MACA

The hidden secret of the Chachapoyas Warriors. It is the most powerful natural energy booster ever discovered.

Nutritional properties:

Amino acids
Carbohydrates
Minerals (calcium, phosphorus, zinc, magnesium and iron)
Vitamin B1, B2 and B12
Vitamin C
Vitamin E
Steroid Glycosides
Benefits of Maca - the native Peruvians use Maca in the following ways:

To increase stamina, energy and endurance
To promote mental clarity
To increase libido for both men and women
To treat impotence, menstrual irregularities and hormonal imbalance
To overcome fatigue
Today, many athletes find that Maca is an excellent alternative to anabolic steroids

Maca, Lepidium meyenii, is an annual plant which produces a radish-like root. The root of maca is typically dried and stored, and will easily keep for seven years. The plant is cultivated in the Junin plateau of Peru's Central Highlands, and was highly revered by the Inca.

The South American country of Peru hosts a great variety of beneficial plants, including MACA, a legendary sex-enhancing root passed down from the Inca. I'd heard about maca for years. It has been dubbed "Peruvian ginseng," even though it bears no relation to ginseng. But like ginseng, the plant is employed to increase strength, energy, stamina, libido and sexual function, a winning combination of health benefits if there ever was one.

To investigate maca's health benefits and understand the role that maca plays in Peruvian culture, my wife and I headed down to Peru to explore the Maca trail. In the process we met with maca traders, growers and scientists, and came back tremendously impressed by this plant, which is now available as a supplement in U.S. health food stores.
What is Maca?

During the height of the Incan empire, legend has it that Chachapoyas Warriors in the Kuelap Kindom would consume maca before entering into battle. This would make them fiercely strong.

In the Inka´s empire the use of Maca where prohibit, to protect the conquered women from their powerful sexual impulses. Thus as far back as 500 years ago, maca's reputation for enhancing strength, libido and fertility was already well established in Peru.

Today, maca's popularity have been increase, as people discover that the plant really does boost libido, sexual function and overall energy. Acreage in Peru dedicated to Maca cultivation is increasing every year to meet demand, and a number of scientists have turned their attention to the properties of the root. In Peru, maca is used by men and by women who want to put more fire into their sex lives. And in the U.S., Europe and Japan, dietary supplements containing maca are gaining ardent devotees.

Maca Nutrition, What natural ingredients in maca promote its reputed sex-enhancing effects? In-depth analysis of maca conducted in 1998 by Dr. Qun Yi Zheng and his colleagues at PureWorld Botanicals shows that maca contains about 10 percent protein, almost 60 percent carbohydrate, and an assortment of fatty acids. These ingredients are common and nothing special. But the investigators also discovered two groups of novel compounds, the macamides and the macaenes. These agents are believed to be directly responsible for maca's sex-boosting powers.

To test this idea, researchers conducted a series of controlled animal experiments, the results of which were published in the April 2000 issue of the medical journal Urology. Rodents fed MacaPure extract, which contains a concentration of macamides and macaenes, demonstrated greatly increased energy and stamina. The animals also exhibited a striking increase in sexual activity as compared with non-maca-fed animals, or those fed lesser amounts of macamides and macaenes. So how does this translate to humans? Individuals who consume maca also get sexual results. Men and women with low libido feel a boost in sexual desire, and men with erectile problems notice marked improvement in sexual function

Maca: Peru's Natural Viagra (cont.)Maca Use in Peru, maca is a food. At the Third Annual Maca Festival in Churin, Peru, we sampled numerous products made with the sex-enhancing root. Peruvians make cookies, cakes, hot porridge, chips and blender drinks with maca root, which has a pleasant flavor similar to graham flour. At several booths, women were making maca blender drinks.

Maca roots soaked in jars of water, and the tables were laden with all the ingredients for a drink. The typical shake includes a couple of soaked maca roots and a little bit of the soak water, a handful of fresh papaya (trucked up from the warm lowlands), some condensed milk, an egg, honey and vanilla, all put together with vigor and smiles. I asked a number of people why they used maca, but one woman stands out in my mind. She smiled at my question and replied, "Well, for the sex, of course." Doctors Comment on MacaUsers aren't the only ones making comments about maca.

The root and its extracts are used in medical practice in Peru. In the November 1988 Townsend Letter for Doctors, physicians were quoted regarding the therapeutic and salutary uses of maca. Doctor Hugo Malaspina, M.D., a cardiologist practicing complementary medicine In Lima, Peru, has been using maca in his practice for 10 years.

