There are a lot of misconceptions surrounding progesterone, phytoestrogens and plant-based hormones to the point where women’s perspectives are more confused than ever. They walk into a vitamin shop or pharmacy and peruse shelves lined with bottles of creams, capsules – anything that contains “natural progesterone support” or “hormonal balance”.
Yet does anyone really understand how these products work? The answer lies in understanding what’s possible from plants and the human body and the misconceptions that some people really want you to believe or assume about this all.
What Wild Yam Really Contains
Enter wild yam (Dioscorea villosa). People believe that it contains progesterone, because, well, it can be made into progesterone. But that’s not entirely true. It has a compound known as diosgenin (a plant steroid), which is where the legitimate funding into wild yam and most misconceptions stem from.
Diosgenin and other plant steroids can be transformed into progesterone (or other hormones) in a lab through a complicated process. But let’s be clear – this process occurs with machinery, chemical reactions, and access that the layperson doesn’t have.
Diosgenin and the Human Body
The human body cannot make these transformations. When you apply a wild yam cream to your skin (or take a wild yam supplement), diosgenin is diosgenin. The body doesn’t have the enzymatic tools to convert diosgenin into true progesterone. This is perhaps the most nuanced detail that gets lost in advertising and conversations about such plant-based support.
“But wait,” you might be saying. “Women get relief from these supplements and creams!” Exactly. But it’s about how plant-based steroids work with your hormonal makeup.
How Phytoestrogens Work with Existing Pathways
The truth is, plant steroids like diosgenin (for example) do not become hormones per se – but they can operate by working better with what you already have in your system. That’s right. They don’t become hormones – but they help your body use its own hormones, potentially with better ease.
Diosgenin has been studied for its anti-inflammatory agents and impacts on smooth muscle tissue. Some studies suggest it helps relieve contractions (part of the reason why women report relief from cramps). Other studies have found that it helps regulate how a cell responds to its own makeup – as if diosgenin serves as a moderator and not a replacement.
For natural options, Wild Yam Cream boasts topical advantages for transdermal absorption. This means that this active compound is absorbed straight into the body. Ingesting it gives it to the digestive tract instead for processing.
The Difference Between Topical and Oral Application
The application is critical. When you use wild yam orally (digestively), stomach acid and enzymes help break it down before absorption into circulation. Whatever survives the liver before other parts of the body gets crucial breakdown separate from other entry points.
Topical application is different. The skin carries its own absorption pathways and momentum. Topical application does not have to worry about digestive support – instead, whatever is absorbed is absorbed in real time without hesitation.
That said, certain application sites increase absorption potential. The inner arms, inner thighs, stomach – all areas where the skin is thinner – are better for absorption than areas where skin is thicker. Women also change application sites regularly to avoid saturating one area.
What the Research Shows
Research on wild yam for symptoms of hormonal imbalance support is mixed. Some are effective for problems that arise from muscle tension and inflammation; some are marginally effective. Part of this has to do with how studies are designed and what they truly measure in cross-sectional approaches.
One complicated issue that research has is that many do not realize that studies evaluating compound wild yam products – they include synthesized properties derived from wild yam – as equivalents to plain wild yam products without additional hormone constituents. This is profoundly inaccurate – but it happens regularly in discussions around “natural progesterone”.
The majority of trials having to do with wild yam extract alone (without synthesized additions) find averages of limited success in symptom reduction for certain menopausal concerns and menstrual difficulties. Average is key – compounding factors hold more significance against inflammatory symptoms/concerns than major hormonal shifts.
Supporting Progesterone Production
For example, when a product claims that it supports progesterone production, one must wonder what this means. In many cases, this means supports the environment but not the immediate hormone addition (without synthesized additions).
How does this work? Through reducing inflammation causing suppression of expected signaling, supporting tissue where hormonal presence appreciates or through compounds seeking to stabilize the body’s version to itself.
This isn’t necessarily bad; it’s just different from hormone replacement.
Whereas some natural creams boast naturally added progesterone or progestins in the mix. They work at different levels. Reading the ingredient list makes all of the difference.
Realistic Expectations
The problem with natural health options many times isn’t that they don’t work – but instead, that people’s expectations transform these naturally contributing factors into something they’re not meant to be.
Wild yam cream will not yield the same results as prescribed hormone therapy because it’s not meant to.
Wild yam cream will relieve cramps, support skin integrity around hands and feet (where skin thins during hormonal shifts), maybe offer anti-inflammatory results. For some women, that’s all they need – for others struggling with larger hormonal complexities, plant-based options might need to be part of a greater plan for intervention.
Timing also matters. Natural options take longer than pharmaceuticals to notice results. Most women who use wild yam cream justify its effectiveness after using it regularly for three weeks; this isn’t something people notice out of the gate.
Even applied to muscle tension does not happen instantly as people deem fit.
Making Wild Yam Cream More Effective
Should someone decide to try a wild yam cream; there are numerous ways to make it effective:
Consistency matters. Apply at the same time every day for regulation purposes. The amount matters, but using the recommended volume makes sense as a starting point.
More is not better – even if it’s more concentrated – because that’s all one’s skin (the receptor) can absorb through.
Combining it with other factors that are good for hormonal health (sleep, stress reduction, diet) generally works faster than isolation because our systems are contextualized.
Thus getting to several fixing points at once works better than pretending one specific component will make everything better.
The Bottom Line on Natural Progesterone Support
Natural progesterone support from plants occupies an interesting middle ground for women’s issues. It’s better than medical intervention; it’s also not ineffective. What it does – and doesn’t do – are supportive in setting expectations of usefulness.
Wild yam cream will not magically convert into progesterone in your body, but diosgenin can reduce inflammatory markers, smooth muscle intervention and how your own cells respond to their own make-up can be soft adjusted by diosgenin.
For women who want support – not mass intervention – this may be exactly what’s needed; for those who want more drastic approaches, this can be used in conjunction down the line later.
Wild yam cream works best for mild moderated muscle tension/inflammation concerns – not displacing biologically effective treatment options for other larger medical situations – which for many women does not need to occur.