Maca

[domestic goddess]

So...can anyone give me the WHOLE low-down on Maca? I have googled, searched and, well, I am still confused. I have some and would like to start taking it for energy and hormone balancing (thyroid) and it supposedly has vitamins/aminos as well...so what's the deal? Is it ONLY a sexual enhancing and/or female hormone balancer? If so, I'm out some dollars...:confused:

Also, is it safe for kids? Not that mine need more energy but if I use it in something I make and they want some...

[lanettasmouse]

Maca is a great way of remineralizing your body. Maca is full of vitamins and minerals in the right combination and proportion that the body needs, so that the body can actually use them.

Maca (Organic, Raw) 1 lb bag

Ingredients: Our whole raw organic maca powder contains all of the plant spirit, minerals and fiber. It is the way ancient cultures consumed their maca. Raw organic maca is the ancient super food of South America.

Suggested uses:
Use Raw, Organic Maca regularly in smoothies and other recipes.

Nutritional Benefits:
Maca is a vegetable root or tuber that grows ONLY in the high Andean plateaus of Peru at altitudes as high as 14,500 ft above sea level; where the local inhabitants who consume Maca as part of their daily diet are known to be very fertile and have tremendous amounts of energy. Rich in nutritional content (potassium, and higher levels of calcium than in milk), maca is a natural hormonal balancer which provides great health benefits for both, men and women.

Maca has amazing properties and is becoming more well known of for its effectiveness in health c hallenges, including osteoporosis, male impotence, menopause, menstrual difficulties, chronic fatigue, and depression. Maca is an adaptogen, and therefore adapts to your body's metabolism. It works syergystically with your body to repair what needs to be repaired so that an optimal and ideal level of health and energy is maintained at all times.

Benefits for women
Maca enhances overall energy. It is a non-toxic energetic supplement with no downside effects offering women the chance for a natural hormonal rejuvenation. Maca encourages human glands to produce estrogen, progesterone and testosterone hormones. It eliminates hot flashes and other menopausal symptoms in women and restores testosterone levels in women for a natural increase in strength and sexual drive.

Benefits for men
Maca is a non-toxic energetic supplement with no downside effects offering enhancmen to overall energy. Maca induces testosterone production in men to increase libido and boost their sexual drive.





that is directly from alissa's here. i just started using it and don't feel any effects yet, but from what i've gathered it takes some time for it "build up" in your system (if that makes any sense). so it's good for both men and women, but i don't know about children. i am only using 1 teaspoon a day mixed in with my green smoothies to mask the flavor. to me, the taste is pretty strong and kinda weird. i guess it would depend upon how much you use in a recipe and decide from there if you want to give it to your children. my suggestion is to start out with a small amount and see if you like it or have any results with it. that's what i'm doing anyways and i have thyroid issues too (hypo). well i hope this helps you some. best of luck

[Rawkinlocs]

From what I've read up on maca...it's safe to give to children and says that children with attention/concentration issues, it helps with that.

[domestic goddess]

lanettasmouse and Rawkinocs THANK YOU!!!! Just the info I needed! And duh, I didn't even think to look in the store here...

My son has attention 'issues' so this might be just the thing for him! Great!!! :D

[Ingenue]

Wonderful awesome posts, reminded me of why I love the stuff so much. ALTHOUGH, I will say that for some Maca can be a tummy irritant if it's introduced to the diet too sudddenly. By suddenly, I mean tablespoons at a time, etc. You may have to build up gradually to the levels of Maca other Raw Foodists consume.

I learned this the hard way, lol! I had been reading one of Shazzie's first posts after she discovered Maca and how she was eating it by the handful, plain! I will never forgive her for that, because I actually did take a spoonful of straight maca powder and try and eat it. URRRRRGHGHGHGHG. Nasty.

After that I blended it smoothies two or three tablespoons at a time and had persistant and really unsettling stomach pains. The days I went w/o Maca, no stomach pains. I almost gave up on the whole deal until I read a wonderful post about slowly introducing superfoods into your diet. I started a teaspoon at a time, and now I have a serious maca habit. It's changed everything around, maca really is wonderful, but go slow. Be gentle!

Much love for a great question,
Em

[lore-ah]

I've been having one to two tablespoons a day, one tablespoon at a time. Is there some optimal levels of maca? That was enough to help with my cysts like I posed in my miracle of the ovaries thread, but what about other benefits?

[domestic goddess]

Would headaches be a side effect of too much Maca? I have had one since yesterday...started shortly after I had my smoothie with 1tsp of Maca and I still have it 18hrs later. I'm about ready to take something for it because it is sooooo bad!