New Topics News capsules -  "The Yam Scam" Beware of so-called wild yam creams which are proliferating on the shelves of health-food and herb stores.  There is a misconception that the wild yam and bio-identical hormones synthesized from the wild yam are the same and have the same effect.  The Mexican Wild Yam (dioscorea) is rich in natural molecules that can be chemically changed into a variety of steroid hormones (DHEA, testosterone, progesterone, and estrogens). However, people can not get a significant amount of any of these hormones from eating mexican yams or using an unfortified yam cream, because the human body does not possess the cofactors required to convert these precursors into useful hormones. (from Natural Woman, Natural Hormones , by Marcus Laux, N.D. and Christine Conrad)