This Peruvian superfood will boost your mood, libido, endurance and much more

There's a legend that goes something like this...

During the peak of the Incan empire, soldiers consumed a crop that's native to the mountainous regions of Peru known as maca to boost their strength. But after they finished conquering a city, the warriors were prohibited from using maca to protect their women from intense sexual desires.

Today, maca is one of the top superfoods in the world. Its most touted benefits include enhanced mood, heightened libido and improved endurance - and the legend just explained sure supports this. So what is this almighty maca and where can you find it?

Maca is a top superfood that’s brimming with vitamins, minerals, antioxidants, catechins and sterols

A member of the cruciferous family, which includes radishes and turnishes, maca is chock-full of essential minerals like magnesium, calcium, sulphur, phosphorus, iron, potassium and sodium. It’s also rich in trace minerals including selenium, zinc, iodine, copper, manganese, bismuth, silicon and bismuth.
 
Furthermore, maca is loaded with antioxidants, vitamins such as vitamin B1, B2, C and E, catechins that are found in green tea, and sterols that are found in Echinacea.
 
Due to maca’s incredible nutritional profile, it offers your health a plethora of benefits. As already mentioned, it helps boost your mood, libido and endurance. It can also enhance your physical vitality, mental acuity, neurotransmitter production and oxygen in your blood.

 
And the benefits don’t end there – maca is a very powerful adaptogen, meaning it has the ability to stabilise your nervous system, cardiovascular system, glandular-hormonal system and musculature. It supports your adrenals which is key to stress management, your thyroid which has a direct impact on your metabolism, and your endocrine system which is essential to healthy hormone levels.
 
Needless to say, because maca has potent hormone-balancing properties, it also increases fertility in both men and women, and is beneficial to counteract premenopausal and menopausal symptoms.
 

Maca can help with a number of health conditions, from anaemia to stomach cancer

According to health, eco, nutrition and natural beauty expert Dr David Wolfe, maca can help with the following health conditions:
 

• Anaemia;
• Depression;
• Malnutrition;
• Fatigue;
• Infertility and sterility;
• Stress tension;
• Low libido;
• Menstrual disorders;
• Poor memory;
• Tuberculosis; and
• Stomach cancer.

 
If you’re wondering if there are any health conditions that maca isn’t suitable for, the answer is yes. According to Dr Wolfe, you shouldn’t consume maca if you suffer from hormone-related cancers like breast, ovarian or prostate cancer.
 

You can add maca to juices, smoothies, nut milks and more!

Maca is readily available in the form of a dried, raw, organic powder. You can either purchase it online or at your local organic food store. When buying maca, you should keep in mind that you should only opt for organic, reputable brands of maca root and not other parts of the maca plant.
 
You can add maca powder to anything, from jucies to smoothies to nut milk. Just one tablespoon will do – but if you’d like to add two, feel free. 

PS: Try this recipe for chocolatey raw maca truffles!

Tags: maca, superfood, maca health benefits, mood, libido, endurance, chronic disease, ways to use maca, where to find maca, top superfoods, superfood news