Maca Root — Lepidium meyenii

What maca is

Maca is a root vegetable in the brassica family, related to radish and turnip, grown at high altitude in the Peruvian Andes. It has been a staple food and traditional tonic there for centuries, eaten dried and cooked rather than as an occasional remedy — which is a useful thing to know, because it means the root has a long history of ordinary dietary use.

Supplement maca is usually dried, milled root, sometimes gelatinised to improve digestibility, and sometimes concentrated as an extract. Colour varieties — yellow, red, black — are sold with different marketing claims, though the research distinguishing them is thin.

Why vitality formulas use it

Maca is the botanical most consistently associated with libido in the supplement world, and unusually for this category there is some human research behind that association, including small trials reporting improvement in self-reported sexual desire. The effect sizes are modest and the studies are small.

Notably, the trials that reported an effect on desire did not find changes in testosterone. Whatever maca is doing, hormone elevation does not appear to be it — which contradicts a lot of the marketing that surrounds it.

Practical notes

Maca is a food and is generally well tolerated. Because it is a brassica containing goitrogenic compounds, people with thyroid conditions should mention it to their doctor. Some people find it stimulating and prefer to take it earlier in the day.