yam bean
Vegetables
Is yam bean high in nickel?
Is yam bean high or low in nickel? See its exact rating, how much counts as a portion, and its FODMAP, salicylate, oxalate and diet compatibility in one place.
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Sensitivity notes
Why nickel food checker matters
Nickel is a metal found in many foods including chocolate, nuts, and leafy greens. People with nickel allergy (often showing as contact dermatitis) may also react to dietary nickel, causing skin and digestive symptoms.
- Avoid cooking acidic foods in stainless steel cookware
- Canned foods often have higher nickel content
- Chocolate, nuts, and legumes are common high-nickel foods
- First-draw water from taps may be higher in nickel - let it run
- Vitamin C may help reduce nickel absorption
Sensitivities
What yam bean contains
FODMAPs
Histamine & Amines
Plant compounds
Irritants
Additives
Allergens
Diet fit
Where yam bean fits
Therapeutic diets
Lifestyle diets
Religious diets
What to know about yam bean
The yam bean is neither a yam nor a bean you eat, and both halves of that name mislead in ways that matter. It is Pachyrhizus erosus, a vine in the pea family whose swollen root is the only food part: crisp, wet, faintly sweet, eaten raw in Mexico and across Southeast Asia. The pods and mature seeds that give it the bean half of its name contain rotenone and are genuinely toxic, historically used as a fish poison and a garden insecticide. The root itself is clean on the sensitivity chemistry, grading A for galacto-oligosaccharides, lactose, gluten, dairy protein, caffeine, sulfites and nitrites, with histamine, salicylate, oxalate, tyramine and nickel all mild at B. The one real gut caveat is fructans, which grade D here, alongside a D for total FODMAPs, so the trigger to watch is fructan load rather than anything chemical.
Watch for
- Fructans grade D and total FODMAPs grade D, so the storage sugars in the root are the thing to log.Galacto-oligosaccharides, polyols and excess fructose are all clean, which is unusual for something in the pea family
- Only the root is food.The pods, the mature seeds and the vine carry rotenone, and eating the seeds is a real poisoning risk rather than a folk warning. If you buy it whole or grow it, discard everything except the tuber
- It travels under a confusing pile of names: yam bean, Mexican turnip, sengkuang, bengkoang, sa kot, jicama.Log it under one name consistently or your own history will not add up
- Nothing else scores high.Histamine, salicylate, oxalate, tyramine, nickel and free glutamate all sit at B, so if you react hard and fast to this root, suspect what it was dressed with, typically chilli, lime and salt
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Nickel Guide
Everything you need to know about nickel sensitivity and smart food choices.
Nickel is a metal found in many foods including chocolate, nuts, and leafy greens. People with nickel allergy (often showing as contact dermatitis) may also react to dietary nickel, causing skin and digestive symptoms.
Sensitivity varies widely. What triggers one person may be fine for another. Track your reactions to find your personal threshold.
These foods are generally well-tolerated for Nickel sensitivity:
View all safe options
These foods are high in nickel and may trigger symptoms:
View full list
If you're sensitive to Nickel, consider these strategies:
- 1Avoid cooking acidic foods in stainless steel cookware
- 2Canned foods often have higher nickel content
- 3Chocolate, nuts, and legumes are common high-nickel foods
- 4First-draw water from taps may be higher in nickel - let it run
- 5Vitamin C may help reduce nickel absorption
Pro tip: Keep a food diary to track your reactions. The Triggerbites app makes this easy with automatic pattern detection.
Want personalized tracking?
Download Triggerbites to log meals, track symptoms, and discover your unique triggers.
Get the AppFAQ
Is yam bean high in Nickel?
Nickel: moderate signal - portion size matters.
Can I still eat yam bean if I'm sensitive to Nickel?
Try smaller portions and space it out.
What else should I check?
Check Jain, FODMAPs, and Fructans next for a fuller picture.