03 Jun What is Maca?
MACA ROOT (Lipidium Peruvianum)
Maca drying in the high altitude of Peru.
What is maca? This powerhouse root (like a potato) from Peru is one of my favorites. It is a natural “wake-up” for your body, among many other benefits. Maca is actually an ancient Peruvian superfood that has been eaten by indigenous Andean cultures as both food (nourishment) and for its medicinal qualities (healing) for thousands of years. I have met this plant friend several times over the last 10 years in its preferred place of growth at more than 12,000 feet in the Andes and have used it ever since. This superfood predominately is grown and originated throughout the Andes, ranging from Colombia to Argentina-Chile. Maca was domesticated about 2000 years ago by the Inca Indians into a vegetable crop[1] in Peru. It was so important, it was actually use to pay taxes, but maca actually almost went extinct in the 1970s and 1980s. Today it is found in commercial scale in Peru and Bolivia, though it is grown as food in other Andean nations. I frequently have a heaping tablespoon of maca chucked in my morning smoothie!
OTHER NAMES
Ayak Chichira, Ayuk Willku, Ginseng Andin, Ginseng Péruvien, Lepidium meyenii, Lepidium peruvianum, Maca Maca, Maca Péruvien, Maino, Maka, Peruvian Ginseng, Peruvian Maca.
MACA BENEFITS
- It is an energy regulator.
- It supports and provides physical and athletic stress relief (assisting in adrenal gland function and adaptogen for hormone balancing).
- It is nutrient packed (boasting a unique nutritional profile because it grows where nothing else does).
Maca as a food is comparable in macronutrient profile to whole rice or wheat, while being extremely rich in minerals such as calcium, potassium, iron, zinc, iodine, magnesium, manganese, B vitamins and essential lipids. This is crucial, as in the environment where it grows, very few crops can be cultivated, and so it’s a true powerhouse of nutrients in a region of the world that lacks variety.
Acid (1R, 3S) was found in an Italian study to exert many activities in the central nervous system. P-methoxybenzyl isothiocyanate is reported to be among the active constituents that verify Maca’s claims as an aphrodisiac. Heightened sexual desire and semen quality has also been analyzed in clinical trials successfully. Isothiocyanates are found in all the cruciferous family, and maca is no exception as it contains a significant amount of them, these compounds are well known to combat abnormal cells in the human body, which can potentially transform to cancerous cells.
Other maca benefits currently being researched are alleviating anxiety, mood and energy enhancement, PMS symptom attenuation, adaptogenic effects, an increase glutathione, glutathione peroxidase and SOD significantly when consumed consistently, and bone mineralization.
TRADITIONAL USES
WHERE TO HUNT IT DOWN
Purchase this superfood from any of the quality-assured companies that have my stamp of approval in the Supershop. You can even find it on Amazon today! You can also get your daily dose of superfoods in a special creation I developed for Beachbody called Shakeology, a superfood formula that includes more than 50 superfoods, which has transformed the lives of hundreds of thousands of people.
Sources:
1. http://peruvian-maca.com/pages/maca-history.html
Kate Clatk
Posted at 15:03h, 09 SeptemberThis is great info! When will the Supershop be opened? The link says it does not exist yet. Thank you!