When Should You Try Red Maca Root?
Posted by The Maca Team on 16th Feb 2024
Previously, we’ve discussed reasons why you might want to consider adding black maca root to your diet. But there are three colors of maca root, each with its own associated unique benefits. Today, we’ll take a look at red maca root and learn some of the ways it can help you attain your goals, whether you’re looking to achieve hormone balance or boost your fertility.
What is Red Maca Root?
Maca Root, which originates in the Peruvian Andes, grows in three colors: black, red, and yellow. Red maca root occurs for about 25% of the annual maca harvest, and it’s one of our best sellers – for a good reason.
Maca root, also known as Lepidium meyenii and Peruvian ginseng, is a root from the Brassicaceae family related to cruciferous vegetables like cabbage and cauliflower. Though it’s been grown with limited success in other parts of the world and imitated in labs, this product will always be inferior because maca only truly thrives in extreme elevations like the Andes.
The people of the Junin plateau region of Peru, where our maca root is grown, consumed their maca as a tricolor mix. They valued it for its many purported benefits, ranging from its effects on the libido to its impact on the mind’s ability to focus. Maca was eaten by people of all ages, from children to the elderly. They even fed it to their livestock!
Why Red Maca Root?
There are a few purported benefits of consuming red maca root that set it apart from the other colors. First and foremost is fertility: while maca is often associated with the libido, it’s usually the male libido people are referring to. However, red maca root in particular is said to stimulate women’s sex drives in addition to boosting fertility, and these reports have been backed by some promising research in the past couple decades.
How does it work? Maca doesn’t contain any hormones, but it’s unique in other ways – namely, it’s considered an adaptogen. An adaptogen is defined as a natural substance that can help the body adapt to stress in addition to exerting a regulating effect on a variety of bodily functions.
A good example of this in the case of maca root is menopause. The symptoms of menopause can be brutal. They include mood swings, hot flashes, slowed metabolism, and sexual dysfunction. That’s where red maca root comes in. While it can’t “cure” you from the impact of menopause on the body, preliminary research has suggested that maca root might be able to alleviate suffering from the worst of the effects.
Red Maca Root for Men
While maca root isn’t really a gendered product – it’s a vegetable, not a razor! – certain colors have come to be associated with certain genders. Namely, black maca root aids in more “masculine” endeavors like putting on muscle while red maca root supports fertility and building curves. However, that doesn’t mean that red maca root can’t benefit men.
Red maca root is also associated with prostate health. Research performed in the early 2000s suggests that the presence of glucosinolates in red maca root can help moderate prostate size. Glucosinolates are secondary metabolites associated with anti-inflammatory and cancer-fighting properties, and our premium red maca root powder in particular is a good source of them.
Why Choose The Maca Team?
Whatever maca product you choose, whether it’s our yellow maca root liquid extract or our gelatinized black whole maca root chips, you can be confident that you’re getting all the benefits that come with organic Peruvian-grown maca root. Our maca is certified Fair Trade, non-GMO, and vegan, grown sustainably by a co-op of farmers who show the land the respect it deserves.
If you have any more questions about our maca root products, we’d love to hear them!Don’t hesitate to Contact Us using our web form, or call us toll-free at (888) 919-8616.
Enjoy the day!