How to Choose the Right Type of Maca Root

When it comes to adding maca to your diet, the possibilities may seem endless. Which color maca root should you take, and how much? Which formulation works best for you, and when should you have your daily dose of maca? How do you take maca, anyway? We’ve worked hard to put together a website that acts as a comprehensive source of information on maca root, but we understand the importance of asking lots of questions before embarking on a new health journey. So let’s break down some fast facts about maca root and get you closer to trying it for yourself.

Where Does Maca Come From?

Maca is a plant - a cruciferous vegetable like broccoli and cauliflower, to be specific. It originates in the Peruvian Andes at altitudes of 11,000 and above, and though it’s been grown with limited success elsewhere in the world, the highest quality maca root will always come from its native Peru.

Maca root has been harvested in Peru for centuries, lauded for its fertility-boosting and energy-enhancing qualities. It’s been consumed by couples looking to conceive and athletes working to step up their game, and those remain some of the most popular reasons cited by men and women around the world choosing to add maca to their diets.

What Kinds of Maca Are There?

Maca was historically consumed as a tri-color or “heritage” blend, with no separation of the three maca root colors taking place during harvesting. Today, we recognize three different colors of maca root - red, black, and yellow - as well as some qualities that are particular to each one individually.

Black maca root is the rarest of the colors, making up about 15-20% of the annual harvest in Peru. It’s most commonly associated with muscle building, stamina and strength, and male libido and fertility - in short if there was a “maca for men,” it would be black maca. But that doesn’t mean that women wouldn’t benefit from it as well. Black maca is also linked with bone health, which is especially significant to women at risk of osteoporosis due to menopause.

That said, red maca root (which makes up about 25% of annual harvests) is better known for more female-coded benefits like hormonal balance, female fertility and libido, and relief from anxiety and depression. Like black maca root, though, it’s also been associated with male-oriented health concerns like prostate health.

Finally, yellow maca root can be considered a kind of “one-size-fits-all” in terms of results. It’s said to contribute towards improvement of overall vitality, mental focus, and evening out hormone and stress levels.

How Do You Take Maca?

The first thing to know is that maca is a food, not a supplement, which means that there are many ways it can be consumed. While we do offer vegan capsules of all four color maca powders, in addition to raw or premium options, there are numerous ways you can work maca into your diet.

Maca powder is the most economical, getting you the most maca for your dollar. We sell our organic, Fair Trade maca powders in three different sizes (1kg, 1lb, and 80z) as raw (sun-dried) or premium (quick-dried in low-temperature dehydrator) varieties. We also offer gelatinized maca products, which have been pre-cooked to cut down on the starch content. Taking raw maca can result in some stomach upset, so gelatinized maca is the best option for those with sensitive digestions.

Our maca liquid extracts offer the same nutrients and compounds of powdered maca in liquid form, which is easier for the body to absorb, and the compact size of our amber glass bottles makes them ideal for packing along on the go.

You can enjoy maca any time of day, and we share some of our favorite maca recipes as suggestions on how to incorporate maca into a variety of dishes. But if you’d like to have your maca at the start of the day, we can recommend our maca coffee substitute in addition to our whole maca root chips, which are easy to work into breakfast oatmeal or a traditional maca porridge called Mazamorra de Maca.

We hope we’ve provided you with the information you need to make an informed decision on adding maca to your diet! If you have more questions, though, don’t hesitate to Contact Us using our web form, or call us toll-free at 888-919-8616.

Enjoy the day!