Dioscorea has long been used in the herbal community for a variety of conditions, but is best known for its normalizing effects on hormones. It is recognized to be a veritable storehouse of steroid hormone precursors. Dioscorea-based nutrients provide the human body with the essential building blocks for its own production of DHEA and other hormones.

Since dioscorea is a food-based substance, the human body treats it as it would any other food. It is digested and used to produce a variety of substances for the body's ongoing needs. Synthetic hormones, on the other hand, comes into the body not as a food-based product, but as an exogenous substance. It is not known at this time what kind of long term effects these foreign substances can have on the body.

Wild yam (dioscorea), on the other hand, had been used for centuries as a healing herb and according to "Herbal Healing for Women" "has no known side effects and is nontoxic. It can be used over an extended period of time with no harmful effect."

The dioscorea product that I consume, is manufactured with high standards that assure a uniform dose in a bio-available form with each and every caplet. This product also contains the 8 essential saccharides that I discuss in the glyco-nutrients section, which have a synergistic effect when combined with other nutrients. Put quite simply, it makes them work better.

Since I started taking these products, my cycles now appear to be normalizing and I even have clear signs that ovulation has occured (temperature, mucous, etc.). My body is now able to heal itself, since I supplement my diet with the proper nutrients.