What Vitamins Are Contained in a Yam Plant?
- Yams have a health benefits and can be included in a healthy diet. The yam is a good source of fiber and provides the body with a number of vitamins and minerals. The yam is often confused with the sweet potato, which shares the deep orange color. When shopping for yams, make sure that you are getting a real yam to experience the distinctly different flavor.
- A serving of yams have 16.46 mg of vitamin C. Vitamin C provides the body with antioxidant benefits and it is also helpful in the stimulation of collagen production.
- Yams provide .31 mg of vitamin B6 per serving. Vitamin B6 is used in the body during the metabolism of protein. It is a water soluble vitamin, which means that it must constantly be replaced. It is excreted by the body. Coenzymes in B6 are responsible for the production of many other enzymes in the body.
- A serving of yams provides .13 mg of vitamin B1. This vitamin plays an essential role in the conversion of carbohydrates into energy. Vitamin B1 is also referred to as thiamin.
- You can get .75 mg of vitamin B3 in a single serving of yams. Vitamin B3, or niacin, is usually produced in the body when there is not a deficiency in other B vitamins. Niacin is an important part of carbohydrate conversion in the same way as vitamin B1 and vitamin B2.
- Vitamin E protects the cell membranes from damage by free radicals. Yams provide .22 mg of vitamin E per serving. The protection of cell membranes from damage can be repeated because vitamin E is not destroyed by free radicals during the protection of cell membranes.
- Vitamin K has important functions in the body such as blood clotting, the formation of bones by transporting the calcium to be used in the process. A serving of yams provides the body with 3.54 mcg of vitamin K.
- Yams give the body 21.76 mcg per serving. Folate, or folic acid, is used by the body for a variety of essential functions such as the production of red blood cells, healing wounds to the body and building muscle.
