Yucca Root (Yucca Schidigera)
Yucca has been on the GRAS (Generally Recognized as Safe) list
with the US FDA since 1965. Yucca is approved for use in foods
as a foaming agent (particularly in root beer).
Yucca contains vitamins A, B-complex, C, Calcium, Potassium,
Phosphorus, Iron, Manganese and Copper.
Yucca saponins, when ingested in soup or decoction, seem to block
release of toxins from the intestines that inhibit normal formation
of cartilage. Since saponins are precursors of the body's own
anitinflammatory cortisone, yucca may elevate the body's production
of cortisone.
Yucca's primary uses are in pain relieving combinations for
arthritic and joint pain, and for sediment caused by inflammation
such as gout, rheumatism, and cystitis.
Keith Johnson, MD, editor of 'Turn Back the Clock' newsletter,
states, 'Adding the yucca plant to your diet will act as a natural
cortisone, and will wash out the harmful poisons that cause arthritis.'
According to the late Robert Bingham, MD, director of the Desert
Hot Springs Medical Clinic in Palm Springs, CA, yucca extract
supplements can produce arthritis remissions. He supervised the
use of yucca in thousands of patients. He told reporters, 'We
have known for several years that a food supplement extracted
from yucca acts like a natural form of cortisone, to reduce and
eliminate the pain, swelling and joint stiffness suffered by arthritis
victims.'
Bingham goes on to explain, 'Toxic substances or harmful bacteria,
when absorbed into the system, create allergic responses - anything
from migraine to arthritis. Consequently, an anti-stress agent
such as yucca saponin might have the same beneficial effect on
wastes in the body and be effective in treating arthritis by improving
and protecting the intestinal flora, rather than any direct action
upon arthritis.
'Strong evidence supports the theory that some forms of arthritis
may be caused or worsened by toxic substances occurring in the
intestines and absorbed by the body. Yucca seems to inhibit these
harmful intestinal bacteria and at the same time help the natural
and normal forms of bacteria found in the tract.'
Presenting the results of a placebo-controlled study on the effects
of yucca, Dr. Bingham, in the Journal of Applied Nutrition(Vol.27,No.2
and No.3), reported that 60 percent of people who took the yucca
supplements experienced diminished pain, swelling, and stiffness.
There were no side-effects. Further, those who took the yucca
extract supplement had lower blood pressure and cholesterol levels,
and relief from intestinal toxicity.
Mary Clarke, Ph.D., of Kansas State University reports that saponins
'serve as natural antibiotics for the plant.' And now, 'scientists
are looking at how they can help humans fight fungal infections,
combat microbes and viruses, boost the effectiveness of certain
vaccines, and knock out some kinds of tumor cells, particulary
lung and blood cancers. They can also lower blood cholesterol
thereby reducing heart disease.
How do saponins reduce cholesterol? Bile acids are made from
cholesterol in the liver and gall bladder and pass into the small
intestines mixing with water to aid in digestion. As this mixture
enters the colon, the water is reabsorbed back into the body carrying
with it the bile acids and cholesterol. Saponins cannot penetrate
the intestinal wall, but work within the small and large intestine.
Saponins bind with the bile acids making them unavailable for
reabsorption. They pass into the colon and are excreted. This
forces the liver to produce more bile. To produce more bile, the
liver must remove cholesterol from the blood, leaving less to
build up in the arteries.
According to an article written by Dr. Arnold Pike in 1990 (The
Healing Properties of Yucca, Let's Live, Aug.1990), there were
at that time more than 100 universities and institutions around
the world investigating the natural healing properties of yucca.
