I know we’ve all seen maca circulating in the blog world lately and I wanted to delve a little deeper into the research behind it and check it out for myself.
According to the Natural Medicines Comprehensive Database maca is a plant that grows in central Peru in the high plateaus of the Andes mountains. It has been cultivated as a vegetable crop in Peru for at least 3000 years. Maca is a relative of the radish and its root is used to make medicine. 
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Maca is used for anemia, chronic fatigue syndrome (CFS), and enhancing energy, stamina, athletic performance, and memory. It is also used for female hormone imbalance and menstrual irregularities, enhancing fertility, menopause symptoms, osteoporosis, depression, stomach cancer, leukemia, HIV/AIDS, tuberculosis, impotence, as an aphrodisiac, and as an immunostimulant. Wow, that is quite the list, eh?
In foods, maca is eaten baked or roasted, prepared as a soup, and used for making a fermented drink called maca chicha. Navitas Naturals has several available forms of maca and a video highlighting maca’s cultivation and production.
The active part of maca is the root. Dried maca root contains 59% carbohydrates, 10.2% protein, 8.5% fiber, and 2.2% lipids including linolenic, palmitic, and oleic acids. It contains sterols and significant amounts of minerals including iron, calcium, and copper. Two polyunsaturated fatty acids, macaene and macamide, are used as marker compounds for maca. Lipid extracts of macaene and macamide seem to increase sexual activity and correct erectile dysfunction in animals, but the mechanism is unknown. Maca does not appear to significantly affect serum concentrations of reproductive hormones including testosterone, estradiol, and 17-hydroxyprogesterone in healthy men. Maca also contains glucosinolates, which might have cancer-protecting properties and central nervous system effects.
Many herbal supplements are questionable because there isn’t enough scientific research and I’m really hesitant about most of them. Let’s look at the limited research on maca . . .
- Maca is likely safe when consumed in food amounts (Ganzera M, et al., 2002).
- Maca is possibly safe when used orally and appropriately, short term. Maca appears to be safe in doses up to 3 grams daily for 12 weeks (Gonzales GF, et al., 2003).
- Pregnancy and Lactation: there is insufficient reliable information available about the safety of maca in medicinal amounts during pregnancy and lactation; avoid using.
- Possibly effective in increasing sexual desire. Taking maca orally 1.5 to 3 grams per day seems to increase subjective feelings of sexual desire in healthy men (Gonzales GF, et al., 2002). There is insufficient reliable information available about the effectiveness of maca for its other uses.
- There were no adverse effects or interactions reported with maca.
Well that doesn’t really tell us a whole lot!
How much dosing was used in the research? Many times dosing used in research can be considerably different than what is recommended on labels. I’ve seen most labels recommended serving to be about 1 teaspoon (5g) per day to see results. In one study they found, to enhance sexual desire in men, 1,500 to 3,000 mg daily in 3 divided doses has been used, with the 1500 mg dose appearing to be as effective as the 3000 mg dose. That means subjects took 1/3 – 2/3 of a teaspoon 3 times per day. I also read some sites saying to start slow with maca because some side effects can occur and to also not to take it consecutively for too long, but am not sure if this is true.
I did see one study that found an increase in cycling time trial performance and sexual desire in trained cyclists, but didn’t get the chance to completely read through the full study. I will continue to research more studies and see what I find.
A fellow colleague at work is from Peru and explained that maca isn’t really eaten all that much as a food per se and isn’t really all that popular. She did explain that maca may be used when seeing a ‘medicine man’ figure to increase one’s sexual desire for a partner. She didn’t mention its use for increasing energy. hmmm . . . ???
I’m very curious about this maca and am going to give it a shot myself. I’m going to start with 1/4 – 1/2 tsp per day. Let’s see if I really have more energy and sex drive (lol) or just wasted 20 bucks on powdered stuff that smells like vanilla malt! I actually like the smell and taste of it though.
So I decided to start with a refreshing smoothie in a bowl . . .
Of course I couldn’t really taste with maca in particular with all the other flavors going on in the smoothie, but I did taste it plain on my finger and it did kind of taste like malt. I’ve heard some don’t enjoy the taste of it, but I didn’t find it tasted too weird or anything.
I’m going to have to experiment with it in other things, aside from smoothies and a topping for breakfast creations.
I haven’t noticed any amazing energy results so far, but have only had it on several occasions this week. Another colleague and friend of mine also decided to give it a shot and hasn’t noticed any miraculous effects either.
Have you tried Maca before? Any other research on it?
