The yams you buy at your local grocery store may in fact just be sweet potatoes. Wild yams are an entirely different plant species. The Encyclopedia Britannica website states that yams consist of several varieties, but all are part of the genus Dioscorea. Yams are actually a tuberous vine that has knotty, cylindrical rootstocks, or tubers. These tubers are what you normally eat, and come in many different colors, like ivory, yellow and purple. Their skin is a good source of fiber, and yams contain vitamins, minerals and other substances that may be beneficial to your health.
Vitamin B6
According to the World's Healthiest Foods website, wild yams contain vitamin B6, an important part of the body's physiological functions. You need to consume vitamin B6, states the website of the University of Maryland Medical Center, or UMMC, because your body cannot store it. The vitamin helps produce immune cells called antibodies, which protect you from illnesses. B6 is also needed for nerve function, protein metabolism, red blood cell formation and the creation of the brain chemical serotonin.
Vitamin C
Yams also contain amounts of vitamin C, which is a well-known antioxidant. Antioxidants protect you from free radicals, or substances that break down and damage cells, DNA and organs. The UMMC states that vitamin C also is needed in the production and formation of collagen, cartilage, bones and teeth. According to the World's Healthiest Foods website, yams provide you with 27 percent of the recommended daily allowance of vitamin C. Like B6, vitamin C is not stored by your body; daily intake is required to maintain adequate levels.
Folate
Yams are a good source of folate. Folate is better known as folic acid, an important member of the B vitamin family. Technically vitamin B9, folic acid has gained a reputation as an important part of pre-natal health. In fact, low levels of folate can lead to neural tube defects in the developing fetus. China is an area where folate deficiency is prevalant, states a study published in the Chinese journal "Zhonghua Liu Xing Bing Xue Za Zhi" in August 2006. Researchers led by L. Zhang discovered that increasing folic acid intake leads to more folic acid in the blood, which lowers the chance of neural tube defects.
Other Vitamins
Yams also contain smaller amounts of other vitamins. Vitamins B1, B2 and B3, or thiamin, riboflavin and niacin, respectively, are also included in the plant. They only provide 8, 2 and 5 percent of their respective daily values, according to the World's Healthiest Foods website. Vitamin K is also represented, states the website, at a modest 4 percent of your daily intake. Even lower on the list is vitamin E, with only roughly 1 percent of the recommended daily allowance.
References
- Encyclopedia Britannica Website: Yams
- University of Maryland Medical Center: Vitamin B6
- University of Maryland Medical Center: Vitamin C
- World's Healthiest Foods: Yams
- "Zhonghua Liu Xing Bing Xue Za Zhi"; Plasma and Red Blood Cell Folate Levels Among Women in Their First Trimester of Pregnancy From Rural Areas With High or Low Prevalence of Neural Tube Defects, China; L Zhang et al; August 2006
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