So what is Maca?

The maca root Lepidium Peruvianum Chacon is a hardy cruciferous vegetable that looks something like a turnip, either cream coloured or purple when harvested.  It is cultivated on the Junin Plateau, an inhospitable region of the Andean Mountains in Peru at altitudes of approximately 4,100 meters above sea level.  It grows at elevations higher than any other crop in the world and it manages this existence in regions that are little more than barren rock with sub-freezing temperatures each night.  It has been domesticated since before the time of the Incas.  The part of the plant used for consumption is the root. Native people of the highlands of Peru of all ages from three year olds to the elderly have consumed maca for several thousands of years as a food.  Maca contains a high and varied amount of amino acids, plant sterols and minerals including calcium, phosphorus, zinc, magnesium, iodine and iron.  It also contains complex carbohydrates and vitamins B1, B2, B3, B6, C and E, alkaloids, flavonoids and other components. View complete nutritional information.

How can Wondrous Herbs maca benefit me?

Traditionally Maca has been recommended to:

• Increase energy, stamina, and endurance (currently used by athletes to increase performance)
• Promote healthy fertility in both males and females
• Provide relief for or eliminate menopausal symptoms, such as hot flashes, vaginal dryness, mood swings, lack of restful sleep and hormone-related depression, as an alternative to HRT
• Support a healthy immune system (safe for people with auto-immune conditions)
• Promote healthy libido, increase energy
• Provide nutritional support for the endocrine system, including the adrenals, the thyroid, the ovaries, and the testes
• Relieve or eliminate symptoms of PMS
• Regulate and normalize menstrual cycles
• Revitalize seniors, mentally and physically
• Promote mental clarity, reduce fatigue
• Promote a general feeling of well-being

Hugo Malaspina, MD, Works with Maca

Now practicing complementary medicine with an emphasis on the use of medicinal herbs, one of the earliest modern pioneers in the therapeutic use of this ancient herb for an urban population is Hugo Malaspina, MD, a respected cardiologist in Lima.  Dr. Malaspina has been using the maca root in his practice for a decade and makes the following observation: "There are different medicinal plants that work on the ovaries by stimulating them.  With maca, though, we should say that it regulates the ovarian function." Dr. Malaspina, who uses maca therapy for both his male and female patients, recalls that he first heard about this extraordinary herb through a group of elderly gentlemen who while well along in years were still lively and interested in enjoying sexual activities.  'One of this group (they were all over 70) started taking maca and found he was able to perform satisfactorily in a sexual relationship with a lady friend.  Soon everyone in the group began drinking the powered maca as beverage and enjoying the boost that the root was giving their hormonal functions.  I have several of these men as patients, and their stamina improvement prompted me to find out more about maca and begin recommending it to my other patients," Dr. Malaspina stated.  What makes maca so effective, according to Dr. Malaspina, is that rather than introducing hormones from outside the body (HRT), maca encourages the ovaries and other glands to produce the needed hormones ' The cardiologist-turned-holistic physician said, 'Maca regulates the organs of internal secretion, such as the pituitary, the adrenal glands, the pancreas, etc. I have had perhaps 200 female patients who have obtained relief for perimenopausal and postmenopausal symptoms such as hot flashes & fatigue by taking maca."  

Excerpt from The Townsend Letter Journal of Alternative Medicine. Read here what other doctors are saying.

At an international conference in 1991, the Food and Agricultural Organization (FAO) of the United Nations recommended that Peruvians should return to eating traditional, native Andean foods. Maca was included in the FAO list as a means of combating nutritional problems caused by people switching to processed foods and high-sugar drinks