Maca Magic!

By coincidence, I learned about Maca while I was in Indonesia (Bali) last week with my boyfriend (my brother was getting married there). We were in a convenience store, stocking up on water and beverages to last us a few days, and while cruising down an aisle full of candles and incense, I looked up and saw this purple bottle on a shelf (with cold medications on it) that said "MACA." The tiiiiny little word "fertility" on the bottle caught my eye (it's funny how you hear about new mothers developing the "mommy ear" for danger, etc. with their kids, and I've got the "fertility ear" - ears and eyes for women with ticking clocks...I bet 50 people would have walked past that little bottle and the word "fertility" jumped right out at me!).

Anyway this is the photo:



I took this picture of it because I wanted to look it up when I got home. Sure enough, there's a ton of info about maca online, including testimonials and discussions from women who have used maca to get pregnant. It sounds really promising. Here are some of the discussions I found, with people saying they really think it worked:

http://www.mothering.com/discussions/archive/index.php/t-897437.html

http://www.mothering.com/discussions/showthread.php?t=885433

http://www.peruvian-maca.com/faq.php?faq_id=39&category_id=14
http://www.medhelp.org/posts/show/308189
http://forum.canadianparents.com/ubbthreads/ubbthreads.php?ubb=showflat&Number=502182


Maca grows in Peru, waaaay up in the mountains, at very high altitudes. The women in Peru have taken this stuff for a long time, to icrease fertily. Studies have shown it even increases fertility in animals, and also increases sperm count in men, AND sexual desire AND energy levels in men and women!

I went out and bought a jar of the stuff at whole foods today (see photo below). And here's some info about the particular brand, Maca Magic, which is grown organically. http://www.macamagic.com/storyofmaca.html



I just love it that they have a page where you can meet the growers, who practice sustainable farming methods: http://www.macagrower.com/index.html


The women in the discussion forums made it sound like it has the worst smell in the universe. I didn't think it was actually so bad (compared to what they said). I put a little over 1/2 tsp. into about a cup of water, shook it and drank it. It has a kind of malty smell/flavor. Not exactly like regular malt, but close enough so I could get used to it. Could be a lot worse!

Here's a pretty good video about it:



And lastly, I found this really cool video that shows how one company manufactures maca, to get it into capsule form. Interesting stuff!






12/17/08 - just wanted to post an update on my experience with maca. I've been taking it for about 2 1/2 weeks and the stuff is awesome. This may sound like TMI but...I have not felt this wet "down there" since I was in my early 20s (I'm 40 now). At one point while I was ovulating, it actually felt like I was having my period. My boyfriend even commented that the sex was better and he actually said "you just feel amaaaaazing." I kid you not. This stuff rocks. I cannot say that it made me have better orgasms - and at one point it actually seemed like i couldn't have one - maybe my expectations were too high, as i just assumed that since i was so wet i SHOULD be able to have one pretty easily, and started getting anxious/annoyed when it just wasn't happening : D. But on the positive side, I can't help thinking that it's got to be doing SOMEthing to increase my fertility, and at the very least, it feels good to know i'm not totally drying up down there. I've even been drinking way more coffee and caffeine than usual (and almost no water... i know... not good). Usually this would make me feel really dry all around, but it's not - particularly not "down there." It's like it's the opposite.


I should also note that I have been making more of an effort to take vitamins on a regular basis, but I honestly think the Maca is what made the biggest difference. I started out using 1/2 teaspoon and then just went ahead and put a whole teaspoonful into my yogurt every day or every other day. Luckily the smell is totally bearable to me. It also helped me sleep better at night (i did see some people said it gave them weird dreams but that wasn't the case for me). by the way - maca is what they call an "adaptogen." this means that it somehow knows if your body is off balance, and the maca helps put your body back in balance. i know this page will explain it better:

http://macaroot.com/benefits/index.html


it also has over 60 phytonutrients! you can read more about it's nutritional properties here:

http://http://macaroot.com/nutrients/index.html Interesting stuff!!

I would highly recommend maca to anyone.