatives to this as well. First, there is no FDA approval for the consumption of wild yams. Second, people with hormone sensitivity should not consume this as it may have some side effects. Third, there is not much research conducted on this topic. Moreover, consumption in small doses is fine, but large amounts can cause nausea or vomiting. So it's better to talk to your healthcare professionals before including this into your routine.
Many health benefits of these are quite promising and can be quite helpful in the future. Thus, more research is needed on it before the effective implementation of these.
