Yam is a nutritious vegetable. It is often mistaken for sweet potato but they are not the same thing. Yam is loaded with various imperative nutrients and has been traditionally used for various medicinal purposes

Nutritional profile

• It contains desirable amount of carbohydrates and it is significantly rich in fibre
• It contains too some extent of proteins as well
• It does not contain enough fat thus it is considered as low fat food
• It is packed with several important vitamins, which include Vitamin K, Vitamin A, Vitamin E, Vitamin C, Vitamin B1, B2, B3, B5, B6 and B9
• It contains various trace elements too, like magnesium, manganese, sodium, potassium, selenium, iron, calcium, phosphorus, zinc and copper

Biological activity

Anti-inflammatory activity

• We all know that inflammation is the natural phenomenon of body but long term inflammation is not good for health as it causes various health hazards
• Consumption of yam or its supplements is very useful for delaying the progression of inflammatory events within body by decreasing the concentration of inflammatory markers as a result reduces the prevalence of chronic inflammatory diseases

Antimicrobial activity

• It exerts potent antimicrobial activity, which helps in hindering the growth of microbes within host as a result helps in minimizing the susceptibility of infectious diseases

• It is also very effective against drug resistant bacteria

Anti-carcinogenic activity

• It has the ability to fight against cancerous cells thus its consumption is thought to be very effective for reducing the risk of developing cancers
• It is loaded with antioxidants as well, which are also responsible for decreasing the prevalence of carcinoma. It has seen that its antioxidant activity helps in protecting DNA from free radical induced oxidative damages, which ultimately lowers the risk of developing cancers
• It is related with preventing genetic mutation too, which is also accountable for minimizing the susceptibility of cancers
• It has seen that consumption of yam is extremely useful for hindering colon tumor growth
• Whereas its consumption is also associated with suppressing liver tumor growth

Hypolipidemic activity

• It plays vital role in regulating blood cholesterol level thus yam is considered as a healthy option especially for those who suffer from hypercholesterolemia
• Basically its soluble fibre helps to bind with cholesterol and helps in removing cholesterol from body
• It has seen that yam is very effective for decreasing the concentration of LDL or bad cholesterol and triglyceride in body whereas helps in providing a boost to the HDL level. It is thus better to incorporate yam in diet in order to obtain a healthy lipid profile

Health benefits

Role on digestive health

• Consuming yam is very beneficial for improving overall digestive health
• It plays vital role in promoting digestion
• Resistant starch present in yam act as soluble fibre and helps in clearing bowel thus individual suffer from constipation should try yam for promoting their regularity
• On the other hand its fibre content is also associated with improving gut health as it helps in supporting the growth of intestinal beneficial microbes
• It helps in improving colonic health too, and minimizes the risk of developing diverticular disease as well as colorectal cancer in many folds
• Its anti-inflammatory activity is associated with protecting the gastrointestinal tract from inflammatory damages as well, which ultimately helps to keep inflammatory bowel disease at bay
• It also helps to prevent ulcerative colitis and Crohn’s disease

Role on nervous system

• Individual who want to obtain a healthy nervous system should try yam because yam is loaded with those nutrients, which are essentially required by the body for healthy brain functioning
• It has seen that individual who consume yam or its extract scored relatively higher on a brain function test

• Diosgenin is an important component found in yam that helps in promoting the growth of neuron and also helps to enhance the activity of brain
• It is related with improving memory
• It helps to improve learning ability as well
• Its anti-inflammatory activity is also accountable for delaying the onset of neuro-inflammatory events as a result decreases the risk of developing neurological disorders

Role on weight management

• Yam is extremely effective for weight reduction
• Especially the root of yam contains a component named glucomannan that plays vital role in facilitating weight reduction
• Whereas its fibre content is responsible for hindering appetite by providing a feeling of satiety, which is also considered as an important feature for weight reduction as it helps in minimizing total calorie intake
• It helps to prevent visceral obesity as well

Role on reproductive health

• Consumption of yam is extremely useful for improving reproductive health as it plays vital role in promoting fertility
• It is closely related with increasing the level of natural hormones in body hence helps in supporting fertility
• It helps to stimulate the production of progesterone hormone, which is considered as the main component responsible for preparing uterus for fertilized egg

Role on skin

• If you want to obtain a healthy and supple skin you should try yam
• Yam is loaded with diosgenin, which plays imperative role in fighting against aging
• It is also associated with improving skin elasticity and all the credit goes to its Vitamin C content as Vitamin C helps in promoting collagen synthesis
• Its Vitamin E component is accountable for promoting skin health as well
• It also helps to improve skin glow

Therapeutic uses

It has been traditionally used for various therapeutic purposes, like –

• It is widely used as an important therapeutic substance for hyperglycemia. It plays significant role in improving glucose metabolism hence helps in stabilizing blood sugar level. It plays vital role in improving insulin sensitivity as well, which also helps in reducing blood sugar load. On the other hand the sugar present in yam helps in adding natural sweetness to the meal, which ultimately helps in decreasing the craving for sugar
• It is very useful for relieving menopause symptoms too. It has seen that diosgenin component of yam helps in treating sex hormones issues and subsequently improves the symptoms of menopausal and premenstrual syndrome
• Allantoin is another important component found in yam that plays vital role in promoting hepatic health

• Its folic acid content helps in reducing the prevalence of birth defects
• It is also associated with keeping cardiac problems at bay. Its cholesterol lowering activity is accountable for preventing atherosclerosis by inhibiting fat deposition within blood vessels as a result minimizes the risk of developing blockage as well as coronary artery disease
• Potassium present in yam acts as an important vasodilator, which ultimately helps in dilating blood vessels thus plays imperative role in preventing hypertension
• Its magnesium content helps in maintaining a healthy heart beat as a result aids in preventing cardiac arrhythmias
• Its Vitamin C content is also related with promoting the synthesis of WBC, which ultimately helps to make the body able to fight against infection, as a result reduces the susceptibility of becoming ill

Risk factors

Though yam is a power house of nutrients but it has seen that some wild forms of yam contains some toxins, which are bitter in taste, they are known as bitter yam and they should not be consumed because consumption of such yam may cause various health hazards.

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Obidiegwu, J.E., Lyons, J.B. and Chilaka, C.A., 2020. The Dioscorea Genus (Yam)—An appraisal of nutritional and therapeutic potentials. Foods, 9(9), p.1304.

Prasad, S.M., Vijayashree, V., Raman, P.J., David, C.T. and Mageswari, P., 2020. Value Added Products from Yam (Dioscorea spp.). Humanities, 8(1), pp.207-212.

Singh, A., Kaur, R., Kumar, P. and Tanwar, A., 2020. Yam. In Antioxidants in Vegetables and Nuts-Properties and Health Benefits (pp. 291-307). Springer, Singapore.

Wu, W.H., Liu, L.Y., Chung, C.J., Jou, H.J. and Wang, T.A., 2005. Estrogenic effect of yam ingestion in healthy postmenopausal women. Journal of the American College of Nutrition, 24(4), pp.235-243.