Not Birth Control

Wild Yams

wild yams are not exactly the same as the yams you would find at the grocery store
they’re actually a tuberous vine that grows in eastern North America
their range spans from Florida to Ontario
with occasional populations spreading as far inland as Texas and Minnesota
wild yam extracts have long been rumored to have incredible medicinal capacities
with some people claiming that they may even aid in cancer prevention
since the 1990s
there have also been rumors that wild yam extracts function as a contraceptives
the active ingredient in wild yams is diosgenin
it is a steroid
so it belongs to the same group of chemicals
as those that regulate the female reproductive system
in the 1940s
extracts from the Mexican wild yam
were converted from diosgenin to progesterone
by chemist Russel Marker
he industrialized this process and it went on to be used in large scale production of synthetic adrenal gland hormones, testosterone
and of course
estrogen and progesterone for use in hormonal contraceptives
but then
in the 1970s
chemists found that extracting that soybean and lanolin extracts are a much cheaper alternative to diosgenin
so they switched over to the cost effective side and carried on making their contraceptives and synthetic hormones

but here’s the thing
there has been no research done to date
that proves that the human body can convert diosgenin into any steroid hormone
including progesterone
this process can only take place in lab
taking wild yam supplements does not function as a contraceptive
or as cancer prevention
the use of diosgenin derived birth control has been confusing
and
if misinterpreted
could lead to the false belief that wild yams can be used as a contraceptive

This is why we need science communication! We need scientists who are adept at the technicalities of their own work, but who are also adept at making their work accessible to to the general populace. We can’t have people floating around out there believing that eating yams functions as birth control. How ridiculous. Science is not a secret. Science is an endeavor that seeks to learn things about the natural world that have never been learned before and to share those learnings. Science is not meant to be locked in a tower, its findings hidden away for safe keeping. It’s meant to enrich our understanding of this universe so as to inform our actions and incite our wonder.

Sources

Wikipedia. Wikimedia Foundation, n.d. Web. 19 Mar. 2016. <https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Dioscorea_villosa?oldformat=true>.

“Wild Yam for Birth Control.” LIVESTRONG.COM. LIVESTRONG.COM, 07 July 2015. Web. 19 Mar. 2016. <http://www.livestrong.com/article/458952-wild-yam-for-birth-control/>.