Friday, April 20, 2012

Naturopathic Healing Benefits of Maca Root


Maca Root

Maca Root Benefits
Peru, in South America is where you’ll find the Maca plant. It is considered an adaptogen, meaning that is helps the body and mind adapt to stresses of all kinds and exerts an overall normalizing effect on the person who consumes it.

Maca root is loaded with vitamins, minerals, trace minerals, good fats, amino acids and plant sterols, making it a very nutritious whole food. It has been called a “potent superfood” and can improve our health in many ways.
Some of it’s many health benefits include increasing physical strength, stamina and energy. In fact, Maca is so good at boosting energy and endurance levels, it’s being taken by many athletes.

Maca root is most notably known for it’s ability to improve sexual function and libido. It has been used to solve infertility conditions and is said to increase the production of sperm and semen volume. It can be used as a treatment for impotency and erectile dysfunction also.
Consumption of this root will increase sex hormones, such as testosterone. For these reasons, it’s very popular with men of all ages.

Maca is also a natural hormone balancing agent, which is helpful to men and women alike. Women use it to alleviate the symptoms of menopause, such as hot flashes, mood swings and sleeping problems. Too much or too little estrogen is a problem that plagues many women. Maca dramatically fixes these problems.

It works as a hormone regulator that can bring balance back to your body. This will help get rid of troublesome and painful menstrual and menopausal symptoms. Many naturopaths recommend women take maca root as an alternative to hormone replacement therapy. It can also be helpful to women going through pre-menopause and post-menopause.
It’s also reported to support endocrine health, help reduce stress, relieve depression, failing memory and impart a general sense of wellbeing.

Maca calms the nerves because of it’s fatty acid, phosphorus, calcium and B1 and B12 vitamin content. These are all very beneficial to the nervous system.

It can also be used as an aid to digestion and to improve healthy appetite. It’s vitamin C, calcium and sterol content help build muscle and it’s starch content enhances physical endurance. And best of all, these healthy compounds are easily assimilated by the body due to maca’s beneficial alkaloids.

If You Are Over 30
If you are over 30, you'll want to take some Maca Magic (Powder or Capsules) with this. Then you'll be able to run circles around people your own age. We've experienced truly wonderful results with this one.  What is Maca Magic?

Maca Uses:

  • Increase energy
  • Increase strength and stamina
  • Improve cognitive functioning
  • Improve mental clarity and memory
  • Enhances learning and mental ability
  • Reduce anxiety, stress and depression
  • Normalize progesterone, estrogen and testosterone
  • Decrease mood swings and hot flashes
  • Treat hormonal imbalance
  • Menstrual relief
  • Regulate hormones
  • Relieve symptoms of menopause
  • Regulate menstrual cycles
  • Treat chronic fatigue
  • Treat insomnia
  • Improves sexual function in men and women
  • Enhance fertility
  • Treat erectile dysfunction
  • As an antioxidant and anti-carcinogen
  • Improve mental wellbeing
  • Treat infertility
  • Increase libido
  • Benefit pituitary gland
  • Stimulate the immune system
  • Overcome physical and mental stress
  • Fuel the endocrine system
  • Treat exhaustion
  • Improve the functioning of the circulatory system
  • Make skin look younger
  • Strengthen teeth and bones
  • Kill bacteria and fungus


Scientific Name: Lepidium meyenii
Common Names: Peruvian ginseng
Where It’s Found: Maca is native to Peru
Which Part Is Used: The root

How It Works
Maca root contains many vitamins, minerals, important trace minerals, plant sterols, healthy fats, amino acids, protein, fiber, tannins and macro and micronutrients. It is a whole food that fuels you body with high quality nutrition.

How It’s Used
Maca in usually dried and powered. It can be mixed into food or drinks or used in capsules or tablets.

Precautions and Side Effects:
Maca is high in iodine and should not be taken by people with thyroid disease. It has stimulant properties and can raise heart rate. Some people have reported stomach upset after large doses. If you are pregnant or nursing, never take this or any health supplement without first consulting you doctor.

Description and History Of Maca Root
Maca is an self-cultivating annual plant that lives in the Peruvian Andes. It inhabits summits and high plateaus. It does well at altitudes up to fourteen thousand feet and in some of the harshest conditions imaginable. It is able to thrive in rocky soil, freezing weather and violent winds. It is a very hardy plant indeed.

The villagers of the Peruvian highlands have been consuming maca root for hundreds of years for it’s nutritional benefits. Maca was often given to Inca warriors before battle to increase their strength and stamina. After conquering the Inca, the Spaniards learned of the benefits of maca and began exporting it back to Spain.

1 comment:

  1. I have been taking maca root capsules now for 3 weeks and my cramps are horrible and I am putting on weight. How long does it usually take to see positive affects?

    ReplyDelete