18 Things You Need to Know About Maca

1. Maca is an annual plant that is native to Peru. It is a cruciferous vegetable that produces a root similar to a turnip or potato and is a staple and versatile food product. Peruvians use it as Americans use potatoes and also to make cookies, cakes, chips, and various flavored drinks. Maca is an important food in the Peruvian diet with a rich nutrient profile.
   
   - James Occhiogrosso, N. D., Your Prostate, Your Libido, Your Life
2. Maca has been used traditionally by native Peruvians as both a food and medicine. It has historically been used for a variety of purposes, including hormone balancing, thyroid function, sexual function, PMS, menopause, and as a tonic for healthy aging. A recent study proved maca's effectiveness in treating women with amenorrhea due to hypoestrogenic states, and especially premature ovarian failure.
   
   - Tori Hudson, N.D., Women's Encyclopedia of Natural Medicine: Alternative Therapies and Integrative Medicine for Total Health and Wellness
3. Kilham, investigating maca in Peru on one of his frequent "Medicine Hunter" expeditions, asked a number of people why they used maca. "One woman stands out in my mind," he says. "She smiled at my question and replied, 'Well, for the sex, of course.'" - Jonny Bowden, Ph.D., C.N.S., The Most Effective Natural Cures on Earth: The Surprising, Unbiased Truth about What Treatments Work and Why
4. Maca grows in the Andes Mountains of Peru's Junin Plateau at elevations exceeding 10,000 feet. Its reputation comes from a history of folklore of several hundred years.
   
   - James Occhiogrosso, N. D., Your Prostate, Your Libido, Your Life
5. Maca has been used in Peru for five thousand years. Alkaloids from the root of the plant act upon the two key glands in the brain, the hypothalamus and the pituitary, supporting and boosting energy levels and encouraging the production of ovarian hormones such as estrogen and testosterone.
   
   - Tori Hudson, N.D., Women's Encyclopedia of Natural Medicine: Alternative Therapies and Integrative Medicine for Total Health and Wellness
6. Maca is an energizing, mood-stabilizing herb that is now gaining popularity. There are some great products that use maca, in particular Ruth's Hemp Foods, which offers a hemp-protein-plus-maca product that is simply outstanding."
   
   - Mike Adams, Natural Health Solutions
7. Once again, maca sales are Strong. Unfortunately, maca will not live up to this new marketing claim either. There is no doubt -- maca is a wonderful source of natural vital nutrients. The synergy of so many amino acids, vitamins, and minerals in their natural states may increase the assimilation, uptake, and utilization of them in the body. Consumers however, shouldn't expect "miracle cures" with maca -- it's rather like taking a multi-vitamin supplement. Keep in mind that it is, in fact, a root vegetable and a main staple in the Andean indigenous diet (as beans, potatoes, and rice are elsewhere).
   
   - Leslie Taylor, ND, The Healing Power of Rainforest Herbs: A Guide to Understanding and Using Herbal Medicinals
8. Histamine causes dilation of blood vessels and capillaries, helps constrict smooth muscle, and is ultimately a primary player in ejaculation and orgasm. Although maca generally has a high amino acid content, it is relatively low in the amino acid methionine, which, coincidentally, is a strong antihistamine. Thus, this unique combination of amino acids and other nutrients might be what gives maca its reputed powers."
   
   - James Occhiogrosso, N. D., Your Prostate, Your Libido, Your Life
9. Traditional In the Andes, as much as a pound of fresh and/or dried maca root is eaten as preparation a food in a single day.
   
   - Leslie Taylor, ND, The Healing Power of Rainforest Herbs: A Guide to Understanding and Using Herbal Medicinals
10. Native Peruvians traditionally have utilized maca since pre-Incan times for both nutritional and medicinal purposes. It is an important staple in the diets of these people and is eaten daily by the Andean people, much like beans, rice, and potatoes. It has the highest nutritional value of any food crop grown there. It is rich in sugars, protein, starches, and essential nutrients (especially iodine and iron). The tuber or root is consumed fresh or dried. The fresh roots are considered a treat and are baked or roasted in ashes (in the same manner as sweet potatoes). The dried roots are stored and, later, boiled in water or milk to make a porridge."
    
    - Leslie Taylor, ND, The Healing Power of Rainforest Herbs: A Guide to Understanding and Using Herbal Medicinals
11. Maca has been used for centuries in the Andes to enhance fertility in humans and animals.
    
    - Leslie Taylor, ND, The Healing Power of Rainforest Herbs: A Guide to Understanding and Using Herbal Medicinals
12. Chemical research shows maca root contains a chemical called p-methoxybenzyl isothio-cyanate, which has reputed aphrodisiac properties.
    
    - Leslie Taylor, ND, The Healing Power of Rainforest Herbs: A Guide to Understanding and Using Herbal Medicinals
13. Fresh maca root contains about 1 percent glucosinolates -- plant chemicals found in many plants in the family brassicaceae (broccoli, cabbage, cauliflower, and other cruciferous vegetables).
    
    - Leslie Taylor, ND, The Healing Power of Rainforest Herbs: A Guide to Understanding and Using Herbal Medicinals
14. While no novel glucosinolates have been reported in maca yet, several of the chemicals found in this group of known plant chemicals are documented to be cancer-preventive.
    
    - Leslie Taylor, ND, The Healing Power of Rainforest Herbs: A Guide to Understanding and Using Herbal Medicinals
15. The marketing claim made that maca actually increases testosterone or sex hormones has been clinically disproved. In a 2003 double-blind placebo human trial, men taking a maca root extract (1.5-3 g daily) evidenced no changes in any reproductive hormonal level tested, including testosterone (which actually showed a slight decrease!).
    
    - Leslie Taylor, ND, The Healing Power of Rainforest Herbs: A Guide to Understanding and Using Herbal Medicinals
16. Sperm count and semen volume were increased with maca at either dose. Why the effects? Who knows? Maca contains two novel groups of compounds -- macamides and macaenes, which may be responsible for its effects. Maca also contains the amino acid L-arginine (see below), which has been shown to increase sperm production and motility and is necessary for the creation of nitric oxide, a molecule that is necessary for erections.
    
    - Jonny Bowden, Ph.D., C.N.S., The Most Effective Natural Cures on Earth: The Surprising, Unbiased Truth about What Treatments Work and Why
17. In herbal medicine in the United States, dried maca root tablets, capsules, and powders are generally recommended at dosages of 5-20 g daily. The dried root powder (a more economical choice than tablets or capsules) can be stirred into juice, water, or smoothies (2 tsp. of root powder are about 5.5 g). For standardized and concentrated extract products, follow the labeled instructions.
    
    - Leslie Taylor, ND, The Healing Power of Rainforest Herbs: A Guide to Understanding and Using Herbal Medicinals
18. According to the Tropical Plant Database website, a prohistamine like maca might have exactly the opposite effect of a tfTzr/histamine. It might make it easier for men and women who have trouble reaching orgasm to achieve it.
    
    - Jonny Bowden, Ph.D., C.N.S., The Most Effective Natural Cures on Earth: The Surprising, Unbiased Truth about What Treatments Work and Why

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