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Does Maca Contain Resistant Starch?

Thanks to one of our great customers we came across a very interesting article a couple of months ago. It's about the benefits of eating foods high in resistant starch (starch that doesn't easily digest). According to the article this type of starch "feeds the friendly bacteria in the digestive system" and can lead to a number of health benefits. The major benefits cited in the article include stronger digestion, lower blood sugar levels, enhances insulin sensitivity and may support weight loss by promoting feelings of fullness. And the most common foods high in resistant starch include cooked potatoes, green bananas, various legumes, cashews and raw oats.   You can read the full article here...

As Maca lovers we're especially excited to learn about resistant starch because we know that Maca indeed has starch content. What we didn't know is how much and what kind of starch. We looked for several weeks to find any research on Maca and resistant starch content but we didn’t find any.   So, we went ahead and sent samples of both our Raw Maca and Gelatinized (pre-cooked) Maca to Medallion Labs for nutritional analysis.   The results came back in a couple of weeks and revealed that neither type of Maca had enough resistant starch to register on the test. Both Raw Maca and Gelatinized Maca contained less than 2% total content of resistant starch.  Here you can see the result of the lab test:

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The fact that Maca is not a significant source or resistant starch was disappointing to us, but we wanted to publish it here anyway because we've noticed that quite a few people have been asking the same question about Maca and starch content. There is no doubt that Maca has a potent nutritional profile, but resistant starch is not part of that profile.

That said, it’s important to remember that Maca does contain significant amounts of fiber (21 grams per 100 grams or about 80% of the RDA) which can indeed support healthy digestion and elimination.   Beyond that Maca does have a broad range of potential health benefits that many people enjoy.   The most common of these benefits are:

  •    Muscle building
  •    Increasing energy
  •    Increasing stamina
  •    Boosting libido
  •    Enhancing fertility
  •    Hair growth
  •    Prostate health
  •    Strong teeth and bones
  •    Enhancing mental focus and clarity
  •    Reducing depression

See our Maca Benefits page for full descriptions of how Maca works to support health.

We hope that you’ve found this article about maca's resistant starch content to be helpful. If you have any questions, please let us know.

Enjoy the day!

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