Macca powder, also known as maca powder, is derived from the maca root, a cruciferous vegetable that only grows native to and very high up in the Peruvian Andes mountain range. The macca root has been a staple food source for the indigenous mountain people of Peru for 1000′s of years and revered for its health promoting properties, especially in raising energy levels and improving libido.
Today, macca powder is available at most health food stores and some scientists, nutritionists and other health specialists consider maca to be a genuine adaptogen. Adaptogens are herbs or food sources that need to fulfill basic criteria -
1) They need to be non-toxic to the body – even in reasonably large doses
2) They provide an overall sense of well being without specifically targeting any part of the body
3) They must provide balance/homeostasis to the body, therefore combating stress and helping the body to ‘adapt’ to changes and different environments.
An Endocrine Adaptogen
It appears through evidence provided by studies and the evidence compiled by the many testimonials touting the health benefits of macca powder, that the adaptogen balance that macca delivers to the body works primarily through the endocrine system. Macca powder helps to balance all seven glands of the body, the pituitary, the pineal, the thyroid, the thymus, the adrenals, the testes and the ovaries so that they secrete more of the correct kinds of hormones, in the correct amounts needed to provide general health and well being to the body and to the emotions.
Balanced adrenal glands, for example, will greatly reduce emotional stress and help the body to relax and stay free of tension. In turn this helps to protect us from high blood pressure and heart disease, anxiety, muscular and skeletal problems as a result of tension in the body and also provides us with sustained energy levels throughout the day. So it is no surprise that one of the most renowned health benefits of maca is its ability to give us energy and help deliver us from stress and anxiety.