Yams are tubers with many health benefits, such as relieving constipation, controlling diabetes, and preventing cardiovascular disease. These benefits are related to a high fiber content as well as laxative, lipid-lowering, and hypoglycemic properties.
Yams can also help support weight loss, since fiber helps prolong digestion to keep you feeling full between meals.
Yams can be found at farmers' markets and grocery stores. They have a mild flavor and a texture like a potato, and can be used in recipes for juices, salads, purees, soups, cakes, and chips. Yams can also be made into a tea for medicinal purposes.
Health benefits
The main benefits of yams include:
1. Relieving constipation
Yams have large quantities of soluble fiber that absorbs water into the intestines to hydrate the stool and make it easier to pass, thus helping prevent and relieve constipation.
2. Increasing energy levels
Yams are a medium glycemic index (GI) food that increases blood sugar slowly, boosting energy levels during workouts and concentration during tests or exams.
3. Supporting weight loss
Yams are a high fiber food that helps support weight loss by prolonging satiety (feeling of fullness) and decreasing the urge to eat throughout the day.
In order to achieve weight loss, however, it is important to maintain a well-balanced diet and engage in regular physical exercise.
4. Reducing symptoms of menopause
Yams contain diosgenin, a bioactive compound that has estrogenic effects that may help balance hormones and relieve symptoms of menopause.
Additional scientific studies using human subjects are needed to confirm this potential benefit.
5. Helping control blood sugar
Due to their high fiber content, yams slow down the absorption of sugar in the body, helping control glucose levels and prevent insulin resistance and diabetes.
6. Maintaining healthy skin
Yams contain beta carotene, a potent antioxidant that protects cells against damage caused by ultraviolet (UV) rays and prevents the loss of collagen, helping to keep skin healthy and prevent the emergence of wrinkles and sagging skin.
7. Lowering cholesterol and triglycerides
The fiber in yams also helps reduce fat absorption in the gut, helping to lower levels of LDL ("bad") cholesterol and triglycerides in the blood and prevent cardiovascular diseases like atherosclerosis, heart attack, and stroke.
8. Increasing muscle mass
Yams are a food high in potassium, a mineral that is necessary for good muscle function and muscle contraction. Yams can therefore help improve muscle performance and recovery, preventing cramps and helping to increase muscle mass.
9. Maintaining eye health
Yams help maintain good eye health because they contain beta carotene, a precursor to vitamin A, which plays an important role in the production of various pigments in the retina that help with night vision and capturing light.
10. Preventing high blood pressure
Yams are rich in potassium, a mineral that helps eliminate excess sodium from the body through the urine, in addition to relaxing the arteries to improve blood flow and prevent high blood pressure.
11. Preventing and fighting cancer
The vitamin A and beta carotene found in yams prevent oxidative stress on healthy cells, potentially helping to prevent and fight certain types of cancer, such as colon, lung, and liver cancers.
Further scientific studies using human subjects are needed to confirm this potential benefit.
12. Combating inflammation
The antioxidants present in yams, such as Vitamin A and beta carotene, may help treat inflammatory conditions like irritable bowel syndrome (IBS), ulcers, and gastritis.
Further studies are needed in human subjects in order to confirm this potential benefit.
13. Strengthening the immune system
Yams possess antioxidant and anti-inflammatory properties from the vitamin C and beta carotene they contain, improving function of the body's defense cells and helping strengthen the immune system.
Check out other vitamin C foods.
14. Protecting against premature aging
Yams help prevent premature aging due to their large quantities of vitamin C and beta carotene, which are nutrients and bioactive compounds with antioxidant properties that fight free radicals and prevent the emergence of wrinkles and sagging skin.
15. Preventing osteoporosis
Yams are a good source of potassium, which helps prevent osteoporosis by helping to neutralize acids in the body, increasing pH and reducing the elimination of calcium through the urine.
Are yams fattening?
Because they are high in carbohydrates and calories, yams can cause you to gain weight, but only when consumed in large amounts and combined with an unhealthy diet and sedentary lifestyle.