Doctor Malaspina first found out about maca through a group of sexually active older men who were taking the herb with good results. "One of this group 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 powdered maca as a beverage and enjoying the boost that the root was giving their hormonal functions. I have several of these men as patients, and their improvement prompted me to find out more about maca and begin recommending it to my other patients." Another Peruvian physician, Doctor Aguila Calderon, M.D., is the former dean of the Faculty of Human Medicine at the National University of Federico Villarreal in Lima. Doctor Calderon uses maca for male impotence, erectile dysfunction, menopausal symptoms and general fatigue, and claims good results. Arizona physician Gary F. Gordon, M.D., former president of the American College for Advancement in Medicine, is also a maca supporter. "We all hear rumors about various products like maca. But using this Peruvian root myself, I personally experienced a significant improvement in erectile tissue response. I call it nature's answer to Viagra. What I see in maca is a means of normalizing our steroid hormones like testosterone, progesterone and estrogen. Therefore it has the facility to forestall the hormonal changes of aging. It acts on men to restore them to a healthy functional status in which they experience a more active libido." How Much Maca Should People Take?Keep in mind that maca is a food, and is not used in tiny quantities. Most supplement companies that are selling maca are putting about 500 milligrams of ground, dried maca in each capsule. Some recommend three capsules daily, some six. Not hot on sex? Read our hot sex article. CONTENTS How to Boost Your Libido Amazon Sex Boosters Horny Goat Weed Peru's Natural Viagra

Maca: Peru's Natural Viagra (cont.)

I believe that many people think of herbs like drugs, and assume that small amounts will do some good. In most cases, that's not true. As a rule, consumers take too little of most herbs to derive the benefits those herbs can impart. Rare is the herb that works in small doses. And many herbal product labels offer dosage recommendations based not on efficacy, but on price.
To be consistent with Peruvian use you'd take a minimum of six to ten 500-milligram capsules of powdered maca daily, equal to 3,000 to 5,000 milligrams of maca. You can certainly take more. You can also obtain powdered maca root under some brands. With those products, you can toss a tablespoon full into a blender drink every day and enjoy maca the way the Peruvians do.
MacaPure, which is a standardized, concentrated extract of maca, is a different story. Companies selling MacaPure are recommending one 450-milligram capsule of MacaPure extract twice daily, equal to 900 milligrams of Maca Pure extract. I personally think that four to five capsules (between 1,800 and 2,250 milligrams) daily is the right range. The more maca or maca extract you consume, he more

FITNESS

Maca Is a Miracle Food

By The Amazon Writers' Group
Herbal Researchers
Many athletes find that Maca is an excellent alternative to anabolic steroids.

Christianity.com - Maca Is An Amazing Root Vegetable
Although Maca is related to the potato family, it is like no potato in the world. Maca grows in the mountains of Peru at altitudes of 9 to 11 thousand feet. Native Peruvians have used Maca as a food, and a medicine, since before the times of the Incas.

Discover an outstanding formulation containing Maca grown on virgin soil in the Amazon rainforest.

For more information on herbs used in combination with Maca, read the following article:

Energize Your Workouts

Health

* Research Documentation

Statement: Suma provides important hormonal precursors beta-sitosterol and beta-ecdysone. Suma, known as Brazilian ginseng, is classified as an adaptogen for facilitating hormonal balance and helping the body adjust to stress.

1 "Anti-Inflammatory Activity of Pfaffia Paniculata (Martius) Kuntze and Pfaffia stenophylla (Sprengel) Stuchl" by G. Mazzanti et al. Pharmacological Research, Vol. 27, Supplement 1, 1993. “The chemical constituents so far isolated from P. paniculata are stigmasterol, sitosterol and their glycosides, allantoin, pfaffic acid (nortriterpene) and its saponins named pfaffosides.”

2 "Pfaffosides and Nortriterpenoid Saponins from Pfaffia paniculata" by M. Nishimoto et al. Phytochemistry, Vol. 23, No. 1, p. 139-42, 1984. “We have investigated the constituents of this plant and isolated, besides the new nortriterpene pfaffic acid, three new pfaffic acid saponins named pfaffosides A, B and C and established their structures as 1-4 respectively. Furthermore, a mixture of stigmasterol and sitosterol, their glycosides and also allantoin were identified.

