Maca powder is another superfood that we use regularly at Orion Healing. It comes from the Maca root, a member of the cruciferous family, like broccoli, cauliflower, radish and kale. This plant grows in high altitude, in the Peruvian Andes in South America. Over there, Maca has been used for centuries to enhance fertility in animals and humans.
Maca for hormonal balance
Maca has now the reputation to be very powerful when it comes to enhancing the libido and fertility. If you know you have unbalanced levels of hormones (estrogen/progesterone/testosterone), Maca is for you. It can help you with menstrual symptoms, menopausal symptoms, depression, mood swings and more. Is it also known to improve several conditions such as anemia, stress, chronic fatigue, stomach cancer, tuberculosis, and more.
Maca powder contains 10% protein (incomplete protein; maca does not have all essential amino acids). It is rich in major minerals such as calcium, magnesium, phosphorus, potassium, sulfur, sodium and iron. It also contains trace-minerals that are as important for the body, like zinc, iodine, copper, selenium, manganese and silicon. Maca also provides vitamins B1 and 2, C and E.
Maca is a warming food. People living in cold climate would benefit from using it regularly. You can add one or two tablespoons of the powder in a smoothie or other beverage, in home-made raw chocolate or anything with cacao. Like any superfood, it is recommended to stop using maca once in a while, maybe a week every month. Taking a little break is good to ensure that the body won’t get use to it, enhancing the efficacy of the superfood.
Recipe for a hormonal balancing breakfast
Probably one of our guest’s favorite smoothie of all times is a simple chocolate shake with Maca. Blend 2 bananas with 1 1/2 TBs of raw cacao powder, 1 TBs of Maca Powder, 2 cups of cold spring water and 2 Brazil nuts. Brazil nuts are among the richest dietary sources of selenium, an essential mineral with antioxidant properties. A single Brazil nut contains 68 to 91 micrograms (mcg) of selenium, meaning that just one nut per day can provide the daily recommended adult allowance of 55 mcg
