Nourishing,
Nutty Maca
It looks like the love child of a
potato and white radish. It grows wild in the frigid ground of the Andes
mountains thousands of feet above sea level in Peru. And it has a nutty,
slightly butterscotch-y taste. Maca root, which comes from the mustard plant
family, is a nutritional powerhouse. But just how super is this superfood?
Veggie
With Many Names
Maca root goes by many names,
including maca-maca, maino, ayak chichira and ayak willku. It's also called
Peruvian ginseng, which can be misleading because maca is a vegetable and
ginseng is an herb. Both have a reputation for giving big boosts of energy. But
more research is needed to back this up.
Ancient
Staple
People in the Andes have grown maca
for thousands of years. They use the root as a food supplement as well as a
traditional medicine for everything from fertility problems to fragile bones
and poor memory. In recent years, maca has been popping up more often on health
food store shelves.
Energy
Potion
Maca is claimed to be an adaptogenic
plant, which means it gives your body the ability to adapt to or resist what's
going on in and around it, like anxiety, stress, and depression. Researchers
don’t know exactly how maca works on the body. Some scientific evidence suggests
that it can give you a shot of energy.
Maca
in the Bedroom
Maca has a reputation as an aid for
sex and reproductive issues. Some people believe it can rev up sex drive in men
and women, boost sperm count, improve erections, and ease menopausal symptoms.
The fact is that those claims are backed by little or no scientific evidence.
Maca
for Women
A small number of studies have
suggested that maca may help ease hot flashes and other postmenopausal symptoms
in women. But the evidence isn’t robust. Some studies also found that women and
men who took maca extracts showed a significant uptick in their self-reported
levels of sexual desire. Other studies did not find this effect.
The
Good News
What’s undisputed is maca’s
nutritional benefits. It packs high levels of iron and iodine to promote
healthy cells and to help keep your metabolism on track. Its big doses of
potassium help digestion and make muscles happy. Maca is also rich in calcium,
amino acids, vitamins, and minerals.
Powder
or Pill
Peruvians dry maca naturally and
then boil it and drink the juice. As a supplement, maca is sold as a powder you
can add to foods or drinks. It also comes as gelcaps.
How
Much Maca?
We don’t have enough research to
know how much is safe and how much you need to benefit from it. Maca
supplements can vary widely in quality and their active ingredients. Bottom
line is that there is no standard dose.
Maca
Safety
Maca is generally considered safe as
a food or as a supplement if you don’t take more than 3 grams (less than a teaspoon)
a day for up to 4 months. But more tests are needed to know if and at what
doses it can cause harm in pregnant or nursing women, children, or people with
liver or kidney diseases.
From
Peru to You
You can buy maca in powder or
capsule form at health food stores, specialty grocery stores, and through
various vendors online.
How
to Take It
To get the most out of your maca,
don't bake with it or add it to hot foods or drinks -- it loses its nutritional
punch. Work it into raw foods instead, like no-bake energy treats or smoothies,
or put it on top of cooked foods, like oatmeal.
Caution
If you're on blood thinners, maca
may not be right for you. It has so much vitamin K -- which helps your blood
form clots -- that it may counteract your medication. Ditto that for men with
elevated blood PSA (prostate specific antigens), who should stay away from
maca. The plant’s extracts might act like estrogen, so avoid it if you have
hormone-sensitive conditions like breast, uterine, and ovarian cancers or
endometriosis.
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