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What is it?

The root of a long lived, curling and twisting vine that grows widely in the Eastern USA. Wild Yam root becomes very hard when dried and has a distinctive, bitter flavour with a long, lingering aftertaste.

How has it been used?

As some of the old names (Colic root, Rheumatism root) for Wild Yam amply demonstrate this is a herb that has been highly regarded for helping the pain of rheumatism and colic.

Note that these are two problems that occur in very different parts of the body (the joints and the gut) and also typically occur in two age groups that are much older or much younger. Perhaps the best way to understand just how Wild Yam could have such a range of applications is to feel what it actually does when you take it. This is a profoundly relaxing herbal medicine to the physical body.

Wild Yam has been somewhat used in the distant past as a hormone-balancing herb but lately in modern times it has become very popular to use in menopause. It does help some women with the change of life when taken as an internal medicine but when it is marketed as an external treatment as a cream for menopause there is no traditional use there and nor does the science add up.

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Personal experiences

I have found Wild Yam medicine to be excellent for some menopausal women but my main experience with it has been for problems connected to having too much tension in the gut. Wild Yam reaches into the core of the body and gently releases tension at a deep 'visceral' level. Taking Wild Yam over an extended period has greatly helped a number of my patients heal long standing digestive and reproductive system disorders.

If there is significant pain or tension then Wild Yam works best in small frequent doses until it is clearly working. The longer it is used the better are its effects. Wild Yam combines perfectly with Ginger for chronic gut congestion and with Licorice root and Devil's claw for inflammatory arthritic problems where there is an obvious connection between the digestive system and what is happening in the joints.

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Excerpt from Felter & Lloyd's Kings Dispensatory from 1898

In former editions I have termed this agent an antispasmodic, and solely for the reason that it cures bilious colic., having proved almost invariably successful if used in frequent enough doses. No other medicine is required, as it gives prompt and permanent relief in the most severe cases (Prof. J. King). In fact it is not only of value in bilious colic, but in all forms of colic and other painful abdominal neuroses, and all forms of gastro-intestinal irritation. It has also proved valuable in painful cholera morbus attended with cramps, in neuralgic affections, in irritable conditions of the nervous system, especially when attended with pain or spasms, in spasmodic hiccough, obstinate and painful vomiting. It will likewise allay nausea, also spasms of the bowels. This root appears to exert an action especially upon enfeebled and irritable mucous tissues that become painful from spasmodic contractions of their muscular fibers

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