Fertility Wonder Foods
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Yams
Some experts think that wild yams contain a substance that may help stimulate ovulation. In fact, populations that eat a lot of wild yams have a high rate of twins, such as the often cited Yaruba tribe in Nigeria. There is an ongoing debate over yams between natural/Chinese practitioners and western medicine.
Yams contain phytoestrogens and a form of natural progesterone (dioscin). Endometriosis and fibroids, both major infertility problems, are linked to estrogen dominance. It is believed that the phytoestrogens and progesterone-like properties in yams can help regulate the estrogen-progesterone balance. In theory the natural progesterone in yams can help extend the luteal phase in women whose corpus luteum doesn’t produce enough progesterone causing early menstruation.
Still, there's no scientific evidence that wild yam increases estrogen level in the body and doctors at the University of Maryland have stated that the human body lacks the enzymes to convert wild yam into usable progesterone.
But herbalists believe that wild yam taken in the first two weeks of a menstrual cycle improves fertility by converting diosgenin into two other hormones essential for ovulation, luteinizing hormone and follicle-stimulating hormone. Some natural practitioners believe that the phytoestrogens in yams can counteract the effects of estrogen on the cervical fluid and make it too sticky for transport of sperm. They can also thin the endometrial lining, similarly to Clomid. So according to believers, yams should only be eaten in the first half of the menstrual cycle, from menstruation until ovulation. After ovulation, don’t eat lots of yams. Also note that “true” wild yams are usually found in markets that specialize in African or Caribbean foods or health food stores, not in your average supermarket.
Sources: The Tao of Fertility, FertileHeart, LiveStrong, University of Maryland
Back to the full list of Fertility Wonder Foods
Yams contain phytoestrogens and a form of natural progesterone (dioscin). Endometriosis and fibroids, both major infertility problems, are linked to estrogen dominance. It is believed that the phytoestrogens and progesterone-like properties in yams can help regulate the estrogen-progesterone balance. In theory the natural progesterone in yams can help extend the luteal phase in women whose corpus luteum doesn’t produce enough progesterone causing early menstruation.
Still, there's no scientific evidence that wild yam increases estrogen level in the body and doctors at the University of Maryland have stated that the human body lacks the enzymes to convert wild yam into usable progesterone.
But herbalists believe that wild yam taken in the first two weeks of a menstrual cycle improves fertility by converting diosgenin into two other hormones essential for ovulation, luteinizing hormone and follicle-stimulating hormone. Some natural practitioners believe that the phytoestrogens in yams can counteract the effects of estrogen on the cervical fluid and make it too sticky for transport of sperm. They can also thin the endometrial lining, similarly to Clomid. So according to believers, yams should only be eaten in the first half of the menstrual cycle, from menstruation until ovulation. After ovulation, don’t eat lots of yams. Also note that “true” wild yams are usually found in markets that specialize in African or Caribbean foods or health food stores, not in your average supermarket.
Sources: The Tao of Fertility, FertileHeart, LiveStrong, University of Maryland
Back to the full list of Fertility Wonder Foods