A quote from a web site:

"Raw yams, like lima beans, contain cyanogenic glycosides, natural
chemicals that break down into hydrogen cyanide in the stomach or when
the potato is heated. If the potato is pierced while it is baking or
when the lid is left off the pot as it is boiling, this gas escapes off
into the air. Moldy yams may be contaminated with a number of toxins,
including the liver toxin ipomeamarone and a toxic derivative
ipomeamaronol. These are generally destroyed through normal cooking."

I happen to really enjoy eating raw lima beans (though not as many
recently) and even raw yams (the yellow meat type) - and I've not been
affected negatively by eating either.  Haven't tried moldy yams yet and
probably wouldn't :-)

Dioscorea (the genus to which yam belongs) has been used in herbal
remedies for thousands of years, albeit usually cooked or brewed.

Regards,

-=mark=-


Lurisia Dale wrote:

>>Yams can be eaten raw.
>
>
> I didn't know that was true.  I know
> Cordain recommends not eating them,
> or not eating much of them anyway, but
> he doesn't really go into why, so I
> just assumed they were toxic raw.
>
> Does anyone know why they're not
> recommended?
>
> L
>
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