Food and medicine for health and disease prevention: Chinese yam (Part 1)

Yam Wildyam

The most effective anti-cancer components of yam: mucus polysaccharides and saponins

The main nutrients of yam: vitamin A, B group, C, E, carbohydrates, protein, saponin, yam alkaloids, calcium, iron, phosphorus, potassium, mannan and fiber

Dietary health benefits

1. Yam contains phytoestrogens, which can help improve the aging phenomenon of women during menopause and have certain beauty and breast enhancement effects.

2. Chinese medical research has found that yam has significant improvement and prevention effects on metabolic damage to the liver and kidneys. Eating more yam can help the internal organs function normally.

3. Yam contains mucus protein and dopamine, which can help maintain blood vessel elasticity, prevent fat from depositing in blood vessel walls, and reduce the incidence of cardiovascular disease and stroke.

The best way to prevent cancer

1. The best way to eat yam to prevent cancer is to eat it raw. Just wash and peel the yam, slice or shred it, and dip it in mustard or soy sauce.

2. Yam stew is also good. Add pork ribs or chicken bones to the soup pot and boil for about 1 hour. Then add chopped yam and ginger slices and stew for 30 minutes. You can also add red dates, wolfberries and other medicinal materials to increase the flavor and enhance the health effects.

Tips for processing yam

Yams contain special mucus proteins and alkaloids, which can easily cause itchy skin on hands when peeling them. Therefore, it is best to wear rubber gloves before handling yams. If yam mucus accidentally contacts the skin, wash it with salt water or soapy water to relieve the itchy feeling. In addition, after peeling the yam, you can soak it in salt water to keep the surface white and avoid brown oxidation.

The anti-cancer effect of yam

1. Yam is also known as yam, yam, and sweet potato. The appearance includes brown skin and white meat, brown skin and yellow meat, and purple skin and purple meat. It is rich in protein, amino acids and mucus polysaccharides, has a soft texture and sweet taste, and has the function of promoting growth and prolonging life.

2. Yam is rich in vitamins, minerals, saponins, yam alkaloids, glycoproteins and other active ingredients and mucus polysaccharides, which can fight tumors, prevent arthritis, delay cell aging, produce interferon, increase the number and activity of human immune cells, and significantly inhibit cell mutation.

3. Yam contains a large amount of mucin, which can prevent fat deposition in the cardiovascular system, maintain blood vessel elasticity, and prevent arteriosclerosis.

4. Yam contains nine essential amino acids and plant hormones, which can promote the normal functioning of body tissues, prevent cells from becoming cancerous, and maintain the elasticity of bones and cartilage, which is beneficial for patients with bone cancer and bone diseases.

5. The "Dioscorea polysaccharides" in yam can increase natural killer cells and activate macrophages, enhance the body's immunity, enable lymphocytes to produce antibodies, and inhibit the growth of cancer cells. The yam polyphenols it contains are similar to those in Ganoderma lucidum, Astragalus, mushrooms, ginseng, etc., and can prevent lung tumors caused by chemicals and cancer caused by nitrites.

6. Yam contains iodine needed by the human body. Eating it in moderation can prevent thyroid cancer, breast cancer and ovarian cancer.

Nutritionist's Tips

1. Yams contain estrogen-like hormones. If women consume too much of them during their menstrual period, it may stimulate the proliferation of the endometrium, leading to menstrual pain, excessive menstrual bleeding, etc.

2. The mucus in yam contains mucopolysaccharides, which can enhance immune function, but it also contains natural plant hormones that will promote the increase of hormones in the body. Therefore, people with hormone-related cancers such as breast cancer are not suitable to eat too much yam. (Continued in the next article)

This article is provided by Human Think Tank Publishing House and is excerpted from the book Quick Reference to the Health Benefits of Anti-Cancer Foods. The original author is Xiao Qianyou, a health care lecturer and nutritionist at Chang Gung University of Science and Technology.