Superfoods: Maca

So we are constantly bombarded by junk. Junk in our food, junk in our air, junk in our water, and junk on surfaces we touch. Into our digestive tracts, lungs, and lymphatic system all goes the yuck. The yuck or junk being chemicals, additives, infected bacteria, and other poisons. There is just no way for us to avoid it completely.

All we can do is our best. Inside our homes eating the cleanest foods we can by either buying local organic foods or growing them ourselves, using natural products on our bodies, natural cleaning products, and using water filtration and air filtration.

The fact of the matter is we are not, well most of us, are not hermits. From time to time we have to leave the comfort of our little bubbles. No matter how clean your oasis is at home, even there we suck up the yuck.

Knowing this would be the case, once again our real Superhero, the creator of Superfoods and everything else, Yeshua the Christ, He made a class of herbs called Adaptagenics. This cool set of herbs helps our bodies adjust more simply to the yuck...yay for Adaptagenic herbs!

So we are on to the next Superfood: Da da da daaaaa presenting Maca (pronounced MAH KA). You know if any superfood wore a cape it would be this one. Maca is actually a Peruvian root. It falls into that class of herbs for what it does in our bodies. I will talk more about other Adaptagenic herbs soon in another post.

Maca is marvelous! It does three main jobs: regulates hormones, gives energy, and drum roll married ladies, increases libido. So yes it can help us girls balance out and feel a little less crazy during that time of the month or regulate hormones if you are going through menopause. It works well with other herbs like chaste tree, black cohosh, and evening primrose. I can tell you I use it, and it really does work. I suggest it for customers at the natural supplement store I work ALL of the time.

You can purchase it at small and large health food stores. I encourage you to shop local and with small businesses if you can do so. Keep the small businesses in business. Sorry for my little detour and the plug there.

So anyway you'll find Maca in capsules, liquid tinctures, or in powder. Either way it is fine. I'm a green smoothie girl so powder it is for me! Herb Pharm is a great brand. They sell a powder and a tincture. I am the type of person who prefers powders and liquids anyway. The less pills in my mind the better. It's a preference.

Although sometimes I wonder about what capsules are made of and if swallowing so many of those is a problem. I prefer capsules to tablets though because in most cases I think they are more effective at breaking down and our bodies absorbing whatever it is we are taking. Oh and there was another detour, oh well.

One thing to be aware of with Maca is there's been quite a bit of testing done with it and it has been found that raw Maca is a little harder to digest for some people and can really hurt some people's stomachs. It is in the cruciferous vegetable family, so this may have a lot to do with it. Certain people just need those vegetables cooked. It can also cause some people to be unable to sleep. So if this happens to be you, and you've tried it, don't give up on Maca yet. Just be sure you choose one that has been slightly cooked. Read the label to see what it says or call the company to find out. The gentle brief cooking doesn't harm it's benefits to the body. In fact in Peru they consume the whole root cooked, so it's something to think about as far as how the culture that has used this root for centuries consumes it. Even though I love raw foods, we need to step away from the dogmatic ways of eating, and really consider what makes good sense in general and for our own bodies.

Use wisdom of course. One mans superfood could be another mans poison. Use it as directed in which ever form you purchase it. Be sure to adjust serving sizes as well. I may need a tbsp and you may only need a tsp. Listen to your body. If you don't have any adverse effects, then give it at least a month to work synergistically in your body with everything else.