3 (On the Similarity of Steroidal Compounds from Plants and Hormones.) Herbal Tonic Therapies by Daniel Mowrey, Keats Publishing, 1993, p. 289. “Stigmasterol comes about as close as any other plant sterol to being useful in steroid synthesis but yields what is better called a semi-synthesis. It must be emphasized that there is not an equivalency between plant steroids and human steroids. It takes many synthetic steps to get from one to the other. If the two have steroidal effects on the body, it is because the steroidal precursors have similar effects. The body does not recognize them or mistake them for its own hormone, but uses them in a similar manner.”

4 (On the Subject of Adaptogens.) Herbal Tonic Therapies by Daniel Mowrey, PhD. Keats Publishing, 1993, p. 47. “When it comes to the effects of ginseng on the immune system, it has become customary to write and talk in terms of the Russian-born adaptogen hypothesis which was developed to describe the properties of Siberian ginseng. Though basically a circular concept, it does serve the purpose of organizing many apparently contradictory findings on all species of ginseng. For instance, panax ginseng exerts both hypotensive and hypertensive actions. Similar effects are seen with blood sugar. Other characteristics of ginseng are exhibited in unhealthy organisms but are absent in normal healthy organisms. These findings are not really contradictory, but rather suggest that the guiding principle behind the action of ginseng is to act as a tonic, to ‘restore’ normality and increase the nonspecific resistance of organisms to disease or any other ‘change’ away from ‘normal’ health. Thereby ginseng increases a person’s ability to ‘adapt’ to the changes in the environment. Although the Russians coined the term ‘adaptogen’, the term has come to refer to any herb or other agent that increases the ability to adapt. The term is now used to refer to dozens of plants, many of which act in a manner that only vaguely resembles ginseng.”

Statement: Studies done by the Peruvian Government showed animals with Maca in their diet maintained better health and vitality and had more offspring than animals not eating Maca.

1 "Physiological Studies and Determination of Chromosome Number in Maca, Lepidium meyenii" by Carlos Quiros, A. Epperson, J. Hu and M. Holle. Econ Bot 50 (2) 216-223, 1996. “Dry maca hypocotyls have the following composition: 59% carbohydrates, 10.2% proteins, 8.5% fiber and 2.2% lipids. Maca has a large amount of essential amino acids and higher levels of iron and calcium than a white potato. In addition, it contains important amounts of fatty acids, of which linolenic, palmitic and oleic acids are the most prominent. Maca is also rich in sterols and has high mineral content, in particular, iron, calcium and copper. Alkaloids are also present, but these have yet to be quantified.”

Statement: It (Maca) is traditionally used to increase energy, mental clarity, support sexual functions and muscle tone.

1 "Physiological studies and Determination of Chromosome Number in Maca, Lepidium meyenii" by Carlos Quiros, A. Epperson, J. Hu, and M. Holle. Econ Bot 50 (2) 216-223, 1996. “According to folk belief, maca enhances female fertility in humans and domestic animals which tends to be reduced at higher altitudes. Chemical analysis by Johns (1981) suggests that this property may be due to the presence of biological active aromatic isothiocyanates, and specifically due to p-methoxybenzyl isothiocyanate, which is also found in Tropasolum tuberosum, another species reputed to increase fertility in humans. Today, dried maca roots are ground to powder and sold in drug stores in capsules as a medicine and food supplement to increase stamina and fertility. Because of these properties, it is also known by the name of Peruvian ginseng.”

Statement: Muira Puama – is a Brazilian shrub that has historically been used as a tonic for the nervous system and to nutritionally support organs involved in healthy sexual function.

1 French Institute of Sexology, 1996, Original research, Jacques Wayneberg. Male Sexual Asthenia – Interest in a Traditional Plant-Derived Medication: “Testor-plus.” Dr. Wayneberg’s research tested the effects of Muirapuama in 100 men, 82% with impotence and 18% with loss of libido. Subjects were given 1-1.5 gm of the herb in powdered form per day. “Frequency of intercourse was significantly increased for 62%. Thirty-two percent indicated a strengthening of their libido. 12% noted morning erections that were improved. 52% noticed re-established stability of erections during intercourse.

2 Notas Sobre Plantas Brasileiras by M. Penna, A. Penna, Rio de Janeiro, 1930. Muira Puama is recommended on a basis of confirmed experience, in the treatment or disorders of the nervous system.

WARNING

Are you considering Viagra? You might want to think again. According to the FDA, Viagra has been responsible for the deaths of 123 men. And on top of that, a single pill can cost up to $10. I don't know about you, but to me this is absurd. You should not have to completely empty your wallet and sacrifice your safety and health to better enjoy one of life's most gratifying pleasures.