The Wild Yam Scam
December 4, 2009 by Dee
Filed under Estrogen Dominance Treatment, Progesterone Cream
Wild yam has a long history of use as a medicinal herb and has recently become a hot topic in natural health circles. Although wild yam does have some benefits, there is
one fallacy about the herb that needs to be cleared up. Wild yam is not a substitute for natural progesterone.
One Woman’s Wild Yam Story
In Dr. John Lee’s book What Your Doctor May Not Tell You About Premenopause, Virginia Hopkins tells us about one woman’s experience with wild yam, also known as diosgenin or Dioscorea, the Latin name for Mexican wild yam. The woman’s name was Sally and she had been diagnosed with osteoporosis. Sally went to a health food store, told the clerk about her condition, and asked what could help her. The clerk gave Sally a jar of what he said was “progesterone” cream.
Sally used the cream faithfully over the next 9 months, then, unfortunately, she fell and broke her hip. When they conducted tests, Sally was informed that her bone density had actually gotten worse instead of better. But how could that be? Wasn’t the progesterone cream she’d been using suppose to help her fight osteoporosis?
After some investigation, it turned out that the cream that Sally had been applying wasn’t progesterone at all! Instead, it was a cream containing diosgenin. The label listed it as wild yam extract.
Why Wild Yam is Confused with Natural Progesterone
Wild yam has been used as an herbal remedy for centuries. Native Americans, Chinese healers and others used it to soothe colic, gastritis, joint pain, asthma, morning sickness, impotency and other conditions. Because it does have antispasmodic abilities, it even helped ease menstrual cramps and labor pains.
Wild yam does have some therapeutic benefits but it is not the same as progesterone. The diosgenin in wild yam can be converted to progesterone in a laboratory but a chemical conversion process must take place in order for this to happen. The end product is known as pharmaceutical progesterone and it is not natural in any way, shape, or form. Because using wild yam is much less costly than real progesterone, many companies substitute the cheaper ingredient but if you purchase their products you are being shortchanged. You will not get the benefits of natural progesterone that you were seeking when you purchased the product. Your body does not have the ability to perform the necessary conversion to change diosgenin into progesterone or any other sex hormone.
Choosing the Right Progesterone Cream
When you purchase progesterone cream, make sure you buy a quality cream from a reliable manufacture. Dr. Lee’s book on premenopause contains a partial list of manufacturers that produce creams with real progesterone in a high enough level to prove effective. A few of the brand names he mentions are Renewed Balance, Gentle Changes, and Progestacare.
There is no doubt that wild yam is a useful herb for several maladies. Many women report renewed energy after using it and there is some evidence that wild yam is supportive of the adrenal glands. It is not progesterone, though, and your body will never turn it into progesterone. Avoid the myth and, when in search of a natural progesterone cream, aviod wild yams.
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