Are There Benefits To Using Maca?
Grown in South America’s Peru regions, Maca (Lepidium meyenii) is an adaptogen and a member of the broccoli family. Maca is split into three different categories based on the hypocotyl color–red, yellow, black, and pink. The benefits derived from Maca usage have been long-valued and has lately been consumed as a supplement as well as a food ingredient.
Maca is well known as being a safe superfood that has been consumed for its medicinal values for many years by Andean people. Currently, it’s offered commercially in different forms such as powder, liquid, tablets, and capsules. Some of its common benefits include a positive effect on hormone balance, energy levels, and a health booster.
Maca Nutritional Facts
Maca offers a plethora of nutrients, including:
- Over 20 amino acids, comprising eight essential amino acids
- Vitamins
- Calcium
- Magnesium
- Potassium
- Copper
- Zinc
- Manganese
- Phosphorus
- Selenium
- Sulphur
- fatty acids
- Sodium
- Iron
Top Five Benefits
The following is a detailed list of some of the benefits you will derive from using Maca:
1. Sexual Function
Over the years, Maca has been considered as a potent aphrodisiac amongst the native Peruvian people. Lately, it is widely used to enhance sexual performance of both men and women. Typically, it boosts your libido levels, increases endurance, and your energy levels. Additionally, it has been proven to balance your hormones and increase your fertility by improving the quality and quantity of sperm.
2. Women’s Health
Maca relieves menstrual issues and menopause. Use of Maca has also demonstrated promising benefits to your health such as the reduction of menopausal and menstrual symptoms. Benefits include cramps, body pain, hot flashes, anxiety, mood swings, and depression.
The active ingredients in the root alleviate the severity and frequency of symptoms that happen because of hormonal changes in your body. The root helps to restore your body’s natural hormone levels. This can be better than using synthetic hormone replacements that are usually menopausal symptoms treatments. By restoring the health of both adrenal gland and thyroid glands, which regulate your feelings, you get to feel stress-free and eradicate mood swings.
3. Boosts Energy And Mood
After several days of using Maca, there might be an increase in stamina and energy levels. Medical trials have revealed that using it results in a positive impact on energy, stamina, and mood. Further, it has been proven to help achieve appropriate energy levels by maintaining lower anxiety and depression levels. The majority of athletes use Maca for improved performance. As such, by taking small amounts of it, it’s possible to boost your energy levels when exhaustion kicks in.
Maca also regulates the hypothalamus, facilitating proper functioning of the pituitary gland, which is one of the main elements in improving your levels of focus and energy. Once your levels of focus, energy, and mood are improved, this results in better concentration hence improving your memory.
4. Improves Your General Health
There are several ways that Maca improves your overall health, by supplying iron and restoring your red blood cells that help in curbing cardiovascular and anemia diseases. It also helps in keeping your bones and teeth healthy, as well as facilitating faster healing of wounds. Moreover, if used together with exercising, you will realize a significant increase in muscle mass.
With the ability to increases your body’s glutathione levels, this not only enhances your immune system but also helps to balance cholesterol levels in your body. Additionally, it helps to regulate the levels of glucose in your blood, which is of paramount importance in fighting chronic diseases such as diabetes.
5. Skin Care
Regular use has been found to improve your skin tone. It helps with skin issues such as acne and blemishes. With hormonal balancing capabilities, Maca promotes smooth skin and improves collagen production. It also decreases your skin’s sensitivity, helping your skin withstand extreme weather conditions.
Numerous studies have disclosed the many benefits that come from using Maca starting from nutrition benefits to the great positive effects it has on health conditions. However, more research needs to be done to reveal all the other unknown benefits that it delivers.