Mother Earth always has something beautiful in store for us. When it comes to food to eat, going back to basics encourages us to appreciate nature’s benefits.
Certainly one such item is an exotic food that’s now available to stock in our kitchen pantries. We’re talking about the Maca powder, an ancient superfood.
The Maca root has been cultivated by the Incas for hundreds of years. The Incan civilization has always recognised the energizing capabilities of this plant. The powder from this root powerfully provides a wealth of vitamins and minerals, macronutrients and essential amino acids.
Maca powder has been a staple ingredient for body-builders’ smoothies and power shakes for some time. New studies suggest that the Maca powder is also beneficial for women’s struggles with hormonal imbalance. Of note for midlife women, especially at the time of perimenopause and menopause.
Benefits of Maca for Women’s Health
Let’s delve further into the beautiful benefits of Maca for women’s nutrition and their reproductive health.
1. Reduces the Symptoms of Menopause and Perimenopause
When we talk about menopause and the transition period before it – which can be up to ten years – it involves frequent hormonal surges that can affect various aspects of a woman’s life. Midlife can be full of health surprises, and to be honest not all of them are welcome. Just as we women start to feel invincible, hormones can make a sneaky attempt to pull our armor off. And right when we least expect it!
There’s plenty we can do nutritionally to assist midlife hormonal changes. Certainly Maca deserves to be on this list. Studies have shown that including Maca powder in your nutritional intake can reduce or alleviate
• Mood swings
• Hot flashes
• Sleep disturbances
• Night sweats
• Depression
• Anxiety
2. Regulates Hormonal Surges and Imbalance
Estradiol is the strongest of the three estrogens in our body, and an important player in our brain and body’s health. Maca has been shown to increase estradiol in peri and menopausal women. Along with the symptoms listed above it can also improve bone density and body mass index.
Maca powder helps regulate hormone levels due to its nutrients critical for hormone production. By having these active ingredients (such as Diindolylmethane), Maca is categorized as an endocrine adaptogen.
3. Overall Health Improvement
Aside from the above mentioned health benefits, studies show Maca is also helpful for numerous health issues. These include:
• Lowering cholesterol levels
• Improving brain function
• Reducing high blood pressure
• Lowering body sugar levels
• Enhancing fertility
• Increasing libido levels
In short, adding Maca powder to our diet can provide us with heaps of benefits. Let’s look at this great Maca smoothie recipe below!
Preparing the Skin Beauty Smoothie
This smoothie is designed to make your skin look more vibrant and glowing. The recipe is good for one serving with a prep time of two minutes, max!
Ingredients:
● 20 grams/1 scoop of hydrolysed collagen powder
● ½ cup of organic strawberries, frozen
● ¼ teaspoon of MACA POWDER
● a tablespoon of chia seeds
● 1 tablespoon of linseeds
● 250ml/1 cup of coconut milk
● a tablespoon of sunflower seeds
● ½ teaspoon of cinnamon powder
●a tablespoon of almond butter (optional)
Directions:
In a blender, put all of the ingredients inside and blend for 60 seconds or until smooth and creamy.
Nutritional Value:
Maca powder has a bit of a malty, butterscotch taste and is a great add to most smoothie recipes. Start with a low dose to begin before building up in strength.
Wanting to find out more about how Maca can assist you? Please write in the comments below or get in touch. I am passionate about supporting women’s health and would love to hear from you!
