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Eat More Yam and Give Birth to Twins!
Posted by: Misi Coker on November 12, 2007 Under: Africa, Discussion Lounge, Feature, Food, Life & Culture, Nigeria
Muti This
The village of Igbo-Ora, Nigeria is often referred to has “The land of twins” because there is hardly any family within the community without a set of twins. The unusually high number of twins born within this community has led many fertility experts into believing the community’s daily consumption of agida (local name for yam tubers) might be the cause of the many twins. See excerpt from Yahoo:
There is hardly a family here without a set of twins,” said community leader Olayide Akinyemi, a 71-year-old father of 12, as he settled a dispute between two neighbours. “My father had 10 sets, while I had three sets…
The rate of identical twins is pretty steady throughout the world at about 0.5 percent of all births, according to a 1995 study by Belgian researcher Fernand Leroy, who has worked extensively on twins.
But West Africa bucks that trend, particularly with a much higher incidence of fraternal, or non-identical twins than in Europe or Japan. That is especially true, experts say, amongst Nigeria’s Yoruba community which is largely concentrated in the southwestern part of the country where Igbo-Ora is located…
Yam consumption may be one explanation for Africa’s largesse, some West Africans and Western experts believe. Yams contain a natural hormone phytoestrogen which may stimulate the ovaries to produce an egg from each side.
It appears this observation is not causal, but purely a correlation between a local community that consumes a “yam-heavy” diet (and its derivatives) and multiple pregnancies. Other dietary elements may also have confounded or contributed to the observation as well. However, if this “Yam theory” is really true, those looking for twins better start loading up on yam; dump the clomid and other fertility drugs!
Image credit: AFP
Pammy | Nov 12, 2007 | Reply
hehehehe…
Omotaylor | Nov 12, 2007 | Reply
Dear Misi, Nice one but sorry cant agree with you on the yam theory. Take ME for example, I love yam and have eaten it regularly since God knows when but never had a set of (even unidentical) twins. All that yam gave me is extra love handles which I am trying hard to shed, but cant for I still eat the blessed Yams. As for residents of Igbo Ora and there numerous twins, well done and jealous me.
chioma | Nov 12, 2007 | Reply
I don’t know about yam and twins, i know that soon enough yam can make you look like you are having twins! I guess the people of this village are really blessed.
Seyi Ogunbona | Nov 13, 2007 | Reply
well it’s got to be sumthin, the chances of them having twins is 5 times the world level, Is it yam as in the food or another type of yam…lol…. but i read the article and thought hmmm….I want twins…should i go there to look for ma bride….:-0
Pammy | Nov 13, 2007 | Reply
hmmm…I need to look more closely at my yams… hehehehe!!
Omotaylor | Nov 13, 2007 | Reply
Ha ha, being old school we were told not to eat “yams”, i.e. ma je isu or you get in trouble. So for those who can eat yams, enjoy but softly softly o.
@Seyi, may your Igbo Ora bride give you twins, triplets and quads ojare. God bless
Seyi | Nov 15, 2007 | Reply
@Omotayo I guess is another topic entirely….Why do Nigerians, or African…go ‘back home’ to find their husband/wife?
Misi | Nov 15, 2007 | Reply
@Seyi, people probably do that because they believe woman/man from Africa has not been influenced/corrupted by the western ways. Another reason could be that some are looking for woman/man that still hold the African culture or some just want women that can cook up the traditional meals. With that said I wish you luck with your venture of finding an Igbo Ora wife and hope she bears you twins unless….
Omotaylor | Nov 15, 2007 | Reply
@seyi, Pammy seem to have helped us out with her most recent post “Are African Women in the Diaspora Wild”, plus ensuing comments.
dilly | Nov 16, 2007 | Reply
Dear misi,i do not agree with the yam theory but if you really want the recipe for ‘twins’let me know….but i must warn you o,it’s not free.
Omotaylor | Nov 23, 2007 | Reply
Hi Misi, my friends neice just gave birth to twins but she doesnt like yams and never ate any for years. dilly could be right, but be wary of his recipe for twins o.
Trisha | May 20, 2008 | Reply
Hi ya, i dont care yams are WORTH A GO IF YOU WANT TWINS!! Im hoping you can tell me how they eat them?
Misi | May 21, 2008 | Reply
@Trisha, you cut the yam into slices and peel off the skin. Then put them in a pot and boil them with water and salt. You can eat it with fried egg. It is just potatoes.
Trisha | May 21, 2008 | Reply
Thank you but i was reading its the skin of the yam that causes hpyerovulation? And also which yam is it im not sure cause there are African Yams and those lil yellow and red ones in New Zealand…
NIcolita | Aug 4, 2008 | Reply
My dream is to have an identical twins. so I don’t care if is true or not I’ll try. that’s what we should do before saying things like “these Africans are stu***”
am telling u, sometimes it works (africans’ stuffs)
onajite akpos | Nov 20, 2008 | Reply
i love 2 have a set of identical twins, it has being one of my prayers 2 God, but the idea of eating yam i think i will try that. I pray it works 4 me. thanks
Taofeeq | Mar 5, 2009 | Reply
i was very happy to read aricles about my home town. i am from Igbo ora, think are you right, i have more than two in my family. i pray to have my own set of twins too.. by the time i get married.
Desiree | Mar 22, 2009 | Reply
keep in mind that sweet potatoes are not yams and if you eat candied yams they are most likely candied sweet potatoes…
Real yams do not cause obesitiy and sweet potatoes come from the western hemisphere…
Lola | Jun 29, 2009 | Reply
The yams you are consuming, and the yams consumed by the Nigerians are completely different. They yams we consume is called Isu. It is not the same, and can’t be found at you local grocery store. I have several sets of twins in my family, and I truly believe the yams have a lot to do with it.