Taking maca helps women smooth out the hormonal roller coaster ride of the years of perimenopause and menopause.
It can support you through the physical life cycle adjustment at this time, without the wild up and down changes of oestrogen and other hormones, reducing hot flashes, sleep disruption, mood swings and night sweats.
Several scientific studies have observed this improvement in perimenopausal women. Maca also increases markers of bone density. Osteoporosis is a natural worry for women as they get older.
Maca Improves Your Overall Health
Maca is a root vegetable that grows in the Andes Mountains of Peru. Like ginseng, it’s an adaptogen. That means it strengthens and normalizes your body overall rather than supporting one particular organ or system. It makes everybody better able to respond to stress. That’s the key to its effectiveness for older women, balancing your hormonal health. Only a few other plants support human health in that way. It can be considered a super food that benefits everybody who eats it.
Maca Guides Your Body to Put Your Hormone Levels in Equilibrium
It does not contain any hormones itself, but its biochemical nutrients, glucosinolates, can influence your body’s manufacture of both oestradiol and progesterone. This in turn will impact follicle stimulating hormone.  Maca helps to keep ovaries functioning enough to produce the oestrogen older women need. If a woman has had a hysterectomy or oophorectomy, it supports oestrogen production by the adrenal glands. Your body continues to need both oestrogen and progesterone, in equilibrium.
Maca is a Super Food for Everybody
The local indigenous people in the Andes have eaten maca for thousands of years as a dietary staple. They also feed it to their livestock. By helping everybody deal with the health risks of stress, it relieves fatigue, depression, anxiety and sleep problems. Therefore, it supports women as they deal with the emotional effects of going through menopause. Its nutrition regulates energy levels of metabolism. Maca can also improve libido and reduce sexual dysfunction.
Maca consists of 18% protein, 76.5% carbohydrates 5% fat and 8.5% fiber. It has over 20 amino acids, including all 8 of the essential proteins, 20 essential fatty acids, calcium, Vitamin B-1, Vitamin B-2, Vitamin C, Vitamin E, zinc, iodine, magnesium, manganese, copper and phosporous.
How to Take Maca
Many people describe the taste of maca as pleasant, sort of nutty. Others say you have to get used to it. You can easily add the powder to smoothies or even to soup or sauces. Some people take it in a gelatinized form. Remember, it is a food. It’s been safely consumed for thousands of years. Try taking 2 to 4 teaspoons a day, depending on your weight. If you’re over 165 pounds, consider taking more.
Don’t expect immediate results. Most women see an improvement within 2-3 weeks of taking maca, but it can take as long as 6 weeks. Maca is not a drug with extreme, noticeable effects. It works on your body to gradually improve your health and regulate your hormone levels. Just keep taking it every day. Consistency counts.
Maca has a host of other health benefits, and so it’s often recommended to both men and women for low libido, poor mood, fertility, PMS and to enhance athletic performance.
If perimenopause or menopause symptoms are troubling you, you may need more maca than someone who uses it for general good health. However, unless you grew up eating the root in Peru, be cautious at first. Some people report experiencing too much additional energy at first.
Gelatinized maca is stronger than the powdered root.
At Doctor Allie’s Vitality Clinics our mission is to help older women stay in control of their lives and their health. If you’re going through perimenopause or menopause, maca may help you improve your physical and emotional health. Contact us today with all your questions.