have a question about maca powder and pregnancy ....

[devil's angel]

hello , 26 wks pregnant and i just made a drink that calls for maca powder . i tried it once before and it made me gag and almost hurl just from the smell . i thought it was just the nausiousness of me being pregnant , but dont know . does anyone have any info on whether its safe to take while pregnant ? also my daughter who is three normally shares most of the meals i make ... is it safe for young children ? thanks for anything u know .

[Arky]

Although I don't specifically know maca to be contraindicated during pregnancy, I think I'd err on the side of caution and avoid it until you've given birth.

I say this because maca contains certain alkaloids which have a 'balancing' effect upon the endocrine system - which means that hormone levels are affected. Mostly, this is a positive thing, but since hormone levels are so critical to a successful pregnancy, I'd be reluctant to consume anything which might alter my hormone levels from how they already are during pregnancy. It's surely not worth the risk of something going awry, hormonally.

That's just my reasoning, not an absolute statement, and if others know maca to be safe during pregnancy then I'm more than happy to step aside and learn from them.

Take care, and good luck with your pregnancy, I hope all goes smoothly and you have a beautiful baby girl/boy, in due course!

[Arky]

I just did a quick Google:

http://www.macatalk.com/faqs/womens.html#birth

http://www.rawfoodtalk.com/showthrea...-and-pregnancy


Nothing very conclusive, so I'd simply suggest you play it safe rather than risk being sorry.

[Arky]

Oh, by the way, on the taste side of things, I've never understood why some people dislike the smell/taste of maca, but something to try (once your pregnancy is over!) is mixing some maca with flax oil. It creates a kind of caramel-tasting syrup which I find very pleasant. I'll also add that I no longer use ordinary maca, since I find gelatinized maca is less problematic for my low-level gastrointestinal yeast/fungal issues. Both kinds seem to feed yeast/fungus in the GI tract, to some degree, but the gelatinized less-so.

Beingk8 also mentioned favouring the gelatinized version, in another post a couple of months ago, here on RFT:

http://www.rawfoodtalk.com/showthrea...ht=#post668388

[devil's angel]

thank u all for the replies . will definetly look at those sites and im glad i only took it this once . i figured as much but didnt want to waste what i made today . oh well its suppose to last pretty long in the freezer anyways ! thanks once again .

[iwuvmydoggy]

maca is a root vegetable that's grown in south america.. it can be dried & lasts up to 10 years.. the powder is just ground up dried root vegetable.. if you're scared of eating something like a turnip, carrot or potato, then stay away from it... lol cause it's just a small turnip-like root vegetable. people down south use it in soups & stuff.. *shrug*

[Living Food]

I'll also add that I no longer use ordinary maca, since I find gelatinized maca is less problematic for my low-level gastrointestinal yeast/fungal issues. Both kinds seem to feed yeast/fungus in the GI tract, to some degree, but the gelatinized less-so.

Gelatinized maca is not raw, it is partially cooked. Some people say that maca shouldn't be taken raw, others think that it is far more beneficial raw (and of course, we're raw fooders here ). I'm just putting that out there for other people to know.