Maca is a superfood native to the high Andes of Peru and Bolivia. It grows in a very harsh climate in the mountains above the grass line. To survive in such difficult conditions, plants like maca store and hoard many critical nutritients, giving it amazing properties.

When the Spaniards conquered the Andes, they found that their men, women and even their horses suffered from sterility and reproductive problems but the locals had no such issues since they were consuming Maca. And then the Spaniards started eating Maca and their problems just went away.

Maca belongs to the cruciferous family of vegetables and looks similar to radish root. Its Spanish and local Quechua names include maca-maca, maino, ayak chichira, and ayak willku.

Maca has been harvested and used by humans in the Andean Mountains for centuries. In Peru, maca is prepared and consumed in several ways, although traditionally it is always cooked. The freshly harvested root can be roasted in a pit. The root can also be mashed and boiled to produce a sweet, thick liquid, dried and mixed with milk to form porridge or with other vegetables or grains to produce flour for baking. If fermented, a weak beer called chicha de maca can be produced. The leaves can also be prepared raw in salads.

Maca has a unique nutritional profile, which provides optimum levels of nutrients utilized by the body’s endocrine system. Some of the reported benefits of consuming maca include increased energy, endurance, and stamina, improved sexual function and libido in both men and women, enhanced fertility, reduced anxiety and stress, and many more.

Fresh roots are usually available only in the vicinity of the growers. The maca root is usually available as a food supplement such as organic powder, capsule, tablet and liquid extract. A good way to have Maca is to add the powder to smoothies.

Source: www.wikipedia.org

Maca is a superfood native to the high Andes of Peru and Bolivia. It grows in a very harsh climate in the mountains above the grass line. To survive in such difficult conditions, plants like maca store and hoard many critical nutritients, giving it amazing properties. When the Spaniards conquered the Andes, they found that their men, women and even their horses suffered from sterility and reproductive problems but the locals had no such issues since they were consuming Maca. And then the Spaniards started eating Maca and their problems just went away. Maca belongs to the cruciferous family o..