Beneficial properties
Yams offer diverse health benefits thanks to their antioxidant, digestive, energetic, lipid-lowering, estrogenic, anti-inflammatory, hypoglycemic, and hypotensive properties, which come from being a good source of fiber, beta carotene, vitamin A, potassium, and diosgenin.
Nutrition facts
The following table contains nutrition facts for a 100 g serving of yams (raw and cooked):
To get the most benefits from eating yams, it is important to include them as one part of a healthy, well-balanced diet in combination with regular physical exercise.
A registered dietitian can help you incorporate yams into a healthy diet.
How to prepare
To prepare yams, start by washing them well, then peel and cook them. Yams should be consumed cooked, as raw yams are high in oxalate, a compound that, when ingested in large amounts, prevents the absorption of minerals.
Yams can be used in recipes for purees, juices, soups, cakes, salads, stews, and plant-based milk.
Yams can also be used to make compresses or tea for medicinal purposes:
- Tea: to prepare a tea, simply place the peels of 1 yam into 200 mL of boiling water, cover, and let steep for 5 minutes. Strain and drink;
- Compress: grate 1 raw yam over a piece of gauze, and apply it over a boil (furuncle). Keep the gauze in place for 1 hour, then wash the area with warm water. Repeat this process 4 times a day.
Yams may also be used in herbal medicine in the form of an elixir to detoxify the body and relieve symptoms of menopause, however this should only be done under the supervision of a doctor or herbal medicine specialist.
Healthy recipes
Some healthy and delicious ways to enjoy yams include recipes for dairy-free yogurt, soup, plant milk, puree, and cake:
1. Dairy-free yogurt
Ingredients:
- 2 large yams, cooked;
- 1½ cups fresh strawberries;
- 2 tsp lemon juice.
Directions:
Combine the yams and strawberries in a blender and blend until smooth. Add the lemon juice and blend until well combined. Transfer the mixture to individual cups and let sit for 2 hours in the refrigerator before serving.
2. Yam puree
Ingredients:
- 3 medium yams;
- 1 Tbsp olive oil;
- 1½ tsp salt;
- 1 onion, diced;
- ½ cup milk;
- Nutmeg to taste;
- Black pepper to taste.
Directions:
Wash and peel the yams and cut into cubes. Place in a pot with water and 1 tsp of salt. Bring to a boil and let boil until the yams are well cooked (approximately 25 minutes). Drain the water and mash the yams.
In another pot, saute the onions in the olive oil, then add the mashed yams and the rest of the salt. Add the milk gradually, stirring with a wooden spoon or spatula. Remove from the heat and add the nutmeg and pepper. Mix well and serve.
3. Yam milk
Ingredients:
- ½ lb (250 g) yams;
- 3 cups filtered water.
Directions:
Wash and peel the yams and cut them into cubes. Place the yams in a pot, cover with water, and cook over medium heat until tender. Drain the yams and discard the cooking water.
Add the yams and 3 cups of water to a blender and blend until it becomes a liquid. Strain and pour into a glass bottle with a stopper. Store in the fridge for up to 4 days.
4. Yam soup
Ingredients:
- 2 large yams, peeled and cubed;
- ½ onion, diced;
- 2 Tbsp olive oil;
- ½ cup parsley and chives, chopped;
- 1 garlic clove, minced;
- Black pepper to taste;
- 1 tsp salt.
Directions:
Saute the garlic and onion in the olive oil in a pot for 3 minutes. Add the yams, salt, and pepper, and mix well. Cover with water and let cook until the yams are very tender.
Carefully place the yams in a blender, adding the cooking water gradually as you blend. Return the mixture to the pot over medium heat and add more water if necessary. Let boil for 5 minutes then remove from the heat. Add the chopped parsley and chives and serve hot.
Common questions
Some common questions about yams include:
1. Are yams good for dengue?
There is a common belief that yams are a good food for treating dengue, however there is no scientific evidence to support the use of yams to help treat dengue.
2. Can people with diabetes eat yams?
Yes, people with diabetes can eat yams, however because yams are high in carbohydrates it is best to consult a registered dietitian who can help incorporate them as part of a diabetic diet to avoid blood sugar spikes.
3. Are yams bad for the liver?
Currently, no evidence exists that eating yams is bad for the liver.