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09.03.2017

Want to use maca? Use red maca

Maca has stimulatory and prosexual effects, according to a large number of studies. But not all studies confirm the effects, and reports of people's experience also vary. This may well be because there are different types of maca, Peruvian researchers reported in Pharmaceuticals. And the type that's most interesting for supplement users is red maca.

Red maca and black maca
Some studies on the biological effects of this South American root vegetable suggest that maca boosts the concentration of all sorts of interesting hormones in the body, while others report no effects at all. This is probably because there are different varieties of maca, for example red maca and black maca - of which red maca has been shown to boost testosterone levels in animal studies.

A group of Peruvian researchers, who had been studying the effects of maca for many years, decided to test the psychological effects of red maca and black maca on humans. For this they used alcohol-based extracts manufactured by Enterprise A-1 del Peru, Industrial Comercial SAC.

Study
The researchers gave a group of healthy people 3 g maca extract or a placebo every day for 12 weeks. Some participants lived in Lima, which is about 150 metres above sea level, and others in the mountains at over 4000 metres above sea level. We have confined ourselves here below to the data that were collected in Lima.

Results
During the 12 weeks that the experiment lasted, a growing number of participants reported an increase in sexual arousal. The increase reported by the placebo group was about the same as that reported by the black maca group, but the increase in the red maca group exceeded that of the other two groups.

The participants in both maca groups reported an improvement in mood, although the improvement was greater in the red maca group, as the figure above shows.

The participants in both maca groups felt more energetic, and once again the effect was strongest among the red maca users.

Side effects
No serious side effects were reported. According to the researchers, both red and black maca are safe.

Source:
Pharmaceuticals (Basel). 2016 Aug 18;9(3).

More:
Maca makes cyclists faster and hornier 15.10.2009

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